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How Bad It Is

Wirthlin Group Polls San Diegans on Abortion

Throughout the first three months of 2000, Women's Resource Network, a San Diego pro-life group headed by Dana Serrano of Escondido, ran a series of three pro-life commercials a total of 2600 times. The primary target was women 18 to 34 years old, so the commercials ran on shows like the Simpsons, Party of Five, Fox News, Mad TV, The View, Oprah and a number of MTV programs.

According to a progress report issued by the women's network this summer, in December, 1999, before the ads ran, the Wirthlin Worldwide polling firm surveyed San Diegans and found that 76 percent of those in San Diego agreed that "abortion should be a matter of personal choice." This compared to 67 percent of respondents in other media markets. "Abortion is troubling to me" was the sentiment of 56 percent of San Diegans polled, compared to 63 percent of troubled respondents in other markets. 53 percent of those in other markets agreed that "abortion is morally wrong," compared with 45 percent of those in San Diego. And 28 percent of those elsewhere agreed with "in making the decision to have an abortion, a woman is responsible only to herself not the unborn child," compared to 34 percent agreeing with the statement in San Diego.

Interesting was the fact that after the commercials ran, 28 percent of those supporting abortion recalled seeing them, compared to 17 percent of those against abortion. And one in six (16 percent) agreed that "the commercial caused me to be less tolerant of abortion."

For more information on the advertising campaign, contact the Women's Resource Network at 760-741-4010.

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