A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that around 6 in 10 Americans believe their state should generally allow legal abortion for any reason, showing an increase from 2021.
Americans are predominantly opposed to strict abortion bans implemented in Republican-controlled states after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure two years earlier.
The big picture: The poll indicates that views on abortion have become more permissive, with 70% of Americans supporting legal abortion in all or most cases.
- Public opinion on abortion has been shaped by complex and sometimes contradictory beliefs, with a majority supporting abortion in extreme circumstances such as endangerment to the patient’s life, pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or fetal anomalies.
- The poll, which was conducted by interviewing 1,088 adults, demonstrates that most Republicans and Americans overall do not favor a federal law banning abortion, with many Republicans supporting a nationwide abortion ban.
- Despite the conservative stance on abortion adopted by the Supreme Court, likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has refrained from endorsing a nationwide abortion ban, emphasizing that the issue should be left up to the states.
