Two thirds of Americans believe that “fetuses in the womb are people” - that includes 80 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of Democrats. The source is a YouGov poll conducted in the wake of a shocking attack on a pregnant woman in Colorado that left her injured, and resulted in the loss of her unborn child.
The pollster addressed that issue too, revealing that 76 percent of Americans overall agree that if an attack on a pregnant woman leads to the death of her unborn child, a murder charge is appropriate; 89 percent of Republicans and 72 percent of Democrats agree.
The accused attacker “is not facing murder charges,” reports Peter Moore, a YouGov analyst. “Unlike in many states a person cannot be prosecuted in Colorado for killing a fetus as the state requires ’proof of live birth’ to consider the death to be murder. Last year Colorado voters resoundingly rejected a constitutional amendment which would have included unborn children under the definition of ’person’ in the state.”
“YouGov’s latest research shows that the vast majority of Americans think that fetuses in the womb are people. Only 16 percent think that fetuses are not people. A majority of every demographic group believes that fetuses are people, though Democrats and people who earn over $80,000 a year (both 56 percent) are the least likely to say that fetuses are people,” Mr. Moore writes.
Here are the poll numbers:
76 percent of Americans agree that if an attack on a pregnant woman leads to the death of her unborn child, a murder charge is appropriate; 89 percent of Republicans, 73 percent of independents and 72 percent of Democrats agree.
66 percent of Americans overall believe that “fetuses in the womb are people”; 80 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats agree.
52 percent overall agree that “life begins at conception”; 71 percent of Republicans, 52 percent of independents and 39 percent of Democrats agree.
20 percent overall say life begins when “a fetus is able to live outside the womb”; 17 percent of Republicans, 22 percent of independents and 20 percent of Democrats agree.
18 percent say life begins “at birth”; 7 percent of Republicans, 13 percent of independents and 31 percent of Democrats agree.
10 percent are “not sure”; 5 percent of Republicans, 13 percent of independents and 10 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted April 3-6
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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