Poll: Plurality of Voters Support Pro-Life Texas Abortion Law

A plurality of voters support the pro-life law in Texas, which effectively bars the deliberate termination of a pregnancy after a fetal heartbeat is detected, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Tuesday found.

“The Supreme Court has refused to block a new Texas law that effectively prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Do you support or oppose the Texas law?” the survey asked.

A plurality, or 46 percent, said they support the law, compared to 43 percent who oppose it. Opinions on the Texas abortion law are sharply divided on party lines, as 70 percent of Republicans support it and 69 percent of Democrats oppose it. A plurality of independents, 44 percent, support it as well.

However, respondents were also asked if they support or oppose President Biden’s effort to protect legal abortion, and 46 percent, overall, said they do, compared to 45 percent who said they do not. Again, opinions were sharply divided on party lines, as 74 percent of Democrats support Biden’s effort, compared to 19 percent of Republicans.

Per Rasmussen:

President Biden’s strongest supporters are much more likely to believe that the federal government should be in charge of abortion laws. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 57% say abortion laws should be determined by the federal government. By contrast, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 69% believe abortion laws should be determined by state governments.

The survey also asked respondents who should determine abortion laws — the federal government or state governments. Just over one-third said the federal government should determine such laws, while 46 percent said the states.

The survey, taken September 5-6, 2021, among 1,000 U.S. likely voters, has a margin of error of +/-3 percent.

After the law took effect, it prompted a wave of backlash from left-wing politicians, including the president, who expressed their support for abortion and vow to fight on.

Biden described it as an “extreme” law and vowed to “protect and defend” the “right” for women to abort their children. Notably, Biden, a self-proclaimed Catholic, recently told reporters he does not agree with those who believe life begins at conception. That stands as a drastically different stance than the position he took in 2015, when he explicitly said he was “prepared to accept that the moment of conception is a human life and being.”