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Religion & Abortion

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  • transcript

    After Gonzales v. Carhart : The Future of Abortion Jurisprudence

    Washington, D.C. On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed down a major ruling on abortion rights, upholding the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The 5-4 decision in the case, Gonzales v. Carhart, upheld for the first time a law that bans a specific abortion method, and it did so even though […]

  • fact sheet

    The High Court Upholds the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act

    On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed abortion opponents a major victory, ruling that the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate the constitutional right to abortion. The 5-4 decision charts a new direction for the high court and its abortion jurisprudence. Just seven years earlier, the court had struck down a […]

  • fact sheet

    High Court Decision Could Raise Abortion’s Profile in Campaign

    by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Wednesday’s 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal law banning a controversial abortion procedure may dramatically raise abortion’s visibility in the presidential election campaign. The ruling, a victory for anti-abortion advocates, will almost certainly energize both sides in the abortion debate and […]

  • report

    The Culture War and the Coming Election

    April 11, 2007 by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life The 2008 presidential election is still more than a year-and-a-half away, but some issues, such as the war in Iraq and health care, have already begun to define the contest. Others will emerge in the months ahead to catch […]

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    Split State Decisions on “Culture War” Issues

    by Robert Ruby, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life November 8, 2006 Voters in South Dakota on Tuesday rejected what would have been the nation’s most restrictive law against abortion, and Arizona became the first state to defeat a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage. Of the eight states where bans on gay marriage […]

  • transcript

    Judicial Showdown: The Supreme Court Returns to the Abortion Debate

    Washington, D.C. On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that challenge the constitutionality of the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. The Act aims to prohibit a doctor from performing what the legislation calls a “partial birth” abortion unless a pregnant woman’s life is in danger. Is the law […]

  • fact sheet

    The Supreme Court Revisits the Partial Birth Abortion Issue

    Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Introduction On Nov. 8, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in two cases that challenge the constitutionality of the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The related cases, Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, offer the high court an opportunity to […]

  • report

    Pragmatic Americans Liberal and Conservative on Social Issues

    Summary of Findings Americans cannot be easily characterized as conservative or liberal on today’s most pressing social questions. The public’s point of view varies from issue to issue. They are conservative in opposing gay marriage and gay adoption, liberal in favoring embryonic stem cell research and a little of both on abortion. Along with favoring […]

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    A Barometer of Modern Morals

    These edicts represent the collective judgment of the American public when asked to assess the moral dimensions of different kinds of behaviors.

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    Less Opposition to Gay Marriage, Adoption and Military Service

    Summary of Findings Public acceptance of homosexuality has increased in a number of ways in recent years, though it remains a deeply divisive issue. Half of Americans (51%) continue to oppose legalizing gay marriage, but this number has declined significantly from 63% in February 2004, when opposition spiked following the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision and […]