REMARKABLE POLL RESULTS - AT 5:41 P.M. ET:  There will be major protests when President Obama addresses the graduating class at Notre Dame on Sunday.  As you know, some graduates feel it was wrong for the Catholic university to invite a man, even the president, who runs afoul of Catholic teachings about abortion.

The controversy erupts at the same time that two stunning polls are out.  Gallup reported that, for the first time in the 15 years the firm has polled on the subject, the majority of Americans consider themselves pro-life.  The numbers reinforce Fox News polls showing similar results:

Fifty-one percent of Americans consider themselves "pro-life," the first time a majority of the country has stated a personal objection to abortion since Gallup polls began tracking the data 15 years ago.

The numbers correspond with FOX News polls this month showing 49 percent of Americans as pro-life and 43 percent as pro-choice on abortion. Last year the numbers were essentially the reverse of the current findings: 41 percent were pro-life and 49 percent were pro-choice in September 2008.

The Gallup poll released Friday also marks a massive shift from one year ago, when 50 percent of Americans called themselves pro-choice, and just 44 percent said they were pro-life. Today 42 percent say they are pro-choice, by far the lowest level of support for abortion ever measured by the Gallup poll.

Despite that change in opinion, most Americans still believe that abortion should remain legal. Yet Gallup reports that the new numbers come in stark contrast with the last four years, when polls found a strong tilt of public opinion in favor of unrestricted abortions, which is now declining.

COMMENT:  Difficult to know what caused this, and it's much too early to predict political consequences.  Abortion has probably been the single most controversial issue of our time.  With two polls showing a major shift on the subject, some good investigatory journalism is required.  Is it possible that the weak, sometimes catastrophic economy has forced people to think about basic, religious values?  That is pure speculation, but the numbers are fascinating. 

May 15, 2009