Increased polarization on reproductive rights by geography
by David Atkins
This last week saw some interesting findings on abortion and reproductive rights from Pew. It turns out that the commonly perceived slide in public support for choice isn’t so: support is actually increasing on the coasts, but decreasing in the South and Midwest.
Looking over their latest survey data on abortion, the Pew fact-mongers headline a growing “north-south divide,” with New Englanders becoming more pro-choice and Southerners from Kentucky to Texas becoming more pro-life. But that’s not the whole story. – See more at: http://marksilk.religionnews.com/2013/09/03/abortion-and-the-red-suspender/#sthash.VEfiBW2d.dpuf
It’s true that since the mid-90s, New England has become even more pro-choice than the country’s most pro-choice region used to be. Specifically, the gap between New Englanders who think all or most abortions should be legal and those who think all or most should be illegal increased by 11 points. That, I’d say, is the result of the diminution of Catholicism in the region, thanks in no small measure to the sexual abuse scandal of 2002-03.
It’s the Midwest that has shifted rightward on this issue more than any other.
But that’s just another symptom of increased polarization in the country overall. Different parts of America are trending farther apart on a whole host of issues, and this is just one among many where geography tends to dictate public opinion.
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