| 摘要 | In the June issue of AEI’s Political Report, we look at support for impeachment among Democrats and compare their attitudes to those of all Americans. We also look at views on the legality of abortion as various states enact new statutes. Finally, 50 years after Apollo 11 took men to the moon for the first time, we look back at Americans’ attitudes about the moon landing and the space program over time.
Impeaching President Trump?
Polls taken over time such as CNN’s and Monmouth University’s show little change in attitudes about impeaching Donald Trump. A solid majority of Democrats in these polls and others believe he should be impeached and removed from office.
In the online Harvard-Harris Poll, which includes the option of censuring the president in its version of the impeachment question, around 20 percent of registered voters nationally choose it. Sixty percent of Democratic registered voters in their late May poll favored impeachment, while a quarter opted for censure. Four in 10 registered voters said Special Counsel Robert Mueller found evidence that Trump obstructed justice; 68 percent of Democrats gave that response.
More people believe Trump guilty of obstruction or other wrongdoing than say Congress should begin the impeachment process now, and Democrats are much more likely than others to believe the president obstructed the investigation and committed crimes (Quinnipiac University, NBC News/Wall Street Journal).
The polls differ on Democrats’ assessment of whether impeachment should be a top priority.
Abortion: Are attitudes changing?
In NORC’s 1977 General Social Survey (GSS), 36 percent of Americans said it should be possible for a woman to obtain a legal abortion “if she wants it for any reason.” In 2018, nearly half (49 percent) gave that response.
As polls have shown for many years, relatively few people today say abortion should be illegal in all cases, and most say abortion should be legal if a pregnancy is caused by rape or if a woman’s health is seriously endangered (NORC, Gallup, Quinnipiac, HuffPost/YouGov). In new questions about banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, opinion is more closely divided (Quinnipiac, Kaiser Family Foundation).
Few Americans say abortion should “generally” be legal during the last three months of pregnancy; only 13 percent gave that response in a 2018 Gallup poll. More than six in 10 in the 2018 poll said abortion should be illegal during the third trimester when the child would be born mentally disabled or with Down syndrome, and more than three quarters said it should be illegal during the third trimester when the woman does not want the child for any reason. However, majorities support the legality of abortion in the first and third trimesters when the women’s life is endangered or when the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest (Gallup).
The split between Democrats and Republicans about the acceptability of legal abortion in various circumstances has widened in recent years, particularly on whether it should be allowed for any reason. In the 1977 GSS, there was a four-point gap between partisans on the question of whether it should be possible for a woman to get a legal abortion if she wants it for any reason. (Thirty-four percent of Democrats said yes; 38 percent of Republicans did.) In 2018, the partisan gap was 29 points, with 64 percent of Democrats saying it should be possible compared to 35 percent of Republicans.
The moon landing revisited
In 1949, 70 percent of Americans did not think that men in rockets would reach the moon within the next 50 years. Confidence had grown by 1961, and Americans applauded John F. Kennedy’s plan to send a man to the moon.
When asked about the moon landing 10, 25, 30, and 40 years after it occurred, most Americans thought it was worth the effort and expense. Fewer in those anniversary years said the space program had brought enough benefits to the country to justify its costs. Still, in 1999 and 2009, majorities said it had.
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