Pro-Life Proponents Gear Up for 2011 March for Life

As the 2011 March for Life kicks off, abortion opponents are optimistic. The March for Life began as a grass-roots movement in 1974, where 20,000 supporters marched in Washington D.C. In recent years, that number has increased tenfold. With the most recent U.S. election results there are now 29 anti-abortion governors, an increase of eight, and in 15 states opponents control both legislative chambers. Turn out is once again expected to be high.

In recent years, more laws have been passed restricting a woman's ability to choose abortion or requiring that she be presented with more information before making that choice. In 2010, 15 states enacted 34 anti-choice provisions. Between 1995 and 2010, states have enacted 644 anti-choice measures. Nebraska changed the cutoff for abortion care to 20 weeks, when it is believed that a fetus can feel pain. Previously, the standard was based on when the fetus could survive outside the womb, at 22-24 weeks. In Missouri, abortion counselors must tell women that abortion ends "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being."

But pro-choice advocates have has some victories as well. The focus in recent years has been less on an increased access to abortion services, but on prevention and other women's health issues. In 2010, the Prevention First initiative continues to gain momentum. The Prevention First agenda includes laws that guarantee a woman's access to and insurance coverage for birth control, teen pregnancy prevention, increased sex education in schools, increase of low-income family planning services, and women's awareness of emergency contraception. In 2010, nine states enacted pro-choice measures, including three Prevention First measures.

The choice to abort a fetus or not is a serious one that can't be taken back. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, many people are very passionate when it comes to their position. However, polls show that the issue is far from black and white.

A Gallup poll groups opinions into three main areas; legal under any circumstances, legal under certain circumstances, and illegal in all circumstances. The most consistency comes in those whose opinions reflect the middle ground. In the years between 1976 and 2010, the percentage of people who believed abortion should only be legal in some circumstances ranged from 48 percent to 60 percent. Those who believed it should never be legal reached its peak in 2002 and 2009, when 22 percent of those polled held this view. The percentage in 2010 went down to 19 percent. Those who believed abortion should be legal in all circumstances peaked in 1993, at 34 percent; in 2010, that figure was 24 percent.

Gallup also asks the question, "Do you consider yourself to be Pro-choice or Pro-life?" The largest gap in opinion came in 1996, when 56 percent considered themselves pro-choice, and 33 percent pro-life. It wasn't until late in 2008 when there was a sharp rise in pro-lifers and a decline in those who identify as pro-choice. In 2009, pro-lifers outnumbered pro-choicers 51 to 42 percent; a year later, opinions leveled off once again with 47 percent pro-life supporters and 45% pro-choice.

Although there has been a series of restrictions on abortion recently, it is not the same as overturning Roe vs. Wade. With conservatives taking more seats in Congress at both the state and federal level, both sides of the abortion debate are being forced to look beyond the larger issue of choice vs. life and examine their individual priorities. Americans continue to disagree on when abortion should be legal or not, but those on both sides agree that there is a need to reduce unwanted pregnancies and births.

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Gallup Poll Abortion