The poll found that 73% of all U.S. adults, including 58% of those in states with the strictest bans, believe abortion should be allowed at six weeks of pregnancy. Just one state currently has a ban in effect that kicks in around then. That’s Georgia, where abortion is banned once cardiac activity can be detected — around six weeks and before women often know they’re pregnant. Ohio and South Carolina have similar bans that are not being enforced because of court action, and Florida has one that hasn’t taken effect.
About half of Americans say abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, though 55% of those living in the most restrictive states say abortion should be banned by that point.
And by 24 weeks, about two-thirds of Americans, including those who live in states with the fewest restrictions, say it should be barred.
[This is a national poll on an issue that has been returned to the states, but it’s still relevant to the upcoming presidential election. It suggests that the middle may be comfortable with restrictions ranging from six to fifteen weeks, and that anything on either side of that becomes difficult to sell. Trump has been moving away from six-week position that DeSantis took in Florida as too poisonous for a national campaign, but this data suggests that most of the country (73%) would at least grudgingly accept it, perhaps conditionally depending on any exceptions. Democrats who favor unrestricted access are extremists, but Republicans have to aggressively engage on the issue to make that point, not try to duck it. — Ed]
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