Analysis | Life Choices, 1990 | Data Archive | The Association of Religion Data Archives

Life Choices, 1990

Data Archive > U.S. Surveys > General Population > National > Other > Analysis

WHENPERS

When would you say that the fertilized egg inside a mother's womb first becomes a person . . . at the moment of conception; at the moment when the mother first feels movement inside her; at the moment when the baby could survive on its own, outside the mother's womb; at the moment of birth; or when the doctor confirms the baby is healthy . . . when would you say it becomes a "person?"

	1) Moment of conception
	2) When the mother first feels movement
	3) When the baby could survive on its own
	4) Moment of birth
	5) When the baby is healthy

Category	Frequency	Percentage	Cumulative Percentage	Z-Score
Moment of conception	1206	59.5%	59.5%	-.71
When the mother first feels movement	359	17.7%	77.2%	.26
When the baby could survive on its own	284	14%	91.2%	1.24
Moment of birth	165	8.1%	99.3%	2.22
When the baby is healthy	14	.7%	100%	3.19

Variable Comparisons

Age (I-AGE)

	18-29 years old	30-44 years old	45-59 years old	60-74 years old	75 years and older	TOTAL
Moment of conception	60.9% 234	59.8% 418	59.0% 237	55.5% 218	65.5% 91	59.4% 1198
When the mother first feels movement	17.2% 66	14.7% 103	19.4% 78	21.4% 84	19.4% 27	17.7% 358
When the baby could survive on its own	13.3% 51	17.5% 122	13.4% 54	12.0% 47	5.8% 8	14.0% 282
Moment of birth	7.6% 29	7.7% 54	7.5% 30	10.4% 41	7.9% 11	8.2% 165
When the baby is healthy	1.0% 4	0.3% 2	0.7% 3	0.8% 3	1.4% 2	0.7% 14
TOTAL	100.0% 384	100.0% 699	100.0% 402	100.0% 393	100.0% 139	2017

Church attendance (I-ATTEND)

	Never	Once a month or less	Once a week or less	Several times a week	TOTAL
Moment of conception	42.9% 141	46.0% 290	69.4% 531	83.6% 230	59.6% 1192
When the mother first feels movement	21.9% 72	20.8% 131	15.9% 122	9.5% 26	17.6% 351
When the baby could survive on its own	20.4% 67	21.1% 133	9.0% 69	4.4% 12	14.1% 281
Moment of birth	14.3% 47	11.3% 71	5.0% 38	2.5% 7	8.2% 163
When the baby is healthy	0.6% 2	1.0% 6	0.7% 5	0.0% 0	0.7% 13
TOTAL	100.0% 329	100.0% 631	100.0% 765	100.0% 275	2000

Education (I-EDUC)

	Less than high school	High school graduate	Some college/trade/technical school	College graduate	TOTAL
Moment of conception	64.6% 234	66.3% 443	59.8% 330	44.1% 193	59.4% 1200
When the mother first feels movement	22.9% 83	19.0% 127	15.8% 87	14.2% 62	17.8% 359
When the baby could survive on its own	5.5% 20	7.8% 52	14.7% 81	29.5% 129	14.0% 282
Moment of birth	5.5% 20	6.1% 41	9.2% 51	12.1% 53	8.2% 165
When the baby is healthy	1.4% 5	0.7% 5	0.5% 3	0.2% 1	0.7% 14
TOTAL	100.0% 362	100.0% 668	100.0% 552	100.0% 438	2020

Region (I-REGION)

	East	Midwest	South	West	TOTAL
Moment of conception	54.0% 284	61.9% 338	67.6% 420	49.0% 164	59.5% 1206
When the mother first feels movement	17.9% 94	15.8% 86	17.9% 111	20.3% 68	17.7% 359
When the baby could survive on its own	17.7% 93	14.3% 78	8.5% 53	17.9% 60	14.0% 284
Moment of birth	9.5% 50	7.7% 42	5.5% 34	11.6% 39	8.1% 165
When the baby is healthy	1.0% 5	0.4% 2	0.5% 3	1.2% 4	0.7% 14
TOTAL	100.0% 526	100.0% 546	100.0% 621	100.0% 335	2028

Gender (I-GENDER)

	Male	Female	TOTAL
Moment of conception	53.1% 507	65.2% 674	59.4% 1181
When the mother first feels movement	20.1% 192	15.7% 162	17.8% 354
When the baby could survive on its own	14.8% 141	13.2% 136	13.9% 277
Moment of birth	11.0% 105	5.6% 58	8.2% 163
When the baby is healthy	1.0% 10	0.4% 4	0.7% 14
TOTAL	100.0% 955	100.0% 1034	1989

Religion (I-RELIGION)

	Protestant	Catholic	Jewish	Other	TOTAL
Moment of conception	60.7% 665	64.9% 403	21.2% 11	68.6% 59	61.4% 1138
When the mother first feels movement	18.1% 198	17.7% 110	23.1% 12	12.8% 11	17.9% 331
When the baby could survive on its own	12.9% 141	10.6% 66	32.7% 17	10.5% 9	12.6% 233
Moment of birth	7.6% 83	6.3% 39	23.1% 12	7.0% 6	7.6% 140
When the baby is healthy	0.7% 8	0.5% 3	0.0% 0	1.2% 1	0.6% 12
TOTAL	100.0% 1095	100.0% 621	100.0% 52	100.0% 86	1854