Poll: Ohioans Hold Strong Faith, Majority Oppose Abortion
New Survey Shows Ohioans Concerned About Raising Families in Current Culture

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Cultural Index released on July 7th by Ohio Right to Life breaks new ground regarding Ohioans' views on faith, government, entertainment and abortion. The index is a scientific measurement of how Ohioans' perceive the impact of these outside forces on their families. The entire poll and analysis is available for download at the Ohio Right to Life website at http://www.ohiolife.org.

The index's significant findings include:

• 72% of Ohioans' surveyed strongly believe in God;
• 60% oppose abortion;
• 54% believe abortion has a negative effect on women who have them;
• 70% oppose use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion;
• 45% believe entertainment today negatively impacts families;
• 51% believe government policies are harming traditional family values;
• 54% believe schools undermine values taught at home; and
• 54% believe families do a worse job of developing character than a generation ago.

"We now know a majority of Ohioans oppose abortion, have a strong faith in God, and are concerned about raising their families in today's cultural environment," said Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. "The intent of the Ohio Cultural Index is to inform Ohio families, and serve as a guide to our elected leaders."

The index is calculated on a 100-point scale based on responses to 10 questions about different aspects of culture and character in Ohio. It is based on a quarterly public opinion survey of adults across the state. The inaugural Ohio Cultural Index rating is 60.2 on a 100-point scale.

The score indicates Ohioans are generally center-right in their social outlook, and hold an overall positive view of the state's culture. However, on seven of the 10 questions, Ohioans have a more negative than positive perception. "Ohioans' belief in God, their belief that tax dollars should not be used to pay for abortions, and their belief that abortions have a negative effect on the women who have them pushed the index above the 'break-even' mark of 50," said Fritz Wenzel, president of Wenzel Strategies and a former pollster with Zogby International.

"While those pushing radical agendas may find sympathetic ears in the halls of power, an informed pro-life community will be better able to rebuff these extreme public policy influences," said Gonidakis.

The poll was conducted June 23-26, 2009 by Wenzel Strategies using an automated telephone technology that has won widespread acceptance in the field of opinion research. The American Association of Public Opinion Research, in studying different methods of conducting survey research, announced last year that it found no discernable difference in the results generated by automated telephone research and traditional voice-to-voice polling methods. The Ohio survey included 824 registered voters statewide in Ohio. The poll carries a 95% confidence interval, and a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 07 July 2009                                              

CONTACT: Carlo LoParo PHONE: (614) 204-2242