Americans Deeply Split On Abortion As Supreme Court Takes Case: Reuters/Ipsos Poll

By Reuters 18 Nov, 2015 15:15 EST

Washington DC — Visitors wait in line at the U.S. Supreme Court building to watch arguments on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, October 5, 2015. Reuters

Americans are split over abortion restrictions like those in a Texas law challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court, reflecting deep and longstanding divisions over the contentious issue, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

In the online poll of 3,387 U.S. adults, 41 percent of respondents said laws like the one in Texas are intended to make abortion clinics safer, 35 percent said such laws are designed to make it difficult or impossible for women to obtain abortions, and 24 percent said they did not know.

The 2013 Texas law mandated costly hospital-grade standards for abortion clinics and required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

In the poll, 43 percent of respondents said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, 41 percent said it should be illegal in most or all cases and 16 percent said they were unsure.

Views on abortion in the United States have changed very little over decades, according to historical polling data maintained by Gallup.

The high court last Friday said it would hear a legal challenge brought by abortion providers to the Republican-backed law, its first major abortion case since the justices upheld a federal ban on a late-term abortion procedure in 2007.

Asked how they felt the Supreme Court should rule in the Texas case, 33 percent of poll respondents said the justices should strike down the law, 32 percent said they should uphold it and 36 percent said they did not know.

The Supreme Court legalized abortion in its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. But a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy remains a contentious issue among Americans and some states have sought to restrict abortion.

Ten of the 50 U.S. states have imposed doctor admitting-privilege requirements like those in Texas, while six have laws requiring hospital-grade facilities for abortion clinics mirroring the Texas law, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents abortion providers in the case before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case in early spring, with a ruling due by the end of June.

The poll was conducted between Nov. 12 and Nov. 17. Reuters/Ipsos online polls are measured with a credibility interval. Among all respondents, the poll had an overall credibility interval of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

In order an effort to promote traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, in collaboration with Macao YMCA, Guangzhou Suigang'ao Teenagers Institute, and the Teacher Chang Foundation of Taiwan, has conducted a survey on teens measuring their cultural awareness. They found that Hong Kong youths generally identify with and support the values of traditional Chinese culture.
Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.
Yesterday, October 31, was Reformation Day, and Lutherans around the world held various events in commemoration. In Singapore, the Lutheran Church advocated for Christian communion, while the German Lutheran Church encouraged believers to face the challenge of “trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time.”
Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.
2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation
In the afternoon of Reformation Sunday, Oct. 27, some 2.1 million Christians gathered for a joint worship service from 2pm to 5pm in Seoul, Korea to “unite for repentance, revival, and restoration of holiness in our society.” According to organizers, an estimated 1.1 million joined onsite despite the bad weather with another 1 million joining online. The unprecedented joint worship service brought together Korean churches across denominations as they affirmed traditional marriage and family and
Willow Creek Community Church invites believers to write prayer cards for the next president
This past Sunday, Willow Creek Community Church based in Illinois invited believers to “pray for the next president” during the service. The church not only expressed its concern for the upcoming election but also emphasized the role believers should play in the process and the importance of offering prayers for the nation's leaders.

Americans Deeply Split On Abortion As Supreme Court Takes Case: Reuters/Ipsos Poll

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues

2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.