NBC/WSJ Poll: Majority, for First Time, Want Abortion to Be Legal
Of course I live in Kanas, where theocrats like Sam Brownback rule, so the polls won’t be coming back like that here.
As the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision takes place on Tuesday, a majority of Americans - for the first time - believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
What’s more, seven in 10 respondents oppose Roe v. Wade being overturned, which is the highest percentage on this question since 1989.
“These are profound changes,” says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart and his colleagues.
McInturff adds that the abortion-related events and rhetoric over the past year - which included controversial remarks on abortion and rape by two Republican Senate candidates, as well as a highly charged debate over contraception - helped shaped these changing poll numbers.
“The dialogue we have had in the last year has contributed … to inform and shift attitudes.”
According to the poll, 54 percent of adults say that abortion should be legal either always or most of the time, while a combined 44 percent said it should be illegal - either with or without exceptions.
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