Majority of Americans Support Abortion Access Up to 6 Weeks: Poll
An overwhelming number of Americans support having abortion access during the first six weeks of pregnancy, a new poll discovered.
A new poll conducted by the Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs discovered that 73% of Americans believe abortion should be legal six weeks into a pregnancy, with 88% of Democrats in favor and 56% of Republicans also voicing their support.
When asked whether they believed abortion should be legal 15 weeks into a pregnancy, Americans were a little more divided. The poll showed that 51% of Americans support having access to abortion up to the 15-week mark, with 75% of Democrats in favor and 29% of Republicans in favor.
Meanwhile, 68% of Republicans were against the idea of having abortion be legal 15 weeks into a pregnancy, with 23% of Democrats also going against the idea.
The poll finds that 1 in 10 Americans say they know someone who has either been unable to get an abortion or who has had to travel to get one in the last year, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade https://t.co/XJPNTFVxhr
— Josh Boak (@joshboak) July 12, 2023
A majority of Americans, despite political affiliation, believe in abortion access under “certain circumstances, including if the child would be born with a life-threatening illness, the pregnant person’s own health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy, or the person became pregnant as the result of rape or incest,” according to the poll.
The poll also found 1-in-10 Americans said they knew someone who had been unable to receive an abortion or had to travel out of state to receive an abortion.
The poll comes a year after the Supreme Court voted 5-3 to overturn the landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, a draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito was published in a report from Politico. The draft opinion appeared to show the court’s decision to overturn the ruling.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion,” Alito wrote in the majority opinion.
The majority opinion adds, “Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
A similar poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist in April found six out of ten Americans, or 59%, oppose the Supreme Court’s decision from last year, and 40% agree with the decision.
The Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs poll was conducted between June 22-26 and surveyed 1,220 adults.
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