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A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows that a significant majority of Iowans are against the recently implemented “fetal heartbeat” law, which prohibits most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy.

The poll revealed that 59% of Iowans, including 69% of women, disapprove of the new law, while 37% support it and 5% remain undecided.

This Iowa Poll serves as the first gauge of public opinion on abortion since the six-week ban took effect on July 29.

Support for abortion rights has notably increased among Iowans since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, as indicated by the Iowa Poll.

Currently, 64% of adults in Iowa believe that abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, marking the highest level of support since the Iowa Poll began surveying this issue in 2008. In comparison, 33% contend that abortion should be illegal in most or all circumstances, while 3% are uncertain.

This survey included responses from 811 Iowans and was conducted by Selzer & Co. from September 8 to September 11, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The new “fetal heartbeat” law, one of the strictest in the country, bans abortions once fetal heartbeat activity is detected and includes very limited exceptions for cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal defects, and to protect the life of the mother.

This law replaces Iowa’s previous legislation that permitted abortions until approximately 20 weeks.

The poll indicated strong opposition to the new law across various demographics, including 91% of Democrats, 88% of suburban women, 78% of individuals without religious affiliation, and 71% of suburban adults overall.

Conversely, the groups more likely to support the six-week ban include 67% of Republicans, 58% of evangelicals, 54% of fathers with children under 18, as well as 50% of individuals from Iowa’s 4^th Congressional District, married men, and white men with college degrees.

Republican-dominated Legislature enacts 6-week ban; court allows it this year

The contentious abortion ban was enacted by the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature during an extended special session last year. The law faced a legal blockade until it was upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court earlier this year.

Among Iowa women, 69% oppose the law, leaving 27% in support and 4% undecided.

Tiara Soupene, a 27-year-old nurse from Tiffin and a poll participant, expresses her concerns regarding the abortion ban. As a healthcare provider supporting pregnant women, she highlights that restricting access to abortion could endanger women’s health.

“I know the outcomes,” said Soupene, who identifies as a Democrat. “I’m aware of how quickly an ectopic pregnancy can become critical, risking sepsis or severe hemorrhage.”

Additionally, she is a trained sexual assault nurse examiner involved in providing care to survivors. Despite the exceptions included in the law, she fears that victims of rape or incest may be unable to secure abortion services due to the burden of proof needed to verify the circumstances of the pregnancy.

“I worry there will come a time when people will question, ‘How do you know for certain? Where’s the evidence?’” she stated.

Opinions among Iowa men regarding the new abortion law are nearly evenly divided, with 48% opposed and 46% in favor, while 6% remain unsure.

Eric May, a 63-year-old resident of Cedar Rapids identifying as a Republican, is supportive of Iowa’s six-week abortion ban.

May, who is an evangelical, believes that abortion is equivalent to murder regardless of the situation and does not endorse any exceptions. Although he hopes to see legislation banning abortion from the point of conception, he acknowledges that the existing law is a significant achievement given the current political landscape.

“This was a hard-fought battle to reach this point,” said May, a telecommunications technician. “Even with solid majorities in the Iowa Legislature supporting the six-week ban, pushing for a ban closer to conception is a challenging prospect.”

Support for legal abortion on the rise among Iowans

In contrast, the 33% of Iowans opposing abortion includes 26% who say it should be illegal in most scenarios and 7% advocating for it to be illegal entirely; 3% are uncertain.

The Iowa Poll has tracked Iowans’ attitudes on abortion since September 2018, and the latest results indicate the highest level of support recorded.

In a March 2023 poll, 61% of Iowans stated abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 35% disagreed.

Jessa Bears, a 38-year-old farmer from Farragut, expressed her support for abortion rights, stating her belief that.

The government should not interfere with an individual’s choice regarding the procedure.

After the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Roe v. Wade, around twenty states have implemented tougher abortion laws. Bears, who identifies as a Democrat, expressed that witnessing these legislative changes has been “terrifying.”

