A poll released yesterday by the polling company, inc./WomanTrend reveals that just under two-thirds of Americans support legislation prohibiting abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, including almost 80 percent of Millennials. The polling group interviewed 824 respondents over the course of Election Day, choosing only individuals who were registered to vote and had either already voted or planned to cast a ballot.
Forty-three percent of those surveyed said they would strongly support a measure to limit abortions to early in pregnancy, while only 22 percent strongly oppose it. Men and women were about equally as likely to support such a bill, with 63 percent of men and 65 percent of women saying they’d support it. In addition, Millennials were one of the groups most likely to support such a bill, at 78 percent, which is a particularly positive sign for the future of the pro-life movement.
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is one such bill that would prohibit abortion procedures after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on extensive scientific research showing that unborn babies are able to feel pain as early as five months. The federal measure was passed by the House of Representatives last fall but failed under cloture in the Senate, despite having received 54 votes in its favor. As of late May, 14 states had passed their own legislation protecting unborn children after the 20th week of pregnancy, but given the results of the recent election cycle, many in the pro-life movement hope that the federal version of such a bill might be revived next term, passed by the GOP-led Congress, and signed by President Trump. This poll indicates that the majority of Americans would approve.
EDIT: An earlier version of this post stated that the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act was never considered in the Senate.