Most Americans support limits on abortion, religious freedom for medical professionals: poll

A new poll shows widespread support for limits on abortion as the issue takes center stage at Friday’s annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Marist College, in conjunction with the Catholic organization Knights of Columbus, released the results of a survey Thursday based on responses collected from 1,387 adults between Jan. 7-9. The poll, which sampled Americans’ opinions about abortion and religious freedom, had a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points. Its release comes one day before the March for Life, an annual demonstration in Washington, D.C. spearheaded by pro-life activists.
Overall, a majority of Americans (62%) considered themselves pro-choice, while 36% described themselves as pro-life. The share of Americans characterizing themselves as pro-life was the lowest since June 2019, when 35% of respondents embraced the pro-life label.
Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who identify as pro-choice was the highest recorded in the survey in the past 15 years. Broken down by partisan affiliation, most Democrats (86%) and independents (64%) considered themselves pro-choice, while a majority of Republicans (63%) characterized themselves as pro-life.
However, just 27% of Americans agreed that “abortion should be available to a woman any time she wants one during her pregnancy.” Another 12% believed that “abortion should be allowed only during the first six months of a pregnancy.” Twenty-one percent of those surveyed expressed support for limiting abortion to the first three months of pregnancy, while 23% want to ban abortion except in cases where the baby was conceived as a result of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.
The remaining respondents either felt that “abortion should be allowed only to save the life of the mother” (9%) or that abortion should be banned entirely (7%). The survey noted that a combined total of 60% of those surveyed embraced some form of limits on abortion, referring to the latter four positions having the most restrictions. Support for limits on abortion was significantly higher among Republicans (80%) and independents (64%) than Democrats (40%).
In response to a question explicitly asking about abortion limits, two-thirds of respondents (67%) thought restrictions should be placed on abortion, while 32% believed that abortion should be permitted without any limits. Most pro-life Americans (87%), Republicans (86%), independents (68%) and pro-choice Americans (55%) supported limits on abortion, while 50% of Democrats thought that no limits should be placed on abortion.
The overwhelming majority of those surveyed (82%) agreed that “it is possible to have laws which protect both the health and well-being of the mother and the life of the unborn,” while 15% embraced the opposite position that “it is necessary for laws to choose to protect one and not the other.” Most Democrats (78%), pro-choice Americans (79%), independents (82%), Republicans (87%) and pro-life Americans (88%) held the former position.
In response to a question asking if they thought laws restricting abortion should include exceptions for “rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother at any time during pregnancy,” 86% favored including exceptions to the law, while 12% said the opposite. Majorities of pro-life Americans (73%), Republicans (80%), independents (88%), Democrats (91%) and pro-choice Americans (94%) supported the exceptions.
In addition to asking for respondents’ views about abortion, the poll pressed them for their thoughts on religious freedom. A majority of those surveyed (57%) either opposed or strongly opposed using taxpayer funding to pay for abortion, while 41% took the opposite view. Most Democrats (64%) and pro-choice Americans (57%) favored using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, while most pro-life Americans (84%), Republicans (83%) and independents (58%) opposed taxpayer funding of abortions.
An even larger majority of Americans (73%) expressed opposition to using federal taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions in other countries. Opposition to taxpayer funding of abortions overseas extended across Democrats (55%), pro-choice Americans (63%), independents (78%), Republicans (88%) and pro-life Americans (88%).
Sixty-two percent of those surveyed insisted that it “should not be legally required” for medical professionals opposed to abortions on religious grounds to perform them. Majorities of pro-life Americans (81%), Republicans (75%), independents (67%) and pro-choice Americans (51%) held this position. Democrats were the only group where a majority (51%) thought medical professionals should be legally required to perform abortions even if their deeply held religious beliefs prevent them from doing so in good conscience.
When asked if they believed that women seeking access to abortion pills should have to make an in-person visit to a doctor, 63% of Americans answered in the affirmative, as did 81% of Republicans, 79% of pro-life Americans, 59% of independents and 54% of pro-choice Americans. Conversely, most Democrats (52%) did not think an in-person doctor visit was necessary for women seeking to purchase abortion pills.
Five-in-six respondents (83%) indicated some level of support for “pregnancy resource centers which are places that do not perform abortions but instead offer support to people during their pregnancy and after the baby is born.” Support for pro-life pregnancy centers extended across all demographic subgroups, measured at 79% among Democrats, 80% among pro-choice voters, 83% among independents and 88% among both Republicans and pro-life Americans.
In spite of Americans’ stated support for limits on abortion as reflected in the poll, voters in several states have approved ballot measures establishing a constitutional right to abortion with few or no restrictions. Voters in California, Michigan and Vermont approved such referendums in 2022, while a similar constitutional amendment passed in Ohio in 2023.
In 2024, voters in seven states supported measures establishing rights to abortion in their respective constitutions either directly or indirectly: Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York.
Only in three states, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, did efforts to enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution come up short.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com