Bears is concerned that Iowa’s regulations could worsen the difficulties in attracting healthcare professionals to rural areas, which are already experiencing a drastic lack of maternity care. She noted that her community possesses an emergency room, but for urgent care or specialist services, she must travel over an hour away.

“Medical decisions often contain many gray areas, and creating rigid laws doesn’t resonate with me,” she explained. “When you apply a broad stroke, it leads to complications—far more than I believe they realize when they enact such laws.”

Views on legal abortion are sharply divided along party lines. A significant 92% of Democrats support abortion in all or most situations, while only 7% believe it should be banned in all or most cases.

In contrast, a majority of Republicans (63%) think abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances, whereas 32% believe it should remain legal in all or most situations.

Independents show a much higher tendency to support abortion rights, with 70% advocating for it being legal in all or most cases, while 26% disagree.

Corey Baldwin, a 51-year-old respondent from Ridgeway and self-identified Republican, believes that abortion should generally be illegal except in specific cases, like rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.

However, his views on Iowa’s six-week abortion ban are more nuanced.

As a self-employed truck driver with four daughters, he agrees that most women probably would not realize they are pregnant by six weeks. Nevertheless, he also does not believe that the procedure should be performed much later in pregnancy.

“Perhaps six weeks is too limited,” Baldwin remarked. “It’s a complicated issue with valid arguments on both sides, but my main concern is that I don’t think abortion should be treated as a method of birth control.”

Iowa Supreme Court’s Approval Linked to Abortion Opinions

The Iowa Poll also investigated how Iowans feel about the Iowa Supreme Court, which recently allowed the state’s abortion ban to take effect.

Approximately half of the respondents, 49%, expressed approval for the state Supreme Court, while 33% disapproved and 18% were uncertain.

Current data shows that Iowans’ perspectives on abortion are related to how they evaluate the justices.

Among those who believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, a substantial 69% approved of the state’s highest court, while 14% disapproved, and 18% were unsure.

Conversely, a majority of those who support legal abortion disapprove of the Iowa Supreme Court (44%), while 39% approve, and 17% are uncertain about their stance.

May, a respondent from Cedar Rapids, stated that he approves of the Iowa Supreme Court primarily due to its recent decision on the six-week abortion ban.

“I support their current actions, especially since they allowed the ban to take effect,” May commented.

Bears, another respondent from Farragut, expressed discontent with the Iowa Supreme Court, asserting that the justices were “politically motivated” when upholding Iowa’s stricter abortion law.

“Things moved swiftly after the ruling from the federal Supreme Court, leading me to believe they had been prepared to act as soon as they had the chance. And just like that, it came to fruition,” she said.

Recent results regarding the court’s performance show minimal changes since July 2022, when the Iowa Poll last evaluated this topic. At that time, the approval rated stood at 48%, with a 28% disapproval rate.

Back in February 2019, 59% of Iowans approved of the state Supreme Court, while 14% expressed disapproval.

Michaela Ramm covers health care reports for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, by phone at (319) 339-7354, or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.

Details about the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted from September 8-11, 2024, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. in Des Moines, gathered insights through telephone interviews with 811 Iowans aged 18 and older. Interviews were conducted by Quantel Research, contacting households via randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers provided by Dynata. The interviews were conducted in English.

Responses were modified according to age, gender, and congressional district to represent the general population, based on the latest estimates from the American Community Survey.

The survey, which included a sample of 811 adults from Iowa, has a maximum margin of error of ±3.4 percentage points. This indicates that if the same survey were conducted again with identical questions and methodology, there would be a 95% chance that the results would differ from the actual population value by no more than 3.4 percentage points. Results derived from smaller subsets of participants, such as by age or gender, will have a larger margin of error.

Reposting the Iowa Poll without proper acknowledgment, including links to the original content on The Des Moines Register and Mediacom, is not allowed.