Most Americans object to paying for abortions through publicly-funded health care. People in Canada have reaffirmed their opposition to their taxes being used to pay for abortions, with some exceptions.
Opinions on Public Funding of Abortions
In the U.S., a November 2009 CNN poll by Opinion Research Corporation suggested that 61 percent of the public opposed the use of public money to pay for abortion for women who cannot afford to pay themselves.
A 2008 poll by Harris Interactive for the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops showed a similar result, finding that 51 percent believed abortions should not be paid for even by private health insurance but by the women having the abortions.
In Canada, a November 2009 poll by Environics Research Group for Life Canada found that:
- 18 percent of those polled said women should pay for abortions themselves or have them funded by private insurers, not public funds.
- 49 percent said public funds should be used for abortions only in emergency situations such as rape, incest or threat to the mother’s life.
- In total, 67 percent oppose public funding of most or all abortions.
This 67 percent is close to the figure for those who want want some legal protection for the unborn, which is 66 percent. In the same Environics poll:
- 30 percent said they wanted protection of the fetus from conception on,
- 17 percent after three months of pregnancy,
- 8 percent after six months of pregnancy.
- 34 percent thought legal protection should start only from the point of birth.
Cost of Abortions to Canadian Public Health Care System
In Canada, 91,377 abortions were performed in 2006, the latest year figures are available:
- 49,435 in hospitals;
- 41,942 in clinics.
The Guttmacher Institute, which provides Planned Parenthood with data, reported that in 2004 in the U.S.:
- Four percent of women who had had abortions reported the most important reason was “physical problem with my health” without specifying if the health problem was serious or life-threatening;
- Fewer than one half of one percent said the most important reason was rape;
- Fewer than one half of one percent said the most important reason was incest.
According to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, the average cost of a surgical abortion at a clinic was $500 in 2005, while the cost in a hospital was $1000 or more. Since the number of abortions is almost evenly split between clinics and hospitals, the average cost of an abortion in 2005 was $750.
Taking this average figure as a guide, the cost of abortions in Canada in 2006 was 91,377 multiplied by $750, which is $68,532,750.00.
Assuming that fewer than six percent of the abortions were for rape, incest or health of the mother, Canadians are paying for at least 94 percent of abortions through their taxes that most do not wish to pay for. Hence, the amount of public money spent on abortions contrary to the wishes of most taxpayers is at least 94 percent of $68.5 million- or $64.4 million.
Contrary to Tax Payers' Wishes
This has not met with protest outside the pro-life community, for two likely reasons:
- $64.4 million is a small percentage of the total cost of publicly-funded health care in Canada, estimated by the Canadian Institute for Health Information at $128 billion (in 2009).
- Most people don’t know about the cost, evidenced by lack of awareness among Canadians about the abortion law. In a 2005 Gallup survey, 20 percent of Canadians polled wanted the Canadian abortion law to be made “less strict,” although the Supreme Court had struck down the the law restricting abortion as unconstitutional in 1988, leaving Canada with no abortion law.
Most Canadians and Americans do not want their taxes to pay for abortions. However, Canadians continue pay for abortions through pubic funds. The current health care debate in Congress shows that Americans are likely to begin doing so, at least for some proportion of abortions.
Sources: CNN, Environics Research Group, Gallup, Statistics Canada, Guttmacher Institute, Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, LifeCanada
Associated reading: Adult Stem Cell Research and Therapies
Thomas Kelly - Tom Kelly has pursued a long, successful and award-winning career as a technical and business writer, marketer and publisher, during which ...
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