Limbaugh credited "militant feminazis" for alleged lack of majority support for abortion rights

On the August 29 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh once again referred to abortion rights advocates as "feminazis," claiming that they have "made every abortion, regardless of cost, mandatory."

After reading from an August 29 Washington Post report on efforts by state legislatures to limit abortion rights, Limbaugh concluded -- questionably -- that "the majority opinion of the country is not pro-choice." Limbaugh then asserted that "[t]he militant feminazis, the militant feminists who have made every abortion, regardless of the cost, mandatory" are responsible for the alleged lack of majority support for abortion rights. "Over the years," Limbaugh claimed, "militant feminazism has backfired on them."

In fact, polling suggests that Limbaugh's conclusion is questionable. While an April 25-26 Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll found that only a plurality of respondents -- 47 percent -- said they were "pro-choice," a July 22-24 Gallup poll (subscription required) found that a slight majority -- 51 percent -- identified themselves as pro-choice. In both polls, 42 percent of respondents said they were "pro-life." Both polls had a margin of error of 3 percent.

Moreover, a May 12-16 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that the majority of respondents -- 55 percent -- said the choice to have an abortion should be left up to a "woman and her doctor." Twenty-nine percent said abortion should be legal only in cases of rape, incest, or a threat to the life of the mother; 14 percent said it should always be illegal. The margin of error was 3.1 percent. Additionally, a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press poll conducted July 13-17 found that "[a] consistent majority of Americans (65%) are opposed to overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing a woman's right to abortion." The poll had a 3 percent margin of error. As Media Matters for America has documented, recent polls have consistently found that more than six in 10 Americans believe Roe should be upheld.

Limbaugh has frequently conflated feminism and Nazism in the past. On June 22, he defended his past use of the term "feminazi" as "right" and "accurate" but falsely claimed that he hadn't "used that term on this program in years."

From the August 29 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: How can this be happening, ladies and gentlemen? How could these people in these states do it? It is happening in blue states as well. How can this be if the majority opinion of the country is pro-choice? Well, the answer to the question is, the majority opinion of the country is not pro-choice. And to whom do we owe gratitude? The militant feminazis, the militant feminists who have made every abortion, regardless of the cost, mandatory, who have made it clear that that's the sole reason they exist. I mean, every abortion possible can happen. Over the years, militant feminazism has backfired on them. With a little help.

—J.S.