The Case for Pro-Life DemocratsNew York: The Case for Pro-Life Democrats New York Democrats For Life New York 268 Morrow Drive Rochester, NY 14616 National Phone: (703) 281-3781 New York Phone: (585) 943-3423 www.democratsforlife.org


New York by the Numbers: New York by the Numbers 2 31% of New Yorkers say most or all abortions should be illegal The percentage of New Yorkers backing abortion dropped 4% in two years 70% said they back parental notification before a teenager can have an abortion 64% want a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion can be performed 66% said they believed that partial birth abortions should be banned (Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, Feb. 2005 and March 2003)


New Yorkers are having less abortions: New Yorkers are having less abortions 3 There were 49.1 abortions per 1,000 live births for New York State in 2002 This is down from 54.2 in 1993 There were 73.4 abortions per 1,000 live births for New York City in 2002 This is down from 80.2 in 1993 (New York State Dept. of Health)


Abortions Per 1,000 Live BirthsBy State and Region : Abortions Per 1,000 Live Births By State and Region 4 (New York State Dept. of Health, 2004)


Democrats are losing ground…: Democrats are losing ground… Fewer New Yorkers identify with the Democrat Party Polls done by CNN in New York State following the 2000 and 2004 presidential election show definite shifts in voter preference. In an election where 17% of New York voters stated 'moral issues' as their main concern, President George Bush gained votes with all three parties __________________________________________ 88% of Republicans voted for Bush, a 9% gain from 2000 40% of Independents voted for Bush, a 2% gain from 2000 10% of Democrats voted for Bush, a 3% gain from 2000 5


Getting the Swing Vote: Getting the Swing Vote 6 Due to extremely close elections, moderate and undecided voters have become invaluable to both parties at election time. 48% of voters in New York during the 2004 election considered themselves moderate. 39% of those voters voted for George Bush, up 5 percentage points from the 2000 election. CNN 2004


“Buffalo poll mirrors national trends”: 'Buffalo poll mirrors national trends' 7 Zogby and The Buffalo News partnered to collect these findings from the residents of Erie County and Niagara County Over 60% said that if a relative or close friend was contemplating having an abortion, they would advise against it 1/3 of those aged 18 to 29 said abortion should never be legal


Women are becoming more pro-life: Women are becoming more pro-life 8 40% of women voters in New York voted for George Bush in 2004, this is a 9% gain from 2000 (CNN 2004) In the 2000 election, Gore had an 8-point advantage with women over Bush In the 2004 election, Kerry had 4-point advantage with women over Bush (Gallup, 2004) 51% say abortion should be available only in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is endangered (Gallup 2004)


Hispanics—a group long courted by Democrats—are overwhelmingly pro-life: Hispanics—a group long courted by Democrats—are overwhelmingly pro-life Hispanics are the nation’s largest minority community at 38.8 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003) . 71% of American-born Hispanics oppose abortion (Pew Hispanic Center and Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002) 75% of Hispanics took one of three pro-life positions, opposing all or almost all abortions (Latino Opinion, 2003). In the 2004 election, Bush received 24% of the Hispanic vote in New York. This is a 6% jump from the previous election. 9


Democrats and moral values…: Democrats and moral values… In a 2004 post-election CNN Poll done in New York State, 17% of voters stated that moral values were the deciding factor in which candidate they supported – moral values was second only to terrorism (23%) and the war in Iraq (23%). However, exactly twice as many Bush voters (66%) than Kerry voters (33%) cited moral values as their top concern. 10


2004 New York State Pro-Life Winning Democrats: 2004 New York State Pro-Life Winning Democrats 11 NYS Senator George Onorato District 12 NYS Senator Ruben Diaz District 32 NYS Assembly Anthony Seminerio District 38 NYS Assembly Joseph R. Lentol District 50 NYS Assembly Michael Cusick District 63 NYS Assembly Darrel Auburtine District 118 NYS Assembly Francine DelMonte District 138 NYS Assembly Robin Schimminger District 140 NYS Assembly Mark Schroeder District 145


New York and BeyondA look at Democrats Nationally : New York and Beyond A look at Democrats Nationally 43% of Democrats agreed with the statement that abortion 'destroys a human life and is manslaughter' (Zogby, 2004) 'Regardless of whether or not you think each of these issues should be legal, do you personally believe that in general it is morally acceptable or morally wrong (to have an abortion)?' (Gallup, 2004). 12