A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll has revealed that most Americans continue to support restrictions on abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The poll found that 10 months after the fall of Roe, Americans still want abortion to be significantly restricted. In fact, the poll revealed, “Two in three Americans want significant restrictions placed on abortion. 66% say abortion should only be allowed, at most, within the first three months during pregnancy.”
Interestingly, the poll found, “Nearly six in ten Americans (59%) oppose the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 40% support the decision,” but also found that only “22% of Americans believe abortion should be available at any time during pregnancy” — which is what Roe v. Wade and its sister case Doe v. Bolton allowed thanks to the legal loophole of “mother’s health.” This indicates that most Americans are unaware of exactly what Roe allowed: abortion up to birth.
In addition, the poll revealed, “Most Republicans (86%) and independents (73%) favor restricting abortion to, at most, the first trimester of pregnancy. While a majority of Democrats (58%) favor a longer window for abortions to be performed, even 42% of Democrats want limitations.” And the poll found that the proportion of Americans who support pro-life laws “up to the time of cardiac activity at about 6 weeks” has increased from 27% to 40%. The human heart actually begins to beat at just 16-21 days post-fertilization, though it is often not detectable until the six week mark.
The poll also revealed that Americans have seemingly accepted the misconceptions about abortion and abortion laws as factual.
According to the poll, 82% of Americans continue to support abortion to protect the life or health of the mother, yet induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — is not necessary in order to end a pregnancy when the mother’s health is at risk. A child who is delivered prematurely may or may not survive depending on his or her age, but children born as young as 21 weeks have survived outside the womb with proper medical care. The goal of doctors should be to save both mother and child if possible, not to intentionally end a human’s life.
In addition, treatment for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy treatment, and emergency deliveries are not induced abortions and are not prohibited by any current pro-life law. This is because the intent of these procedures is not to actively kill the baby — which in contrast is the sole purpose of an induced abortion.
Another misconception that the abortion industry has been spreading is that the abortion pill is safer than various other drugs. However, the data available on the safety of the abortion pill is very limited because, since 2016, the government has only required that abortion pill-related deaths are reported — not all adverse events. Research carried out by the pro-abortion group Gynuity has shown, however, that 6% of women who took the abortion pill required care at an ER or urgent care facility — and that is believed to be a low estimate. This data mirrors that of abortion complications in the United Kingdom, where it was found that nearly 6% of women who took the abortion pill between June 1, 2019, and May 31, 2021, were treated for complications. In addition, a 2020 report from Marie Stopes Australia revealed an abortion pill complication rate of 6.37%. The abortion pill has also been reported to be four times more dangerous than a first-trimester abortion.
Still, according to the poll, 64% of Americans oppose a law prohibiting the use of the abortion pill. The pro-abortion media continues to claim that it is safer than Tylenol, Viagra, and even penicillin, misleading the public about this drug, which is designed to kill humans in the womb; for them, this drug is never “safe.”
