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Memos & Media Guidance
Strong Majority of Iowa Voters Support Reproductive Freedom, Reject Banning Abortion
From: Katherine Patterson, Public Policy Polling
To: Interested Parties
Date: August 21, 2020
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that a large majority (70%) of Iowa voters believe that abortion should be legal, and that the government should not prevent a woman from making that decision for herself. Just 14% say they would only consider voting for a candidate who supports banning abortion in the November election.
A large majority (70%) agree, with 56% in strong agreement, that any decision about pregnancy should be made by the woman with the support of people she loves and trusts, while just 23% disagree. This also includes 74% of independent voters.
Iowa voters also show strong support for respecting a woman’s freedom to make personal decisions:
- 68% agree that one-size-fits-all laws simply don’t work when people are making personal medical decisions, while just 16% disagree.
- 56% agree that it is important for state legislatures to proactively protect the right to abortion through state legislation, with Roe v. Wade in danger of being overturned in the Supreme Court. Only 34% disagree.
- 52% are also more likely to vote for a candidate who supports a world where people respect others’ personal decisions about parenthood and pregnancy—whether those decisions involve giving birth, putting a child up for adoption, having an abortion, or choosing not to have children at all. Just 26% say they would be less likely to support such a candidate.
- A majority of Iowans of many faiths also support reproductive freedom and access to abortion, including 72% of Protestants, 63% of Roman Catholics, 76% who are members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, 77% of voters who practice another form of Christianity, and 100% of Jewish voters surveyed and voters who practice another religion.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 918 Iowa voters from August 19-20, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3.2%. 50% of interviews for the survey were conducted by telephone and 50% by text message.