As the Supreme Court debates whether abortions should be performed in cases of medical emergencies even in states where the procedure is banned, a new Quinnipiac University poll finds a majority support the idea.

Eighty-nine percent of voters think abortion should be legal when it is necessary to save the mother, compared with 5% who do not.

What You Need To Know

  • A new Quinnipiac University poll finds 89% of voters think abortion should be legal when it is necessary to save the mother

  • Sixty-six percent say abortion should be legal in all cases

  • Support for abortions being illegal in all cases fell to a record low in Quinnipiac polling dating back to 2004

  • The Quinnipiac poll was conducted April 18-22 with 1,429 self-identififed registered voters nationwide

“There has never been this much approval for a woman’s right to choose in the last 20 years,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement Wednesday.

The poll found that 66% of voters think abortion should be legal in all cases (34%) or most cases (32%), compared with 27% who think abortion should be illegal in most cases (22%) or all cases (5%).

Support for legal abortion is the highest it has been in two decades of Quinnipiac University polling, while support for abortion being illegal in all cases is at a record low.

Eighty-five percent of voters think abortion should be legal when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest. On a more personal level, a majority of voters (53%) said they would support a family member or friend who told them she plans on having an abortion.

If that friend or family member planned on having an abortion after being a victim of incest or rape, 80% said they would support her plan.

Quinnipiac University has been conducting independent, nonpartisan national and state polls since 1994. The poll it released today was based on responses from 1,429 self-identified registered voters nationwide surveyed from April 18-22.