48 percent in new poll say they would support 16-week abortion ban

Nearly half of Americans in a new poll said they would back a national 16-week abortion ban after The New York Times reported former President Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, privately expressed support for the measure. 

The Economist/YouGov new poll found 48 percent of respondents would support a national ban on abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy, including 27 percent who strongly support that restriction. Thirty-six percent said they would oppose such a ban, while another 16 percent said they were not sure.

When asked when abortion should be legal, if at all, 38 percent said the procedure should only be allowed in “special circumstances,” such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Another 8 percent said abortion should never be allowed.

Twenty-nine percent said abortion should be legal with some restrictions, while 24 percent said abortion should always be legal with no restrictions.

If Trump wins the general election in November, 23 percent said they believe abortion rights will be lost entirely. Eighteen percent said abortion rights would be weakened, and 25 percent said they would remain unchanged.

The poll was conducted Feb. 18-20 among 1,562 adults and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

The Times reported last week that Trump has privately indicated he supports the idea of a ban on abortion after 16 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Democrats quickly jumped on the report to accuse the former president of trying to hide his abortion views. Trump’s campaign did not address the reported comments but said he would “sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone will be happy with.”

“President Trump appointed strong Constitutionalist federal judges and Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the decision back to the states, which others have tried to do for over 50 years,” campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, referring to the Times’s report as “fake news.”