Sometimes what appears to be almost a throwaway line in a news story is important, not because it tells us something new (although it might) but because it acknowledges a truth which rarely sees the light of day.

First the backdrop for the results of a CNN poll released today.

The hook for the story is that three issues–“Guns, immigration, abortion”–are “increasingly important to voters.” Our concern, obviously, is only the latter. What’s the important oh-by-the-way line in the story?

Overall, 39% of adults in the new poll think abortion should be legal in most circumstances, 58% that it should be illegal in most.

Even though we have made that argument over and over and over again, ordinarily we read/hear about the “pro-choice” majority. In this case, CNN did its job.

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CNN found that 18% said abortion should be illegal. Then it separated out those who believe abortion should be legal in “a few cases” [40%] versus those who said abortion should be legal in “most cases” [13%]. Putting together those who said abortion should be illegal with those who said legal in a few cases, CNN found that 58% believe abortion “should be illegal in most” circumstances.

One other important point: The change from almost a month ago was the increase in the percentage that said abortion should be legal in only a few circumstances–from 37% to 40%–with a concomitant drop in those who said abortion should be legal in all circumstances–from 30% to 26%.

I could not find in the poll results included online a breakdown (assuming there was one) of those who now thought abortion is “an important issue.” That is, was it more important to pro-lifers than pro-abortionists. Traditionally it is always more important to pro-lifers. All I see was the summary–it had increased from 20% of adults to 27%.

In addition, the poll of 1,012 adults September 4-8 found that “About 71% say it’s more important for Congress to approve a budget agreement that would avoid a government shutdown than to defund Planned Parenthood, 22% say it’s a bigger priority to eliminate the organization’s federal funding.”

According to CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta, “Even among those who say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, however, 63% say it’s a higher priority for the government to approve a budget and avoid a shutdown than to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.”

LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.