Solid majority say abortion should be illegal after first trimester: poll

A solid majority say abortion should be illegal after the first trimester, a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found.

The poll released Friday showed 65 percent of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in most or all circumstances in the second trimester, or 4-6 months into pregnancy, and 80 percent believe it should be illegal in the third trimester.

Sixty-one percent said it should be legal in the first few months of pregnancy.

Those who said that abortion should be illegal starting in the second trimester include 35 percent who said it should be illegal in all circumstances and 30 percent who said it should be illegal in most circumstances. Twenty-six percent said it should be illegal in most cases in the third trimester, while 54 percent said it should be illegal in all cases then.

The poll included some exceptions. The majority of Democrats and Republicans said they believe abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest, if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life or if the baby will be born with a life-threatening illness.

The abortion fight in the U.S. continues, with many Republican states implementing laws to restrict abortions while Democratic states looking to expand abortion rights.

The country is almost divided evenly on if a woman should be able to obtain an abortion for any reason, with 50 percent saying “no” and 49 percent saying “yes,” the poll showed.

The Supreme Court is getting ready to hear a major abortion case regarding a Mississippi law that aims to ban abortion into the second trimester at 15 weeks.

Most laws looking to restrict abortions in the U.S. have been halted as they are being battled in the courts.