Poll: Support for legal, first-trimester abortion access at all-time high

Almost 70% of Americans believe that first-trimester abortions should "generally be legal," according to a new Gallup poll that sheds more light on the nation's deep political divide on the issue almost one year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Sixty-nine percent of Americans say abortion should generally be legal in the first three months of pregnancy, the highest share in Gallup’s polling dating back to 1996. Seventy-four percent of independents and 86% of Democrats feel that way, while 47% of Republicans agree.

There is significantly less support for abortion access later in a pregnancy — 37% of adults support second-trimester abortion access "generally" and 22% say the same about third-trimester abortion access. But support for both have ticked up 9 percentage points since 2018 and now also sit at all-time highs for Gallup's polling.

While the survey captures when Americans feel abortion should be "generally" legal, the poll does not specifically survey attitudes about exceptions to abortion bans in cases like rape, incest or the life of the mother.

Continuing the trend since last year, when a majority of Americans said they identified as "pro-choice" for the fist time since 2006, 52% now say they're "pro-choice." Forty-four percent identify as "pro-life," while 4% say they're either unsure, neither or have a mixed opinion.

Overall, Americans are divided on whether abortion should be legal in any or most circumstances, versus whether it should be legal in few or no circumstances.

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Forty-nine percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in only a few or no circumstances, while 47% say it should be legal in any or most circumstances.

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Unsurprisingly, Democrats and independents remain significantly more likely to be open to legal abortion than Republicans at any point in a pregnancy.

Three in four Democrats believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, a view shared by 52% of independents but just 15% of Republicans.

Conversely, 83% of Republicans think abortion should be legal in only a few or in no circumstances, a view shared by 44% of independents but just 22% of Democrats.