by Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle
June 24, 2024
A new poll by Our Choice Coalition, an abortion-rights political action committee, shows 64% of surveyed Hoosiers believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases and 58% believe Indiana’s current abortion ban is too restrictive.
The survey, conducted in May among 1,275 registered voters in Indiana, is nearly equally divided among Democrats and Republicans as well as by gender and age.
“This polling shows Hoosiers overwhelmingly oppose our lawmakers’ actions and are ready to hold them accountable. The more Hoosier voters know about the state’s ban, the more they oppose it,” said OCC Co-Founder and Board Chair Liane Groth Hulka.
Other highlights of the poll show:
78% want direct ballot access through an initiative or referendum on the state’s abortion policy;
70% are less likely to support incumbents who voted for the 2022 abortion ban;
72% are less likely to support incumbents who voted to block a referendum on the state’s abortion policy;
58% say abortion is very important or will be the most important issue for them in determining how they will vote this fall.
Indiana was the first state to enact a near-total ban on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion, in June 2022.
Indiana bans all abortions except in cases of rape or incest (if access to abortion is obtained in the first ten weeks), fatal fetal anomaly (if access to abortion is obtained in the first 20 weeks), or a serious risk to the health or life of the mother.
The poll also shows how Hoosiers feel about other reproductive health matters.
For instance, 95% oppose allowing access to medical records that include information about patients who received abortion. Other findings include:
94% oppose restricting access to birth control, including intrauterine devices (IUDs);
92% oppose making in-vitro fertilization (IVF) illegal;
80% oppose banning the use of mifepristone (the abortion pill) without exceptions; and
63% oppose granting personhood status to a fetus at conception.
The poll is believed to be the first deep dive into how Hoosier voters feel about abortion and reproductive rights since the enactment of the near total abortion ban of 2022.
The upcoming general election is the first statewide after the abortion ban went into effect.
During the midterm election of 2022 an Indiana circuit court stayed enactment of Senate Bill 1. It didn’t officially go into effect until the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the lower court in June of 2023.
Our Choice Coalition is dedicated to electing candidates for state and local offices in Indiana who support access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion.
“We urge candidates to educate their voters that a near-total abortion ban is in effect in Indiana and to advocate for direct ballot access. Our poll shows voters don’t trust elected officials to make private reproductive health care decisions that should be left to individuals and their doctors. And they certainly understand that there are times abortion is necessary health care and not a choice made by individuals,” Hulka said. “The state’s near-total abortion ban is dangerously misaligned with the actual beliefs and health care needs of Hoosiers.”
Of those surveyed, 39% said they voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election for President and 48% voted for Donald Trump.
Thirty percent voted in this May’s primary election — 11% in the Democratic primary and 19% in the Republican primary. More than 90% say they plan to vote in November.
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