Recent polling data originating in part with The Des Moines Register shows 61 percent of Iowa adults saying they believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. And yet, Republican leaders in their state recently provided a final round of approval to a six-week ban on the procedure, meaning a block on obtaining abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before some even know they’re pregnant.
In general, these sharply restrictive limits from Republican state officials have some exceptions, but those exceptions are limited. Even exceptions for cases involving rape or incest have been decried as not necessarily showing compassion to victims, since they’re still generally compelled to effectively relive portions of their experiences in order to obtain the reproductive care that was formerly available much more broadly. And in cases where there is a health risk to the pregnant individual, there is a danger that many have discussed of lengthy delays before providing an abortion during which medical personnel grapple with whether the case is serious enough to warrant the exception — while the pregnant person faces potentially substantial damage to their health.
The polling was conducted in March of this year, but it became relevant again because of the Iowa legislature’s new approval for those abortion restrictions. States around the country have seen new limits on accessing abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and left that matter to, well, states, though jurisdictions with Democratic leaders have often moved the other direction. And returning to voters, amendments to state Constitutions that put protections for abortion into the highest levels of state law have moved through several states, including California and Michigan. A similar proposal has been under development in Ohio, with Republicans there trying to make the needed level of support for passage higher before voters would be deciding.
The Iowa polling is relatively consistent with trends seen on the national level. In general, most Americans oppose the decision of the Supreme Court to turn back the clock on abortion rights. An overall majority opposed the decision in YouGov polling done earlier this month.
context: Iowa Republicans just passed a 6-week abortion ban pic.twitter.com/tzUMsse9QF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 12, 2023
