A new Wall Street Journal poll shows that a majority of Americans still want abortion to be legal before 15 weeks, even though more states are passing a 15-week abortion ban.
The justices hear arguments in a case about a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks.
The poll found that a majority of respondents support a restriction on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The share of people who oppose a 15-week ban is higher than those who support it.
Only 21% of Democrats supported 15-week bans, compared to 75% of Republicans.
In all or most cases, a majority of people still think abortion should be legal, but only in cases of rape, incest, and medical emergencies.
Half of Americans oppose the six-week abortion ban in Texas, and 42% of them support it.
According to the Journal, the poll was conducted among 1,500 registered voters and was done by Republican and Democratic polling firms.
The Supreme Court is considering whether to uphold Mississippi's 15-week ban, and a decision is expected by late June or early July. The 6-3 conservative court signaled during oral arguments that they are likely to side with Mississippi, though it is still unclear if they will uphold the 15-week ban or not. Arizona became the first state this year to impose a 15-week ban on Wednesday, and Florida will soon follow, as the state has already passed a 15-week bill that is just waiting on the governor. The West Virginia legislature is considering a 15-week bill, which passed the state's House of Delegates in February.
According to the Journal poll, Americans are broadly supportive of the procedure remaining legal, but are more willing to accept restrictions once the baby is born. The Guttmacher Institute says more than 100 state-level abortion restrictions have been passed in the last year, the most in a single year since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973. The Washington Post reports that fifteen-week laws have become more popular among anti-abortion lawmakers, as they are seen as less extreme and controversial than stricter restrictions.
Only a small subset of abortions take place after 15 weeks, making up 2% of all abortions in the U.S. in the most recent year for which data is available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's still important to have abortion access after 15 weeks, as many of the procedures that do take place are for minor girls, people who didn't have access to care sooner or people with health problems that only emerged later.
A WSJ poll found that support for a 15-week abortion ban was outweighing opposition.
The 15-week abortion ban in Arizona is the same as the Mississippi law.
Fla. The 15-week abortion ban that Republicans ditch is drawing criticism from all sides.
How Americans Really Feel About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results.
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