A new poll found the majority of Americans oppose a recent decision made by the Supreme Court to allow a Texas abortion law to take effect.
The poll conducted by Monmouth University showed 54% of Americans disagreed with the decision to allow the law to go into effect, banning all abortions after six weeks. Only 39% of Americans agree with the decision.
When asked about the provision permitting citizens to use lawsuits to enforce the law, 70% of Americans said they disapprove. An additional 81% of Americans disagree with the provision giving $10,000 to those who file lawsuits against individuals who perform or help a woman with getting an abortion.
Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement, “The American public is largely pro-choice, although many would accept some limitations on abortion access. This Texas law goes way too far for most people. The ‘bounty’ aspect in particular seems objectionable.”
When it comes to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, 62% of Americans believe the Supreme Court should leave it as it is. Only 31% would like for the court to revisit the decision.
“For most Americans, including many of those who support restricting abortion access, Roe v. Wade should be considered settled law. We’ll probably see in the next year whether a majority of the Supreme Court agrees,” Murray said.
The poll was conducted from September 9 to 13 with 802 American adults.
In a late night decision earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to block the ban. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) was later pressed about the lack of an exception for rape and incest in the law, as IJR reported.
A reporter asked Abbott, “Why force a rape or incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term?”
He responded, “It doesn’t require that at all because it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion.”
Abbott added, “That said, however, let’s make something very clear. Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets.”