A recent poll on gender identity issues suffers from the same flaw as abortion polling. Intentional or not, the poll used loaded language or unclear terms that tilted the respondents toward liberal answers.

“Majority of Americans Oppose Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Those Under 18,” Grinnell College recently reported .

“With many states in the process of or recently enacting legislation to ban gender-affirming care for transgender individuals under the age of 18, respondents were asked if they favored or opposed legislation that would ban transgender children from receiving such care with the approval of their parents or guardians and their doctors,” the college reported. “A majority (53%) oppose this type of legislation, indicating they reject a ban. Those most likely to oppose are Democrats (78%).”

But this type of question is flawed in several ways that would lead the average respondent to oppose the “ban” even if that’s not what they actually believe. As someone who previously worked in media relations for a national pro-life group and regularly reviewed abortion polling, I am seeing some of the same issues with polls on transgenderism that I saw with polls on abortion.

First, the term “gender-affirming care” means the opposite of what the plain language understanding would indicate. Since it is not possible for someone to actually change their gender, “gender-affirming care” sounds like helping a person who struggles with gender dysphoria come to a healthy understanding that they have a mental health issue, but it can be treated, or at least managed.

Second, the use of the term “care” is broad enough that when paired with “affirming,” it sounds like a medical professional providing counseling to assist someone in overcoming gender identity issues.

The poll does not mention drugs and surgeries nor explain what “gender-affirming” means. In many ways, then, this poll is similar to abortion polling, which often did not define the meaning of Roe v. Wade, which allowed abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. Professor Michael New, a social scientist at the Catholic University of America and a researcher on pro-life polling, said that “[p]ollsters and survey research firms should ask more questions about specific types of pro-life laws, including limits on taxpayer funding for abortion, parental involvement laws, and gestational age limit.”

Polling on transgender issues should similarly give specific explanations of what the laws do and what is involved in the drugs and surgeries given to gender-dysphoric individuals. While polls do not determine morality, it is a fact of life that politicians vote based on what they think is popular.

A good poll question might say, “Some states want to prohibit 14-year-old girls from permanently removing healthy breast tissue and eliminating their ability to breastfeed . Do you agree or disagree with such a law?”

Another question might be, “Around 80% of individuals who struggle with gender identity issues will eventually grow out of this confusion. Do you support a law that would require individuals to wait until they are 25 years old before taking hormones or having surgery?”

A third option: “Research into the benefits of drugs and surgeries for individuals with gender identity issues has faced scrutiny for its methods and applicability . Do you think children should receive experimental injections using drugs off-label to halt puberty, or should there be a pause?”

Transgenderism is the latest political hot topic, and policymakers deserve to have accurate information on how individuals truly feel about these issues. Politicians and the general public deserve better than to be manipulated into supporting transgender drugs and surgeries because of biased polling that does not reflect reality.

Matt Lamb is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is an associate editor for the College Fix and has previously worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.