Americans Support Pro-Life Law That Bans Dismemberment Abortions

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 17, 2021   |   11:34AM   |   Washington, DC

A new national poll shows Americans support a pro-life law from Mississippi that the Supreme Court will soon consider that bans the gruesome dismemberment abortion procedure.

A new poll from Marquette Law School found support across the country for the ban on abortions after 15 weeks that the nation’s highest court will contemplate in the Dobbs case set for oral arguments on December 1.

Thus, survey respondents were asked if they would favor or oppose a ruling to “uphold a state law that (except in cases of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities) bans abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy” or if they haven’t heard enough about this to have an opinion. Thirty-seven percent favor a decision upholding such a law, while 32% would oppose such a ruling and 30% say they haven’t heard enough.

According to the poll, conservatives and independents support the 15 week abortion ban while liberals oppose it.

Follow LifeNews.com on Instagram for pro-life pictures and videos.

Table 9: Favor or oppose upholding 15-week abortion ban, by ideological self-placement, Nov. 2021

Ideology Heard nothing/not enough Favor Oppose
Very conservative 16 80 5
Somewhat conservative 32 55 12
Moderate 36 32 32
Somewhat liberal 30 15 55
Very liberal 17 17 65

Party differences in opinion of the Dobbs issue are shown in Table 10.

Table 10: Favor or oppose upholding 15-week abortion ban, by party identification, Nov. 2021

Party ID Heard nothing/not enough Favor Oppose
Republican 28 60 12
Lean Republican 26 59 15
Independent 39 35 25
Lean Democrat 29 15 56
Democrat 29 23 48

In 2018, Mississippi passed a law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Currently, under Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, however, states are prohibited from protecting unborn babies from abortion before viability, about 22 weeks of pregnancy.

The case before the Supreme Court on Dec. 1, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, centers around the question of “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortion are unconstitutional.”

Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans oppose late-term abortions and support stronger legal protections for unborn babies.

A June poll from AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a strong majority of Americans support laws like Mississippi’s. According to the poll, 65 percent believe abortions should be illegal in the second trimester and 80 percent in the third.

Similarly, a recent Gallup poll found that 52 percent of Americans take a pro-life position on abortion, waiting all (19 percent) or almost all (33 percent) of abortions made illegal. In contrast, 45 percent of Americans say all (32 percent) or almost all (13 percent) abortions should be legal.

And a January poll from Marist found that more than three quarters of Americans (76 percent), including a majority who identify as pro-choice, want significant restrictions on abortion.

Several recent polls also found support for heartbeat laws that ban abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable.

Since 1973, nearly 63 million unborn babies have been killed legally in abortions under Roe v. Wade.