The city of Nashville is located in Tennessee. Most registered voters in Tennessee want exceptions for rape or incest in the state's abortion ban, but they don't know what's in the law as it stands today.
In a state that votes consistently for Republicans and has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, there's a big discrepancy. Three out of four people think that abortion should be legal if the baby is a result of rape or incest. According to the pollsters, less than one in five people were able to pick out which of the statements was most closely related to the current abortion law.
34% of respondents said they didn't know enough to say what the law meant, while 23% said they didn't know anything at all.
There is no explicit exemption for the mother's life. If an abortion is needed to save the mother's life or spare her from irreversible, severe impairment, it will be up to the doctor.
In legalese, the ban spells out anaffirmative defense to protect the mother's life, which Republican officials say means to make exceptions to protect pregnant women's health, even though it leaves the doctor to prove that the abortion was necessary.
If the Supreme Court strikes down the abortion rights ruling, they passed the law.
It is a Class C felony to perform an abortion.
The views of Tennesseans on rape and incest exceptions to the abortion ban echo what voters said nationally when they voted last month.
According to the AP VoteCast survey, about two-thirds of voters think abortion should be legal in most or all cases. Only a small percentage of people think abortion should be illegal all the time.
The Supreme Court's abortion decision made people angry and dissatisfied, compared with people who said they were happy.
Republicans continued to dominate in Tennessee even though the country had a split control of Congress. Despite facing attacks from his opponent over the abortion law, Republican Gov. Bill Lee won. Republicans gained a seat in the U.S. House without any close calls thanks to the reconfiguration of Nashville. Supermajorities were retained by the GOP in the state Legislature.
Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they were "pro-choice" or in favor of abortion rights, up 15 percentage points from a decade ago. The pro-life position fell from 42% in 2012 to 34% now.
In Tennessee, where voters don't register by political party, those who were surveyed said they'd be in favor of abortion restrictions if they were scaled back. A majority of voters think abortion should be illegal after 15 weeks only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, according to a poll.
John Geer, dean of the College of Arts and Science and co-director of the poll, said that he didn't think information got out as effectively as it could have.
Legislators are reacting to where the competition is. Their main threat is from their flank because Tennessee is a Republican state. They are prepared to support these kinds of laws even though they may not be supported by the broader public.
Lee has downplayed concerns that the abortion ban has caused confusion and fear in the medical community. Lee believes that doctors can use their best judgement to save the life of the mother.
Many medical officials in Tennessee disagree with Lee's assessment and have reached out to lawmakers to ask for more flexibility and clarification.
Some Republican lawmakers are starting to advocate for exceptions to be added to the current ban. When the General Assembly convenes next month, it's not known how successful those efforts will be.
The survey asked 1,180 registered Tennessee voters if they would vote in the election. The poll had a small margin of error.
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