Comparison of pro-choice and pro-life activists: Their values,attitudes, and beliefs

This article reports a survey of two statewide abortion related organizations: Missouri Citizens for Life and the Abortion Rights Alliance (N=524). The two groups differed signficantly on 12 of 18 Rokeach terminal values and on eight of 13 NORC instrumental values. Salvation was the value which most successfully differentiated the two groups. The two groups were used to establish the construct validity of 18 abortion attitude items. Members of the two groups also differed significantly on each of 18 beliefs, indicating that they tend not only to accept assertions made by their own group but also to reject assertions made by the other group. Anti-abortion were more likely than pro-abortion respondents to expect an increase in restrictions on abortion five years from now. Proabortion respondents attributed significantly more pro-abortion sentiment to U.S. adults than did the anti-abortion respondents.The cooperation of Maureen McCarthy, Ann O'Donnell and Kathy Edwards is gratefully acknowledged. This research project benefited greatly from the assistance of Mary Harbourt, Kathy Dunsford, Sherry Kilgore, Barbara Breen, Janice Warneke, Lynn Taylor, Janice Sato, Beth Wellman Granberg, Karen Quiring, and Patricia Shanks. Data collection was funded by a grant from the Graduate Research Council of the University of Missouri—Columbia. The analysis was funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant No. 1-HD-82834. Tom Smith of the NORC at the University of Chicago provided the marginals on the abortion items from the 1980 General Social Survey. Requests for reprints should be sent to Donald Granberg, Center for Research in Social Behavior, 111 E. Stewart Road, University of Missouri—Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211.