Poll commissioned by R.I. anti-abortion group: 73% of respondents feel abortion should not be legal up until birth

Feb. 12--PROVIDENCE -- A poll commissioned by a newly formed group calling itself "Citizens for Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness" has found: "an overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders -- 73.8 percent -- believe that abortion should not be legal up until birth."

The newly released poll also found: "An overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders (92.8 percent) believe that the abortion issue should not be the 'top priority' for lawmakers."

The group that commissioned the poll describes itself as "an initiative of The Gaspee Project," the 501(c)4 organization, based in Barrington, that launched attack mailers against progressive General Assembly candidates in the last election. It opposes highway tolls, attacks on property rights and mandatory vaccinations of schoolchildren, according to its last publicly available 990 filing with the IRS.

The newly created affiliate that commissioned the poll describes its own focus this way on its website: "Rhode Island Progressives are trying to legalize the killing of an unborn baby -- for any reason -- UP UNTIL BIRTH. We're calling on every citizen with a sense of human compassion in the Ocean State to mobilize and show the Rhode Island legislature this is NOT an American value.

"This morning, somewhere in Rhode Island a mother got to hold her baby for the first time. Under this new law, that same baby could have been legally killed just moments earlier. Let us not forget the barbaric procedure required to abort a baby so close to birth involves crushing the skull and dismembering the body. ...These are not exaggerations. These are facts. And they could soon be legal in Rhode Island."

"As God is our witness, we will FIGHT."

According to the sponsoring group, the telephone survey of 700 likely general election voters in Rhode Island was conducted by Cygnal between Feb. 6-9, 2019; interviews were conducted by live professional agents calling landlines and cellphones, and the demographics were "weighted to a general election voter universe." The assigned margin of error: 3.7 percent.

Cygnal's clients include Republican Party organizations in a number of states, including the Associated Republicans of Texas, and "Trump Make America Great Again."

The survey probed, for example, support for "legislation allowing abortion until the moment of a live birth ... Legislation allowing a method of late-term abortion, also known as partial-birth abortion, in all situations." More than two-thirds opposed both of these suggested legislative options.

The survey did not ask about the status quo under Roe v. Wade, which essentially prohibits an abortion after a fetus has reached "viability" except to protect the life and health of the mother.

But it asked which statements "best" reflect the person's point of view, such as: "Abortion should be legal at any time during a pregnancy (21.7 percent) ... Abortion should not be permitted under any circumstances (12 percent) ... Abortion should be legal only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother (12.8 percent) ... Only during the first three months of the pregnancy (24.7 percent) ... The first six months (7.9 percent)"

Another question probed support for hypothetical "legislation that, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is in danger, bans abortion once the unborn is able to experience pain." In this case, only 35.6 percent signaled support.

The questions reflect the sharp divide between advocates and opponents over what the legislation introduced this year in Rhode Island actually does.

At its most basic, the legislation bans the state from preventing a woman from terminating a pregnancy "prior to fetal viability,? or "after fetal viability when necessary to preserve the health or life of that individual." It also repeals laws that have been declared unconstitutional, including Rhode Island's own "partial-birth abortion ban." A federal partial-birth abortion law remains in place.

Abortion opponents make this argument: without any specific language prohibiting third-trimester abortions, a woman could "abort? a fully developed, unborn baby right up until the day of birth.

Asked about the newly released poll, Barth Bracy, the lead lobbyist for the Rhode Island Right to Life Committee, told The Journal: "The top-line numbers do not surprise me at all, based on published results of multiple years of national polling. The pollsters appear to be credentialed and credible." (Bracy had earlier denounced as "bogus" the finding by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, during a poll conducted last fall for The Journal, ABC6 and The Public's Radio,that 7 out of every 10 Rhode Islanders favor keeping abortion legal in Rhode Island, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court might do to the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion-rights ruling in the future.)

But the Rhode Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom said "the questions asked in this poll are biased and misleading, and did not ask about maintaining the status-quo afforded under Roe v. Wade."

"Currently, an abortion can only be performed after fetal viability in cases where the life or health of the pregnant person is in jeopardy," the coalition said. "The definition of fetal viability in the [pending legislation] is based on the language in Roe v. Wade and affirmed in subsequent cases."

Similarly, The Womxn Project said the "Citizens for Life" poll "used trumped up and misleading rhetoric and asked about a law that has already been settled at the federal level. This is in no way any kind of comment on the current legislation moving in the state of Rhode Island."

The Gaspee Project is the common link between the group that commissioned the new poll and the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity.

"I founded both [organizations], but after the 2016 elections I stepped aside, and the Gaspee Board handed over management to Clay Johnson," said R.I. Center for Freedom & Prosperity CEO Mike Stenhouse.

"While completely separate corporations, both [organizations] are aligned in our missions to advance pro-business, pro-taxpayer, and constitutional ideals. Our Center works on the policy side of things, while Gaspee can spend time on the political side," he said.

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