Ontarians oppose tax dollars for abortions, poll finds

TORONTO - Ninety-one per cent of Ontarians are unaware publicly subsidized abortions in the province cost taxpayers at least $30 million a year, according to an Abacus Data poll published Oct. 10.

Commissioned by Campaign Life Coalition, LifeSiteNews.com and The Interim, the poll Public Funding of Abortion in Ontario also found that 40 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be available but only publicly funded in medical emergencies and 11 per cent feel abortion should be available but not paid for by the province in any situation.

"You have people, whether they're pro-life or pro-choice, who acknowledge that the whole reason why abortions are funded is because they are medically necessary — and this isn't the case," said Alissa Golob, Campaign Life Coalition's youth co-ordinator.

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research branch of Planned Parenthood), 96 per cent of abortions are done because of convenience, said Golob.

The most surprising finding was that evangelical Christians take a stronger pro-life view than Catholics, she said. Fifty-three per cent of Evangelical Christians don't agree with abortions at all while 14 per cent of Catholics oppose abortion, according to the poll.

"The majority of Ontarians oppose funding — and that's what our Church teaches — and they shouldn't be afraid to speak out and get involved in more activism because of this," said Golob, who is organizing Campaign Life Coalition’s Defund Abortion Rally that was to take place Oct. 22 at Queen’s Park.

It was encouraging to see the majority of Canadians oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, she said.

"One of our goals is to defund abortion in Canada and most specifically in Ontario," said Golob. "And it's something that a lot of politicians stay away from and this should be a wake up call for them. It should be an issue considering the majority of Ontarians oppose it."

The poll also found that 48 per cent of respondents either strongly supported or somewhat supported full disclosure of all abortion information, including details about the number of abortions and how much they cost.

To see more results from the poll, see campaignlifecoaltion.com.