It’s titled The Abortion Stereotype:
The perception that men and women have divergent views on abortion has persisted over time. The line popularized by Gloria Steinem that “if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament” proposes that a male-female divide over this social issue is more or less a biological given.
The polling confounds such stereotypes. The General Social Survey, which has been tracking American opinions for decades, includes the question of whether a woman should be allowed to get an abortion if she “wants it for any reason.” In 17 of the 23 years that this question has been asked, men have answered “yes” to a greater extent than women. The average difference was about 1.5 percentage points — a small but consistent gender gap, if not the one people seem to expect.
Very happy to get a mention of the General Social Survey into The New York Times. Long time readers know I’m a big fan, and I wish more pundits and people would use it to check up on their intuitions and preconceptions. Also, you may have noticed, I’m contributing to the opinion pages. That means this is in the print edition tomorrow, just like my previous submission.
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