The Pew Research Center’s 2013 Global Attitudes survey asked 40,117 respondents in 40 countries what they thought about eight topics often discussed as moral issues: extramarital affairs, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, alcohol consumption, divorce, and the use of contraceptives. For each issue, respondents were asked whether this is morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or not a moral issue.
The Star has a piece on the survey, hitting the highlights of most and least tolerant countries of the various practices.
But the real story is in the third category -- "not a moral issue."
Have a look at the results for abortion.
Canadians rate abortion as unacceptable at 26%, acceptable at 29%, and not a moral issue at 37%.
For comparison, those numbers for the US are 49%, 13%, and 23%.
And for France: 14%, 38%, and 47%.
Canada is second only to France in the world in considering abortion not a moral issue, edging out Jordan at 36% and Australia at 32%. (We're doing all right in the morally acceptable category too, but still far behind Czech Republic [49%], Japan [44%], Germany [43%], and France [38%].)
Pro-choicers in Canada obviously still have work to do, but this survey gives good grounds for optimism.
Canadians are comfortable with our lawless abortion regime -- a solid majority of us (66%) think abortion is acceptable or not an issue.
The inescapable takeaway: Canada is a pro-choice country.
And not likely to change despite fetus fetishists' SHRIEEEKING.
3 comments:
Interesting, so a full 2/3rds of Canadians clearly do not see abortion as a political issue to be opened again (which I would say is a direct extension of either not being a moral issue at all or one seen as favourable as things are), while just a hair under 3/10ths do (scarily enough, that seems to be the CPC base figures, which makes Trudeaus action on abortion recently appear to be that much wiser strategically than the critics have been making it out to be. It also goes to show that the "new" NDP are not only again placing ambition before principle as you noted but are doing so for no political good reason or gain, which shows some seriously questionable political thinking as well as placing expediency first.
It is interesting also to note how this study yet again blows out of the water one of the favourite talking points of the pro-birthers, namely that supposedly the majority of Canadians are "pro-life" politically despite all the evidence to the contrary. That alas does tend to be the way the fanatics mind works, anything that does not conform to the pre-programmed parameters is therefore garbage information, irrespective of the actual reality. I will never be able to understand that kind of thinking at the gut level, I can't think in that sort of absolutist manner.
Here in the in US of A, abortion is one of the hot button topics in the culture wars.
And unfortunately, our Dems would rather fight on that issue while joining with the goopers on corporate class warfare (because that's how you make the big bucks).
Otherwise, the GOP would already be reduced to a minor regional party, on it's way out just like the Whigs.
And abortion would be safe, legal, and available everywhere.
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. . . and isn't it curious how, from top to bottom of the Pew charts, the angles of the trend lines for 'Unacceptable' for abortion and contraception are opposite. Someone at Pew appears to have chosen the order of the countries in their list to feature that extraordinary feature. What the heck could the explanation be? I mean . . . the country order has made the graphical effect . . . but what an amazing opposition! Da f*#k?
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