More Americans Support 15-Week Abortion Ban—But Don’t Want Stricter Restrictions—Poll Finds

Topline

A slightly larger share of Americans supports a 15-week abortion ban—which more states are passing and the Supreme Court could soon greenlight—than oppose it, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, even as most still want abortion to be legal before that point.

Key Facts

What To Watch For

The Supreme Court is now deliberating whether to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week ban, with a decision expected by late June or early July. Justices on the 6-3 conservative court signaled during oral arguments in the case they’re likely to side with Mississippi, though it’s still unclear whether they’ll narrowly uphold 15-week bans, or if their ruling will go even further and let states impose stricter restrictions—or overturn Roe v. Wade and let states ban abortion entirely. A growing number of states are imposing 15-week bans in the meantime: Arizona became the first state this year to enact a 15-week law on Wednesday, and Florida will soon follow, as the state has already passed a 15-week bill that’s just waiting on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature. West Virginia’s legislature is also considering a 15-week bill, which already passed the state’s House of Delegates in February.

Key Background

The Journal poll is in line with other polling on abortion that’s found Americans are broadly supportive of the procedure remaining legal, but are more willing to accept restrictions once it’s further into the pregnancy. The 15-week bans are part of a broader slew of state-level abortion restrictions that have been passed in recent years, with the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute reporting more than 100 were passed in 2021 alone, the most in a single year since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. Fifteen-week laws have become increasingly popular among anti-abortion lawmakers, however, the Washington Post reports, as the bans are seen as less “extreme” and controversial than stricter restrictions and let lawmakers curb abortion while seeming more “reasonable” and garnering less outrage from the left.

Surprising Fact

Only a small subset of abortions take place after 15 weeks—they made up just 2% of all U.S. abortions in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Abortion rights advocates stress it’s still important to have abortion access after 15 weeks, however, as many of the procedures that do take place are often for minors, people who didn’t have access to care sooner or those with health complications that only emerged later into the pregnancy.

Further Reading

Support for 15-Week Abortion Ban Outweighs Opposition, WSJ Poll Finds (Wall Street Journal)

Arizona Enacts 15-Week Abortion Ban — Same As Mississippi Law Supreme Court Now Weighing (Forbes)

Fla. Republicans ditch Texas-style abortion law for what they call a ‘generous’ 15-week ban, drawing criticism from all sides (Washington Post)

How Americans Really Feel About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results As Supreme Court Weighs Overturning Roe V. Wade (Forbes)