This is difficult for me to admit as someone who makes a living conducting and analyzing polls, but we might need to think hard about what polls are really contributing to the public debate on abortion.
Polls play a crucial role in our debates over public policy. They reveal to journalists, elected officials, and policymakers the public’s preferred policy outcome, as well as how important certain issues are to them. They are an indispensable resource for those seeking to represent the collected public will.
But they can also be used to oversimplify complex views on complex subjects. On no other public policy question are the limitations of polling more evident than on abortion. One of the most dramatic examples of this shortcoming can be found in Gallup’s question about abortion identity. The question requires respondents to identify either as “Pro-life” or “Pro-choice.” It suggests that Americans are evenly and intractably divided over abortion.
