Large share of Americans say abortion should be legal in some cases and illegal in others

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May 5, 2022

1. Americans’ views on whether, and in what circumstances, abortion should be legal

Large share of Americans say abortion should be legal in some cases and illegal in others

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Large share of Americans say abortion should be legal in some cases and illegal in others

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1. Americans’ views on whether, and in what circumstances, abortion should be legal
Americans’ views of abortion, 1995-2022
Sizable gaps by age, partisanship in views of whether abortion should be legal
Religion a significant factor in attitudes about whether abortion should be legal
A majority of U.S. adults say how long a woman has been pregnant should be a factor in determining whether abortion should be legal
More adults support restrictions on abortion later in pregnancy, with sizable shares saying ‘it depends’ at multiple points in pregnancy
A third of Republicans say abortion should be illegal six weeks into pregnancy; among Democrats, a third say abortion should be legal at 24 weeks
Majority of atheists say abortion should be legal at 24 weeks of pregnancy
Majorities say abortion should be legal if pregnancy threatens woman’s life; more uncertainty when it comes to baby being born with severe disabilities
Democrats broadly favor legal abortion in situations of rape or when a pregnancy threatens woman’s life; smaller majorities of Republicans agree
White evangelicals less likely than other Christians to say abortion should be legal in cases of rape, health concerns
Age, ideological divides in views of whether parents should be notified before abortion performed on minor
Public split on whether woman who had an abortion in a situation where it was illegal should be penalized
A chart showing relatively few say women, medical providers should serve jail time for illegal abortions, but three-in-ten say doctors should lose medical licens

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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

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