What the Polls are Telling Us 
Two recent Wirthlin polls commissioned by Family Research Council reveal:

• 61% of the adults interviewed disagree that abortion should be legal after fetal brain waves are detected.
• 58% agree that abortion should not be permitted after the fetal hearbeat has begun.
• Only 21% believe that abortion should be legal for any reason during the first six months of pregnancy.
• Only 9% feel abortion should be legal at any time during pregnancy and for any reason.
• 57% of Americans describe their own personal position on abortion as pro-life.
• Most Adults (53%) believe that abortion has hindered the relationships between men and women. 58 percent of women and 48 percent of men agree.
• Most Americans (78%) strongly agree that women who have had abortions experience emotional trauma, such as grief and regret.
• Most Americans (70%) believe that legal abortion is not necessary for women to pursue various educational and career goals. (FRC News Release, 1/20/98)

Gary Bauer’s Washington Update, 1/21/98, said this: "USA Today reports there has been a dramatic drop in the number of Americans who support abortion under any circumstances. Here are the greatest shifts:

• Democratic women: support dropped from 40 percent in 1994-95 to 26 percent in 1996-97.
• Liberals: support dropped from 52 percent to 37 percent.
• Liberal-moderate Republican women: support dropped from 40 percent to 25 percent. At this point, no pro-life politician has any excuse for failing to speak boldly on the issue."

Pennsylvania 
The Pennsylvania Health Department released 1996 abortion statistics which show a decrease in the number of abortions performed in PA. The figures show a drop of 2.7% in 1996. There were 38,004 abortions performed in the state in 1996, a decrease of 1,046 from the 1995 total of 39,050. The 1996 figure represents a 42.2 percent decrease from the highest yearly total of 65,777 abortions performed in 1980, according to the report. Pro-life leader Marlene Wohleber points out however, that late-term abortions and those committed in doctor’s offices are under-reported in Pennsylvania. Of course, there is no reporting of very-early abortions committed through abortion-causing drugs camouflaged as "contraceptives."