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A new Fox News poll demonstrates that the vast majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal most of the time.
While polling alone shouldn’t dictate abortion policy, the survey suggests that the protection and expansion of abortion rights continues to be a winning electoral issue, backing up conclusions that pro-abortion candidates and advocates have showcased since the Supreme Court dismantled federal abortion protections nearly two years ago.
According to the poll, which was conducted from March 22-25, 41 percent of voters rate abortion as an “important” issue in deciding their vote for president — the highest rate observed in the history of Fox News polling. Voters also seem to view President Joe Biden as a more trustworthy candidate on the issue, with 53 percent saying he’d do a better job governing on abortion-related issues, versus 41 percent saying the same about Trump.
The poll’s respondents also indicated they wanted more abortion protections, with nearly 6 in 10 voters (59 percent) saying abortion should be legal “most of the time” or “always.” Thirty-two percent took the more restrictive viewpoint that abortion should be illegal except in certain circumstances, while only 7 percent said the procedure should always be illegal.
Respondents also rejected gestational-based bans. When asked if they supported a six-week abortion ban, only 38 percent said yes, while 58 percent said they opposed the idea. On a 15-week ban, 43 percent said they supported the idea, with 54 percent saying no — a complete flip in numbers from a Fox News poll from last year. Voters were split on a 24-week ban, with 48 percent saying they favored such a ban and 48 percent saying they did not.
The poll’s release comes just one week after Trump expressed his support for a 15-week national abortion ban during a radio interview on WABC in New York.
“We’re going to come up with a time — and maybe we could bring the country together on that issue,” Trump said, adding that he’s “thinking in terms” of a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Trump further claimed in that interview that he believed abortion bans should be enacted on a state-by-state basis, but that he felt a 15-week federal ban would be “reasonable.”
Critics condemned Trump’s anti-abortion statements.
“We know that [bans like these create] very real daily harms for pregnant people across the country — people who oftentimes want their pregnancy but abortion is the only viable treatment for them to save their own lives,” said MSNBC political analyst Juanita Tolliver. “When Trump says things like this, it can’t be dismissed.”
“There is no such thing as a ‘reasonable’ abortion ban,” a social media post from Emily’s List said following Trump’s interview. “All abortion bans are dangerous, and we have to stop extremists like Trump, who will continue to pawn away our fundamental freedoms to gain political points.”
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