#4: Opponents of the Reproductive Health Care Act have released a survey of Rhode Island voters they commissioned from Cygnal, a well-regarded polling firm, in a bid to counter last fall’s Projo/89.3/WLNE poll showing 71% support for a state abortion-rights law. Summarizing the results, Citizens for Life RI spokesperson Carey Jeffrey said, “Rhode Islanders reject partial-birth abortion and don’t consider abortion a top priority for the legislature.” The Womxn Project, which supports the bill, dismissed the poll as using “trumped-up and misleading rhetoric” in its questions. On close inspection, it appears the new survey mirrors longstanding national Gallup polling trends on abortion: relatively few Rhode Island voters said they want abortion to be totally illegal (12%) or totally unrestricted (22%), putting about two-thirds of public opinion somewhere in the middle.
