Poll: Nearly no support for abortion for convenience among Guam residents

The U.S. Supreme Court handed the Guam Legislature an opportunity to answer the question: Should abortion be legal on Guam? For residents, the question is not that simple, according to data University of Guam professor Dr. Ron McNinch has studied.

Recently, abortion proponents have cited polling suggesting 68 percent of residents support a right to abort an unborn child.

“As far as Guam, those that believe in the murder of babies will convince you that 68 percent of our people on Guam support abortions.” anti-abortion advocate and attorney Peter R. Sgro, Jr. wrote recently to senators as they ponder the passage of the Guam Heartbeat Act of 2022. “This is absolutely not true since the questions asked are strategically planned to mislead.”

The Guam Heartbeat Act of 2022, legislation by Sens. Telena Nelson and Chris Duenas, would allow any adult resident to sue anyone who performs an elective abortion or assists in the procurement of an abortion on babies with fetal heartbeats.

According to Mr. Sgro’s message to senators, survey data indicates the people of Guam’s support for abortion drops the older the unborn child is in the womb.

“For the first three months of the pregnancy, you’re looking at around 80 percent support for a woman to have the choice to get an abortion,” Dr. McNinch said of the data he has compiled. “But after three months and before the seventh month, you see a doctor-patient issue. The support for abortion drops during that period.”

According to Dr. McNinch, people’s support for abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy depends on factors like the health of the mother, or the chance that the baby is developing with severe defects.

“People consider it a compassionate abortion in cases like that,” Dr. McNinch said.

But in the final trimester, when babies essentially are fully formed in the womb, support for abortion on Guam drops to less than 10 percent, according to Dr. McNinch.

“Abortion for convenience has nearly no support at all,” Dr. McNinch said.

“The truth is there is not a slow downward slope in the feelings of our people,” Mr. Sgro wrote in his message to senators. “It is no different than a picture of someone jumping off a cliff. The statistics show a significant shift of a diminution of supporting abortions.

“Senators, how can you or anyone else not take a position on the life of a baby once it’s heartbeat can be detected. While the pro-abortionist live in science and technology of the days of Roe 50 years ago, it is now 2022 but you never hear them talk about this very relevant fact to support the protection of life.”