Originally I thought about making a political blog around August 2015 during the time of the first Republican Debate. Planned Parenthood had been in the spotlight recently due to release of videos alleging that PP had been doing illegal things with unborn fetuses. For me abortion has been an issue that has seen my views evolve over times. As of right now, I don't look at abortion as a religious issue, but more of an issue from a scientific perspective. Different people have different theories about when life begins. I am pro-choice up a certain point and after that point I am pro-life. I think many people are like me. Very few people would be on the extreme and it is just the time where we feel life begins that makes us different. For example, I've learned that according to some Jews, life begins 40 days after conception. From my research, I have found that the opposite of the way we declare someone has passed away happens around the 12th week of pregnancy (the first trimester). For some reason, growing up, I always have seen abortion with in the first trimester as okay, and after the first trimester as not okay. This is my view as of now, but like I said before I am willing to evolve my view as I learn more.
Back in 2015 this post was going to be about why Republicans should give up on the issue of abortion. As someone who wants to see a Republican in the white house, I felt that the candidates views on abortion were hurting their image in the eyes of independents who could potentially vote for them. I thought that maybe the Republicans should just stop talking about the issue of abortion and acknowledge their defeat. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was wrong. You can't reasonably expect someone to change their view on something they truly believe in. That's the beauty of America. I can vote for who I feel best represents my ideas, but they won't be me and some of their ideas will be different. I might not agree with Republicans on abortion, but I do respect the fact they have their own beliefs. We as people should be striving to get away from politicians who tell us just everything we want to hear.
Instead this article will be focusing on the statistics and we'll be delving into how the issue of abortion affects Republicans. A Gallup.com poll from 2015 shows that 51% of the (sample) population believes abortion should be legal under certain circumstances. I would fall into that 51%. However, that 51% can also include people who believe abortion should only be legal in cases of rape. Thus when broken down further, the Gallup poll shows that 13% believe abortion should be legal under most situations, and 36% believe it should only be legal in a few situations. Once again though, this is still too broad. The poll also showed that 19% of the population believes that abortion should be illegal in all situations, but an outstanding 10% more of the population (29%) believe abortion should be legal in all situations.
The Gallup poll also showed that steadily over the past few years more people believe abortion should be legal in all situations while the reverse is happening on the other end. Upon more research, I also stumbled upon a Gallup poll though that showed 49% of people are pro-choice versus 44% who identify as pro-life. That gap has been getting smaller over the years. What is also important though is to look at if voters will only vote for a candidate that has the same stance on abortion as them. 23% of pro-lifers will only vote for those who share the same view as them versus 19% on the pro-choice side. In general, 21% of the population would only vote for someone who has the same views as them on abortion. Interesting though, 47% percent believe that abortion is a major issue that is a factor in how they vote versus 27% who don't.
After doing this research, my view changed. I no longer believe that the issue of abortion is hindering Republicans as much as I once thought. Let's be real. If you are one of the 21% who will only vote for someone with the same view on abortion as you then you were probably going to vote for that party to begin with. 47% believe abortion is an important issue to think about, but combined with the 27% who don't then Republicans shouldn't have to worry too much if their view is in the minority.
Sources
http://www.gallup.com/poll/1576/abortion.aspx
http://www.gallup.com/poll/183449/abortion-edges-important-voting-issue-americans.aspx
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