Since Donald Trump's win in November, politicians across the nation have been feeling emboldened to pass even more anti-abortion legislation and limit access to the procedure.
Those moves to restrict reproductive rights have the backing of many Trump supporters, a new poll suggests.
According to the Glover Park Group survey conducted by Morning Consult, roughly 40% of Trump voters think a woman seeking an abortion should be punished if the procedure is made illegal in the U.S. And about 60% of Trump supporters believe abortion should be illegal. They're not that far off from what their former candidate has said about abortion. Back in March, Trump said that there "has to be some form of punishment" for women who undergo this procedure. He later walked back his statement, saying that the doctor performing the abortion should be the one being held "legally responsible." When it comes to a ban on abortion, 42% of Trump supporters surveyed said that they support exceptions in cases of rape or incest and to save the mother’s life. Still, 18% think abortion should always be illegal, with no exceptions. Trump has already said he intends to appoint a conservative justice to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy Justice Antonin Scalia left when he passed away earlier this year. When asked in a 60 Minutes interview last month about Roe v. Wade, Trump said that if the landmark case on the matter is overturned, he would leave the issue up to the states. "Then some women won't be able to get an abortion," journalist Leslie Stahl pressed. "Yeah. Well perhaps they have to go to another state," the president-elect responded. That option is not financially viable for many women. And given the increase in abortion restrictions across the country, there are plenty of women who are already forced to seek abortions in states other than their own. Despite what Trump supporters and the president-elect himself may think, research suggests overturning Roe v. Wade and punishing women will not stop them from having abortions. It will just send the U.S. back to the time of life-threatening, back-alley procedures for women.
According to the Glover Park Group survey conducted by Morning Consult, roughly 40% of Trump voters think a woman seeking an abortion should be punished if the procedure is made illegal in the U.S. And about 60% of Trump supporters believe abortion should be illegal. They're not that far off from what their former candidate has said about abortion. Back in March, Trump said that there "has to be some form of punishment" for women who undergo this procedure. He later walked back his statement, saying that the doctor performing the abortion should be the one being held "legally responsible." When it comes to a ban on abortion, 42% of Trump supporters surveyed said that they support exceptions in cases of rape or incest and to save the mother’s life. Still, 18% think abortion should always be illegal, with no exceptions. Trump has already said he intends to appoint a conservative justice to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy Justice Antonin Scalia left when he passed away earlier this year. When asked in a 60 Minutes interview last month about Roe v. Wade, Trump said that if the landmark case on the matter is overturned, he would leave the issue up to the states. "Then some women won't be able to get an abortion," journalist Leslie Stahl pressed. "Yeah. Well perhaps they have to go to another state," the president-elect responded. That option is not financially viable for many women. And given the increase in abortion restrictions across the country, there are plenty of women who are already forced to seek abortions in states other than their own. Despite what Trump supporters and the president-elect himself may think, research suggests overturning Roe v. Wade and punishing women will not stop them from having abortions. It will just send the U.S. back to the time of life-threatening, back-alley procedures for women.
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