How Much Does Abortion Polling Actually Matter?

The incoherent picture that emerges from abortion polling tells pro-lifers that more debate, more honest discussion, more politics are needed.

Abortion is an infamously difficult issue to poll, made all the more challenging by the fact that the issue was confined to public-opinion polling — rather than explored through public political debate — since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. On other hot-button political topics, pollsters have been able to regularly test the validity of their survey findings against the political reality of how people vote. When votes don’t match up with polls, they can...