EDITORIAL: Poll reveals cause for hope

For instance, the last three decades have been an uphill battle for those fighting against the evil and injustice perpetuated by the abortion-on-demand industry. Since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized a woman’s right to terminate the life growing within, pro-life advocates have prayed, pushed and persuaded to convert the opinions and attitudes of Americans — law by law, state by state, and heart by heart — with hopes of bringing an end to the gross disregard for life that is abortion.

Figures from the Center for Disease Control indicate that those on the front lines have been making a difference. At its peak in 1990, 1.4 million lives were lost to abortion. In 2005, that figure was at 820,000. Still, horrifically, nearly 50 million lives were destroyed since 1973.

Here’s where it gets worse: President Barack Obama has indicated his support for the highly controversial Freedom of Choice Act, a bad and wasteful piece of legislation introduced to Congress in 2007, which is now being heavily pushed by the abortion lobby and some of the bill’s congressional sponsors.

FOCA would do away with bans on public funding of abortions as well as widely supported state laws protecting women’s safety, informed consent and parental rights.

If FOCA were to become law, it’s not a stretch to expect additional lives lost each year to abortion, but with the taxpayer footing the bill.

The president has also indicated that he is looking to reverse conscience protection regulation for health care workers, which affects doctors who refuse to perform abortions, for example, based on religious beliefs or moral convictions.

Adding insult to injury, and driving a wedge between Catholics, the president was to be honored this past weekend at, of all places, the University of Notre Dame as its commencement speaker.

But a new Gallup Poll could be the silver lining that many have been searching for, all the while providing an invigorating boost within the pro-life community. The May 7-10 survey shows that for the first time since Gallup began asking this question in 1995, more Americans consider themselves “pro-life” (51 percent) than “pro-choice” (42 percent).

This represents a significant shift in the public’s view about abortion from just a year ago, when 50 percent of those surveyed considered themselves pro-choice, and 44 percent pro-life. Additionally, the poll indicates a 7-point shift in Catholics who now consider themselves pro-life.

So what’s to account for this stunning shift in perception? The recent Gallup Poll postulates that it may be, in fact, President Obama’s radical stance on life issues which is the driving factor behind the trend. It also cites the recent Notre Dame controversy as an influence in the pro-life gain among Catholics.

These factors are certainly interesting to reflect upon, but in our view, these were merely catalysts. The amount of prayer, work and organization that sprang forth as a result of these highly controversial issues are why we’re seeing a shift in people’s understanding of the abortion issue.

More people than ever before found their motivation as these contentious issues, especially the Notre Dame uproar, took a foothold in the public discourse across the country. Letter writing campaigns, online petitions and rosaries prayed publicly outside abortion clinics all served to reinvigorate the public’s understanding of the sacredness of life.

It is because of the unwavering commitment among the pro-life movement that today, in the face of these staggering obstacles, there is this silver lining — a renewed hope in the fight for life.

This Gallup Poll is proof positive that the pro-life movement continues to play an integral role in converting the hearts and minds of Americans, and that in the face of adversity, anything is possible with God.

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