Morality poll turns up some surprises

Poll answers always depend on how questions are asked and interpreted, cautions Karrie Galloway, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Utah. Did the 51 percent of Americans who answered that abortion is immoral mean for themselves or for others, she wonders. The answer determines whether a poll like this should guide policymakers, she says.

"I would trust anyone to know within their own moral framework whether abortion would be the right decision for them to make, but the question is, 'Are you willing to dictate others' morality?' That's the crux of the whole abortion issue."

David Keller, director of the Center for the Study of Ethics at Utah Valley State College, was dismayed by the fact that apparently 66 percent of the American public thinks the death penalty is morally OK. "After years of studying the topic, I am convinced, hands down, that capital punishment is morally unconscionable and any society practicing it is damaging its own moral fiber."

---

E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com