What Americans think about abortion and the parties' positions on it

Similar shares of Americans in the latest Economist / YouGov Poll say abortion should always be legal (31%), that it should be legal with some restrictions (30%), and that it should be only legal in special circumstances (31%), while 9% say abortion should always be illegal.

Half (51%) of Democrats say abortion should always be legal, while another 34% say it should have some restrictions. Most Independents also say abortion should either be always (36%) or mostly (31%) illegal. Among Republicans, 29% say abortion should be either always (5%) or mostly (24%) illegal, while 53% say abortion should be legal in special circumstances such as when the life of the mother is in danger. 18% of Republicans say abortion should always be illegal.

Majorities of Americans say the Democratic Party's position is that abortion should always be legal (58%) and that the Republican Party's position is that abortion should be illegal (55%). Democrats and Republicans are each likely to attribute more absolute views on abortion to the other party: More Republicans than Democrats say the Democratic Party's position is that abortion should always be legal (73% vs. 42%), and more Democrats than Republicans say the Republican Party's position is that abortion should be illegal (76% vs. 29%).

Among both Democrats and Republicans, people are likely to say that their own views on abortion also match their party's. For example, 58% of Democrats who say abortion should always be legal say that's the Democratic Party's position, compared to 17% of Democrats who say abortion should be legal with some restrictions. Likewise, 71% of Democrats who believe abortion should be legal with restrictions say that's also the Democratic Party's position, compared to 32% of Democrats who say abortion should always be legal.

The same holds true among Republicans: 57% of those Republicans who say abortion should be illegal say that's the Republican Party position, compared to 16% of those who say abortion should be legal in special circumstances. 72% of Republicans who say abortion should be legal in special circumstances say that's the party's position, compared to 33% of those who say abortion should be illegal.

Democrats and Republicans are more likely to say the other party's elected officials have a uniform position on abortion than they are to say their own party's officials do. 48% of Republicans say almost all Democratic officials agree with the Democratic Party's abortion position, compared to 33% of Democrats; 43% of Democrats and 20% of Republicans say the same about Republican officials and the Republican Party's abortion position.

Image: Getty (Heather Diehl / Staff)

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