Abortion Polling

Mitofsky has a new report on abortion. As to whether or not a woman should be allowed to get an abortion when she wants one, 49 agreed entirely or in part, while 45 percent disagreed entirely or in part. There are strong inclinations toward a more favorable opinion of abortion among the urban, the wealthy, Mexico City residents, and the young. (The abortion trend was far stronger than the corresponding preference for same-sex marriage among the first two demographic categories.) The difference between male and female views was virtually nil.

One of the most interesting findings is the trend on whether or not abortion should be a crime. In April of 2007, only 20 percent said no, while 74 percent said yes. Today, after 17 states have criminalized the procedure, 46 percent say that it should not be a crime, compared to 41 percent who say that it should. To me, this says that there is indeed a deep reservoir of anti-abortion sentiment in Mexico, but it's much stronger in the abstract than in reality. For a large sector of Mexico, once their more distant beliefs on abortion come into contact with the reality of criminalization, they become less avid in their pro-life stances.