Americans more supportive of abortion rights: poll

A new poll released Sunday found an increase in American support for abortion rights, despite a number of states passing new bans on the procedure.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 58 percent of respondents said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, marking an 8 point increase from a similar poll taken last July.

And 80 percent of respondents said that they support abortion in cases of rape or incest, with even more saying they are in favor of the procedure if the mother’s life is in danger.

{mosads}Among Democrats, 81 percent said abortion should be legal in most or all cases. A slight majority — 55 percent — of Republican respondents said it should be illegal in most or all cases.

The poll comes as several GOP-led state legislatures have moved to enact strict bans on abortion.

Alabama sparked national outcry with the strictest abortion law in the country, which effectively bans the practice altogether and would punish doctors who perform abortions.

And several states have passed so-called “heartbeat” bans, which prohibit abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into the pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

A federal judge on Friday blocked Mississippi’s “fetal heartbeat” law, saying it “threatens immediate harm to women’s rights.”

Proponents of the bans hope they will lead to the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.

The poll was conducted among 1,008 American adults from May 22-23 and has a credibility interval of 6 percentage points.