Poll: Democrats hold slight edge on abortion

By a narrow margin, the country sides with Democrats on abortion, according to a new poll from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

The survey found a broad sentiment that abortion is morally wrong, combined with a strong belief that it should remain legal.

Forty-one percent of respondents said the Democratic party best represents their views on abortion, compared with 36 percent who said their views are best represented by Republicans.

Next week marks the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade decision, which said abortion is legal in all states. The Pew poll suggests that while social conservatives are still mobilized around overturning Roe, the country as a whole still supports the ruling.

The Pew survey found only 29 percent support for completely overturning the historic abortion-rights ruling, while 63 percent of those polled said the ruling should not be overturned.

Opposition to overturning Roe v. Wade is broad-based — leaving the decision intact won a majority of support among men, women, Protestants, Catholics, and every age group and education level.

Pluralities or majorities of all those groups, however, also said abortion is morally wrong. 

The survey also confirms that abortion doesn't motivate voters the way it once did. Only 18 percent called it a "critical issue" facing the country, while 53 percent said it's "not that important."

But Roe's opponents are far more motivated than abortion-rights supporters. Thirty-eight percent said overturning Roe is a "critical issue," compared with only 9 percent who said it's critical not to overturn the decision.

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