WASHINGTON — A solid majority of Americans are against a federal abortion ban As a growing number of people support access to abortions for any reason, a new poll finds, highlighting a politically dangerous situation for candidates opposing abortion rights in November elections come closer.
About 6 in 10 Americans believe their state should generally allow a person to get a legal abortion if he or she does not want to become pregnant for whatever reason, according to a new poll from the U.S. Department of Health and Environment (FMO). The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s a increase from June 2021a year before the Supreme Court Overturned the constitutional right to the procedure, while about half of Americans believed legal abortion should be possible under these circumstances.
Americans are largely opposed to the strict bans that have been put into effect in Republican-controlled states since the Supreme Court ruling two years ago. Complete banshave, with some exceptions, come into effect in 14 Republican-led states, while three other states ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, before women often realize they are pregnant.
They also overwhelmingly oppose national abortion bans and restrictions. And their views on abortion — which relatively stable for a long time — perhaps become more permissive.
Vincent Wheeler, a 47-year-old Republican from Los Angeles, said abortion should be available for any reason until viabilitythe point at which health care providers say it is possible for a fetus to survive outside the womb.
“There are so many reasons why someone might want or need an abortion that it should be up to that individual what to do in that particular circumstance,” Wheeler said, acknowledging that some Republicans might disagree.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is likely to have refused to sign a nationwide abortion ban, saying the issue should be left up to the states. But even that position is likely to be unsatisfactory for most Americans, who continue to oppose many abortion bans within their own states, and believe Congress should adopt a law that guarantees access to abortions nationwide, the poll found.
Seven in ten Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This is a slight increase from last year. About three in ten believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
Robert Hood, a 69-year-old from Universal City, Texas, who identifies as an “independent liberal,” has believed since he was 18 and a senior in high school that abortions should be allowed for any reason because “life is full of gray areas.” He recalls reading stories as a teenager about women who died trying to get an abortion, before the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling created a constitutional right to the procedure.
“Pregnancy is complicated,” he said. “Women have to make the choice with the advice of their doctor and family, but ultimately it is her choice and her body and her life.”
He said he would support national protection of abortion rights.
Opinions on abortion have long been nuanced and sometimes contradictory. The new AP-NORC survey shows that while the country is largely hostile to abortion restrictions, a significant number of people hold views and values that are internally inconsistent.
About half of those who believe a woman should be able to have an abortion for any reason also say their state should not allow abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. About a quarter say their state should not allow abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
But the vast majority of Americans — more than 8 in 10 — continue to say abortion should be legal in extreme circumstances, such as when a patient is pregnant. life would be in danger by continuing the pregnancy. About 8 in 10 say the same about a pregnancy caused by rape or incest or when a fetal abnormality would prevent the child from surviving outside the womb.
National abortion bans are generally unpopular: About 8 in 10 Americans say Congress should not pass a federal law banning abortion. About three-quarters say there should be no federal law banning abortion after six weeks, and 6 in 10 oppose a federal law banning abortion after 15 weeks.
Most Republicans (about two-thirds, according to the survey) believe there should be no nationwide ban on abortion.
During the campaign, Trump courted anti-abortion voters by highlighting his appointment of three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe. But his strategy about the abortion policy leave to the statesan attempt to take a more cautious stance on an issue that a great vulnerability for Republicans since the 2022 Dobbs ruling.
Despite Trump’s comments, Penny Johnson, 73, of Sherman Oaks, California, said she is deeply concerned that Republicans will pursue a nationwide ban on abortion if they win the White House and Congress in November.
“Many women will die,” she said.
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The poll of 1,088 adults was conducted June 20-24, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
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Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press pollster Linley Sanders contributed to this report.
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