Even Alabamians don’t agree with banning abortion in cases of rape or incest, a previously unreleased poll shows.
A previously unreleased poll shows that a majority of Alabamians do not support the kind of extreme abortion ban passed by their state legislature this week, AL.com reports, revealing that Alabama lawmakers seem to be out of step even with their own highly conservative electorate.
According to the 2018 statewide poll, conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research on behalf of Planned Parenthood, only 31 percent of Alabamians were in favor of an abortion ban that lacks a rape/incest exception. As Vox’s Anna North reported, the ban signed into law by Alabama’s Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday does not have an exception for rape or incest.
A minority of respondents said they believe in bans that go further than Alabama’s current law; 15 percent responded that abortion should be illegal in all cases, including in cases in which a pregnancy would threaten the pregnant woman’s life. Slightly more — 16 percent — said abortion should be banned in all cases, except for when a pregnant woman’s life is in danger.
Overall, however, the numbers reveal that while a majority of Alabamians do oppose abortion, most believe in a rape or incest exception at the very least (as do most Americans, as Vox’s Anna North explains).
