Earlier this year, Governor Tomblin made one of the most controversial decisions during his time in office. He vetoed the “fetal pain” bill that would have made abortions after 20 weeks illegal.
Tomblin said at the time that he had been advised by attorneys that the bill had serious problems. “I am advised, by not only attorneys from the Legislature, but through my own legal team that this bill is unconstitutional,” the Governor said. “This bill is also problematic because it unduly restricts the physician-patient relationship.”
Pro-choice West Virginians praised the Governor’s actions, but pro-life lawmakers and organizations were furious. West Virginians for Life tried unsuccessfully to engineer a special session to override the Governor’s veto.
The fetal pain legislation will no doubt re-emerge during next year’s regular session. It will begin with some momentum since the legislation passed both chambers overwhelmingly the last time.
Facing another fight, West Virginia Free has commissioned and published a poll it hopes will help its cause. The telephone poll was conducted by Gravis of 387 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.98 percent.
The poll found nearly two thirds of West Virginians believe the abortion issue is either extremely important or quite important. But sometimes in polling the answer can be affected by the way the question is asked. For example, consider the wording of the question in the West Virginia Free poll on the fetal pain bill.
“In West Virginia fewer than 10 women annually have an abortion past 20 weeks into a pregnancy. However, earlier this year, the Legislature spent a considerable amount of time debating and passing a law prohibiting abortions past 20 weeks. Since so few women have an abortion past 20 weeks each year, do you agree or disagree lawmakers should continue to make this a priority?”
Nearly half (47 percent) either strongly or somewhat disagree lawmakers should make that abortion bill a priority. Forty-one percent believe it should be at the top of the list.
Those findings can be used by the pro-choice side to try to convince legislators that the public does not want them to spend a lot of time on the fetal pain bill.
However, consider the results of a national poll by Hart Research for the Wall Street Journal and NBC News when the question is worded differently.
“Some state legislatures are proposing banning abortions after twenty weeks post-fertilization unless the life of the mother is in immediate danger. People who support this ban say twenty weeks after fertilization is the point at which a fetus is capable of experiencing pain. People who oppose this ban say medical decisions should be between a woman and her doctor and the government should not be involved. Do you think the state legislature in your state should or should not ban abortions after twenty weeks post-fertilization unless the mother’s life is in immediate danger?”
When asked that way, 44 percent say the procedure should be banned while 37 percent say it should not.
The abortion debate these days is less about absolutes and more about the difficult degrees in between. And as these and other polls illustrate, many of us struggle to find a balance.