Support for legal abortion has surged since Supreme Court struck down protections, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A big majority of Americans oppose a federal ban on abortion, and a growing number of individuals support access to abortion for any reason, in keeping with a brand new poll that highlights a politically perilous situation for candidates who oppose abortion rights because the November election approaches.

About 6 in 10 Americans imagine their state should generally allow an individual to get a legal abortion in the event that they don’t want to be pregnant for any reason, in keeping with a brand new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That’s up from June 2021, a yr before the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to the procedure, when about half of Americans thought legal abortion needs to be available under those circumstances.

Americans are largely against the strict bans which have taken effect in Republican-controlled states since the Supreme Court ruling two years ago. Full bans, with few exceptions, have taken effect in 14 GOP-controlled states, while three other states ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, before women often realize they’re pregnant.

They are also staunchly against national abortion bans and restrictions. And views on abortion — which have long been relatively stable — could also be becoming increasingly permissive.

Vincent Wheeler, a 47-year-old Republican from Los Angeles, said abortion needs to be available for any reason until a fetus is viable outside the womb, the purpose at which doctors determine the fetus can survive outside the womb.

“There are so many reasons why someone might want or need an abortion that it’s up to that person to decide what they do in that situation,” Wheeler said, acknowledging that some Republicans might disagree.

Likely Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has declined to support a nationwide abortion ban, saying the difficulty needs to be left to the states. But even that position likely won’t satisfy most Americans, who still oppose many state abortion bans and imagine Congress should pass a law guaranteeing abortion access nationwide, in keeping with a poll.

Seven in 10 Americans imagine abortion needs to be legal in all or most cases, a slight increase from last yr, while about 3 in 10 imagine abortion needs to 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 abortion needs to be legal for any reason since he was an 18-year-old highschool senior because “life is full of gray areas.” As a youngster, he recalled reading stories about women who died attempting to get abortions before the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling established a constitutional right to the procedure.

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“Pregnancy is complicated,” he said. “Women should make decisions based on the advice of their doctor and family, but ultimately it’s their choice, their body and their life.”

He said he would support national protection of abortion rights.

Views on abortion have long been diverse and sometimes conflicting. A brand new AP-NORC poll shows that while the country is essentially hostile to abortion restrictions, a big number of individuals hold opinions and values ​​that are usually not internally consistent.

About half of people that imagine a girl should give you the chance to have an abortion for any reason also imagine their state mustn’t allow abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, and a couple of quarter say their state mustn’t allow abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

But a big majority of Americans — greater than 8 in 10 — still say abortion needs to be legal in extreme circumstances, reminiscent of when the patient’s life could be in peril if the pregnancy continued. About 8 in 10 say the identical about pregnancies brought on by rape or incest, or when a fetal abnormality would prevent the newborn from surviving outside the womb.

National abortion bans are generally unpopular: About 8 in 10 Americans imagine Congress mustn’t pass a federal law banning abortion. About three-quarters imagine there needs to be no federal law banning abortion at six weeks, and 6 in 10 oppose a federal law banning abortion at 15 weeks.

A majority of Republicans — about two-thirds, in keeping with the poll — imagine a nationwide abortion ban mustn’t be passed.

Trump campaigned on appealing to anti-abortion voters by highlighting his appointment of three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe. But his strategy on abortion policy has been to make concessions to states, trying to seek out a more cautious position on a problem that has develop into a serious Republican weakness since the 2022 Dobbs decision.

Despite Trump’s comments, Penny Johnson, 73, of Sherman Oaks, California, said she still worries that Republicans could pursue a nationwide abortion ban in the event that they win the White House and Congress in November.