Abortion & Reproductive Issues

To Expand Hispanic Base, GOP May Need to Shelve Social Issues (At Least, For Now)

[08.24.2012]

The Romney campaign wants to expand its Hispanic voting base. To do so, however, they may need to talk more about immigration and less about social issues.

Most Americans Support Allowing Women to Obtain Abortions in Cases of Rape

[08.23.2012]

Strong majorities of religious Americans support abortion rights in four of seven circumstances.

Joining the Party: On Abortion and Same-sex Marriage, Hispanic American Partisans Are as Polarized as the Public

[08.21.2012]

How socially conservative are Hispanic Americans, how persuadable are Hispanic Americans on social issues, and how important are these issues to Hispanic American voters?

What Do Catholics Think About the Contraception Mandate?

[05.23.2012]

The debate over the Obama administration’s controversial contraception mandate was reignited on Monday, when 43 Catholic institutions filed lawsuits in federal court, challenging the rule that requires religiously affiliated institutions to provide no-cost birth control coverage to their employees through their insurance coverage. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Mary Ann Glendon, a professor at Harvard Law School, excoriated the White House for their “move to conscript religious… more

How Helpful Are “Pro-Choice” and “Pro-Life” Labels?

[05.23.2012]

A new poll from Gallup reveals that the number of Americans who currently identify as “pro-choice” (41%) has dropped six points since last July. It’s also one point lower than the previous record low recorded by Gallup, which occurred in May 2009. Meanwhile, about half (50%) of Americans identify as “pro-life,” one point shy of the record high. Although people on both sides of the abortion debate will no doubt… more

Our Corner | PRRI on the Air at State of Belief

[03.19.2012]

This past weekend I was interviewed on State of Belief Radio with Rev. Welton C. Gaddy. They discussed PRRI’s most recent survey on American attitudes about the state of religious liberty in America and the contraception debate. During the interview, I noted that most Americans (including Catholics) do not believe their religious liberty is under attack in the U.S. I also noted that among Americans who believe that religious liberty is… more

New PRRI/RNS Poll: Religious Liberty and the Contraception Mandate Debate

[03.15.2012]

In our February Religion & Politics Tracking Survey, we found that a majority (55%) of Americans agree that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost. Probing deeper into Americans’ feelings on this issue, we asked in our March PRRI/RNS Religious News Survey about what types of employers should be required to provide contraception coverage to their employees at no cost…. more

PRRI Survey used by PolitiFact to Check Political Leader

[03.14.2012]

As the contraception debate rages on, political and religious leaders are relying on surveys to support claims about where the public is on the issue. PRRI’s February Religion and Politics Tracking Poll continues to be used not only to inform the debate but also to fact-check political leaders. A recent PolitiFact article reviewed claims made by U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) that most Americans, including himself, agree that the federal mandate for… more

Romney’s Losing Female Voters, But Not Just to Obama

[02.27.2012]

In the wake of the debate over the White House’s contraception mandate, are women turning away from Mitt Romney and looking toward Obama? Not necessarily. Ever since culture wars issues like abortion and contraception became a major focus in the 2012 election, strategists have had their eyes on women, and new surveys are starting to provide some clues as to what they think about it. To be sure, the contraception… more

Understanding the Nuances of Catholics’ Perspectives on the Contraception Mandate

[02.09.2012]

PRRI’s February Religion & Politics Tracking Survey has been in the news quite a bit recently, given the ongoing controversy around whether religiously affiliated hospitals, colleges and social agencies should be required to provide birth control at no cost to their employees through their health insurance plans. This is a complicated issue, and most of the coverage of the poll has focused on a question that asked respondents about the… more