Most Americans support legal access to abortions in most cases: Survey

Most Americans still support legal abortions despite a wave of rollbacks following the Supreme Court's decision overturning the federal right to access the procedure over three years ago, a new survey shows.

The AP-NORC Research Center poll, published Thursday, revealed that 64 percent of participants said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. About 27 percent of people said the procedure should be illegal in most cases and 9 percent said it should be illegal in all cases.

The results were split along party lines.

A majority of Democrats, 85 percent, and independents, 67 percent, said they believe abortion should be lawfully permitted in cases of medically terminated pregnancies and use of an abortion pill. On the opposite side, 15 percent of Democrats and 33 percent of independents disagreed, according to the survey.

More than half, 58 percent, of Republicans said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while 41 percent of GOP respondents shared an opposite view.

The poll also found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, regardless of their political party, said abortions should be allowed if the mother's health is at risk due to pregnancy or in the case of rape, incest or potential fetal abnormality.

As states reflect on the impact of the 2022 Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health case — which overturned Roe v. Wade — the survey asked in which cases should medical abortions should be approved. 

Around 70 percent said abortions, which have increased since the landmark ruling, should be allowed in cases of maternal medical emergencies.  A small majority, 56 percent, also said mothers should be permitted to travel to obtain an abortion in a different state if it’s illegal where they reside. 

The AP-NORC poll was conducted from July 10-14 featuring 1,437 U.S. adults. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.