November 27, 2002
Poll Skewed

Today, the National Post published the findings of a recently commissioned Poll on freedom of the body. They asked the question, "Should women have complete freedom on their decision to have an abortion?" Based on only 608 people, they concluded that "four out of five Canadians or 78% believe women should have complete free choice in the matter."

"It has been proven time and again with countless polls that the results reflect the way the question is asked", said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition.

A Gallup poll conducted in December 2001 asked the question "do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances or illegal in all circumstances and in what circumstances?" The result were that 32% of Canadians believed abortion should be legal in all circumstances, down from 37% in 2000, 52% believed abortion should only be legal in certain circumstances and 14% thought abortions should be illegal in all circumstances, up 9% from 2000. Now let's take another look at this: 52% + 14% or 66% believe abortion should be restricted and only 32% believe there should be no restrictions.

"The reality is that we are talking about taking the life of a defenseless human being", continued Mr. Hughes. "All the polls in the world will not justify the murder of an innocent person."

Campaign Life Coalition calls on all Canadians to return to a respect and reverence for all human life and the courage to demand that all human life be protected by law.

Media Contacts:
Karen Murawsky, Director of the CLC Public Affairs Office in Ottawa 613-729-0379
Mary Ellen Douglas, National Organizer CLC, Kingston 613-389-4472
Gillian Long, CLC Toronto, 416-204-9749

Campaign Life Coalition is Canada's national pro-life organization.