4.39 Partial-birth abortion? Here are three opinion poll questions on the same issue, with the poll results:

As you may know, the Supreme Court recently upheld a law that makes the procedure commonly known as a partial birth abortion illegal. Do you favor or oppose this ruling by the Supreme Court? Result: 53% favor; 34% oppose.

[T]he Supreme Court . . . upheld a law that makes . . . partial birth abortion illegal. [This] procedure [is] performed in the late-term of pregnancy, when in some cases the baby is old enough to survive. . . . The court’s ruling . . . [doesn’t] make an exception for the [mother’s] health. . . . Do you favor or oppose this ruling . . . ? Result: 47% favor; 43% oppose.

. . . I would like to ask your opinion about a specific abortion procedure known as a “late-term” . . . or “partial-birth” abortion, which is sometimes performed . . . during the last few months of pregnancy. Do you think . . . the government should make this procedure illegal, or do you think . . . the procedure should be legal? Result: 66% illegal; 28% legal.

Using this example, discuss the difficulty of using responses to opinion polls to understand public opinion.