Survey: Over 60% of adults say most abortions should be legal in U.S.

Approximately six in 10 U.S. adults believe abortion should be legal in "all or most cases," according to a newly released Pew Research Center survey.

Driving the news: The poll was conducted before the leak of the draft opinion revealing the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade and shows how a wide swath of the public is supportive of abortion rights.

By the numbers: 61% of those surveyed say abortion should be legal "in all or most cases." Of those, 36% say it should be legal "in most cases" and 19% say it should be legal without any exceptions.

  • 6% say it should be legal, "but there are some exceptions when abortion should be against the law."
  • 37% say abortion should be illegal "in all or most cases," with 27% saying it should be illegal "in most cases" and 8% saying it should be outlawed in all cases without exceptions.
  • 2% said abortion should be illegal in all cases, "but there are some exceptions when abortion should be legal."

Between the lines: Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans to say that abortion should be legal (80% to 38%).

  • Democrats' positive views on abortion have been increasing, up from 72% in 2016 and 63% in 2007.
  • "The share of Americans who say abortion should be legal in all or most cases is little changed in recent years," Pew writes. But support has increased.

The big picture: If Roe is overturned, access to abortion would no longer be federally protected and instead states would have the authority to regulate it.

  • 13 states so far have "trigger" laws that would outlaw abortions immediately, punishable by imprisonment and large fines.

Red states have rushed to enact increasingly strict laws around when a person can obtain an abortion.

  • Over half of adults (60%) say that providers who offer an abortion in a situation where it is illegal should face penalties, according to Pew.
  • Only half of respondents say that the person getting the abortion should not face a penalty in a situation where the abortion is illegal.

Overall, 56% of adults say that how long a person has been pregnant should be considered when determining whether abortion should be legal.

  • Six-week bans: 44% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal at this point, versus 21% who disagree. 19% said "it depends."
    • Texas and Oklahoma are the only two states with six-week abortion bans in effect. Idaho enacted a similar one, but it was blocked by a federal court.
  • 14-week bans: 34% of respondents believe abortion should be legal while 27% say it should be illegal at this stage. 22% said "it depends."
    • 24-week bans: 22% say it should be legal, 43% say abortions should not be allowed at this stage, which is around the time viability is established and in line with Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
      • 18% responded that "it depends."

      What they're saying: "I want to mention that views of abortion have remained relatively stable over the past several years," said Hannah Hartig, a research associate at the Pew Research Center.

      • However, "Generally speaking … people aren't necessarily thinking about this issue," she said when asked if she believed the survey results to be different if it had been conducted after the Supreme Court leak.
      • "In a poll conducted earlier this year … we found abortion was kind of lower on the list of voters' important issues in the midterms. However, we're in a new world now, so it's certainly something that we're going to be tracking," she added.

      Worth noting: Around three in 10 adults (33%) say that the decision to get an abortion belongs solely to the pregnant person.

      Methodology: Pew Research Center conducted this study to examine the U.S. public's attitudes about abortion. The center surveyed 10,441 U.S. adults from March 7-13, 2022.

      • The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 10,441 respondents is ±1.5 percentage points.

      Go deeper:

      • Red states race to enact new abortion restrictions
      • Abortions could require 200-mile trip if Roe is overturned
      • What abortion access would look like if Roe v. Wade is overturned

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