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Seven in Ten Believe Trump Wants Abortion to be Illegal

Friday, September 27, 2024 By Rachael Russell
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Poll: Former President Trump on Abortion

This Navigator Research report contains polling data on Donald Trump’s perceived position on abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF), and the share of Americans who believe he would sign a national abortion ban into law.

A plurality say Trump wants the government to make decisions around fertility planning and IVF instead of Americans.


More Americans believe Trump wants the government in control of Americans’ reproductive health care decisions than have the freedom to make their own decisions—a 10 point increase since March. 47 percent of Americans believe that Trump’s position on in vitro fertilization (IVF) is that “he wants the government to decide whether Americans can make decisions related to reproductive health rather than “he wants Americans to be able to make personal decisions, including around fertility planning and IVF” (38 percent). In contrast, in March of this year, a plurality believed that Trump wanted Americans to be able to make their own reproductive health decisions (43 percent), while only 37 percent believed he wanted the government to make those decisions for Americans. 

  • The increase in belief that Trump wants the government to make these decisions for Americans comes from Democrats (from 53 percent to 71 percent now), while a plurality of independents (41 percent—the same as share as earlier this year) say the same.
  • By a 20-point margin, women younger than 55 believe that Trump’s position on IVF is that “he wants the government to decide whether Americans can make decisions related to reproductive health” (50 percent) rather than “he wants Americans to be able to make personal decisions, including around fertility planning and IVF”  (30 percent).
Bar graph of polling data from Navigator Research. Title: A Plurality Say That Trump’s IVF Position Is That He Wants the Government to Make Decisions Instead of Americans

Most people say Trump thinks abortion should be illegal.


Seven in ten believe Donald Trump wants abortion to be illegal, and a majority believe he would sign a national abortion ban into law. 69 percent of Americans believe Donald Trump’s position on abortion is that he believes abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, including 79 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Republicans, and 54 percent of independents. Similarly, 57 percent believe Trump would sign a national abortion ban into law (net +27; 57 percent would sign national abortion ban – 30 percent would not sign national abortion ban). This margin grows by 10-points when Americans consider a scenario that includes Donald Trump winning the election and Republicans taking control of Congress (net +37; 63 percent would sign abortion ban – 26 percent would not sign abortion ban). 

  • When presented with the scenario that Donald Trump wins the election and Republicans take control of both the House and Senate, Democrats and independents both believe Donald Trump would sign a national abortion ban (86 percent and 50 percent believe he would sign an abortion ban, respectively), while Republicans are more split (42 percent would sign national abortion – 44 percent would not sign abortion ban).
Bar graph of polling data from Navigator Research. Title: Nearly Two in Three Say Trump Would Sign a National Abortion Ban If Republicans Control Congress

The Democratic Party continues to be more trusted to handle the issue of abortion over Republicans.


The Democratic Party is seen as more trusted to handle the issue of abortion by double-digit margins (net +19; 54 percent trust Democratic Party – 33 percent trust Republican Party), including by women under the age of 55 by a 34-point margin (59 percent trust Democratic Party – 25 percent trust Republican Party). 

  • 60 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while only 36 percent believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. A majority of Democrats and independents believe abortion should be legal (82 percent and 59 percent, respectively), while just over one in three Republicans believe the same (36 percent legal – 60 percent illegal). 
  • Among those most likely to believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases are Hispanic Americans (68 percent), Black Americans (65 percent), and women under the age of 55 (65 percent).
Bar graph of polling data from Navigator Research. Title: Democrats Are Far More Trusted On Abortion

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About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted a public opinion survey among a sample of 1,003 registered voters from September 12-September 16, 2024. 106 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 76 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 106 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables. The margin of error for the full sample at the 95 percent level of confidence is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups varies and is higher.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org