Results of Poll 3: Roe v. Wade

Marblehead Beacon concluded a poll this week asking readers their opinion on abortion rights.

The poll asked: In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade, where do you feel that restrictions, if any, should be placed on abortion access? 

We received 172 responses. The results showed that 49.4% (85 votes) believe abortion should be legal at all times with no restrictions. A total of 37.5% (65 votes) believe that the stage of pregnancy should be a factor in determining the legality of abortion, with 14.5% (25 votes) saying abortion should be unrestricted until the end of the second trimester, 14.5% (25 votes) saying abortion should be unrestricted until the end of the first trimester, and 8.5% (15 votes) saying abortion should be unrestricted until a heartbeat can be detected (at approximately 6 weeks). In addition, 10.5% (18 votes) believe abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother and 2.3% (4 votes) believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. Please note this was not a scientific poll.

By way of comparison, a May 6, 2022 Pew Poll showed that 19% of the American adults polled say that abortion should be legal with no exceptions. The majority of those polled believe that the stage of pregnancy should be a factor in determining the legality of abortion, with 71% of respondents saying abortion should be legal in some cases and illegal in others. 56% say the state of pregnancy should matter in determining the legality and 14% say that the stage of pregnancy should not matter. Those who believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, with no exceptions, total 8% in the Pew Poll. The Pew Poll included 10,441 adults and was conducted between March 7 and 13, 2022.