Iowa Poll: Most say 'fetal heartbeat' abortion limit goes too far, support legal abortion

© Copyright 2018, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.

More than half of Iowa adults think the state’s new “fetal heartbeat” abortion limit goes too far, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.

The law, which would bar most abortions, was approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in the spring. It would be among the strictest abortion limits in the country.

The new Iowa Poll shows 52 percent of Iowans believe the law goes too far, while 39 percent think it’s appropriate. Ten percent are unsure.

The poll was conducted by Selzer and Co. Sept. 17-20 and sampled 801 Iowa adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The poll shows that support for legal abortion, in general, has grown in Iowa over the past decade, while support for making abortion illegal in most or all cases has declined. 

Fifty-four percent of Iowans now say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared to 48 percent who felt that way in a 2008 Iowa Poll. Thirty-nine percent believe abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, compared to 46 percent in the 2008 poll.

Iowa's fetal heartbeat law is on hold while opponents challenge it in court. It would ban nearly all abortions after a fetus' heartbeat could be detected. Experts say that can occur about six weeks into pregnancy, which is often before women realize they're pregnant.

The law’s supporters hope to use it to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Divided by religion, politics

The Iowa Poll shows people's support or opposition to the law varies more by religion and political leanings than by age or gender.

Just 22 percent of Iowans who have no religious affiliation say they believe the fetal heartbeat law is appropriate, while 72 percent believe it goes too far and 6 percent say they’re not sure. Among Protestants, 45 percent believe the law is appropriate, 46 percent think it goes too far and 9 percent are unsure. Among Catholics, whose church helps lead anti-abortion efforts, 42 percent say the law is appropriate, 50 percent say it goes too far and 8 percent are unsure.

Fifteen of the 801 participants in the poll identified their religion as Jewish, Muslim or “other” non-Christian faiths. About three-quarters of them said abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Among Democrats, 73 percent think the fetal heartbeat law goes too far, 21 percent say it's appropriate and 6 percent are unsure. A majority of independents agree that it goes too far (54 percent), 36 percent say it's appropriate and 10 percent are unsure.

Most Republicans, however, embrace the new law. Sixty-three percent believe it's appropriate, 30 percent say it goes too far and 7 percent are unsure.

Fifty-five percent of Iowa women believe the law goes too far, 35 percent think it's appropriate, and 9 percent are unsure. Forty-eight percent of Iowa men think the law goes too far, 41 percent think it's appropriate and 11 percent are unsure. 

What people say about abortion law

Poll participant Nancy Evans, 65, of Bettendorf said it makes sense to bar most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

“The heartbeat gives a definition that this is a living child, and it’s not just a mass of cells,” she said.

Evans, a retired preschool teacher who is a Republican, said she believes abortions should be illegal in most cases, with exceptions for such situations as incest or rape. She said she’s proud of her state for passing one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and she hopes it can be used as a test case to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Carmen Trejo, 33, of Grimes believes Iowa’s new abortion limit goes too far.

Trejo, a Democrat who works as a school kitchen manager, has four sons. She said women should not be forced to keep a pregnancy.

“A woman should have a choice with her own body,” she said. “It shouldn’t be up to the state or the government.”

Trejo said the new fetal heartbeat law would draw anger among many women if the courts ever allow Iowa to enforce it. “It doesn’t affect men. It just affects women,” she said.

Among Republicans, 68 percent believe abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, 27 percent believe it should be legal in most or all cases, and 5 percent are unsure.

Among Democrats, 78 percent believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases, 18 percent believe it should be illegal in most or all cases, and 4 percent are unsure. Among political independents, 59 percent believe it should be legal in most or all cases, 34 percent believe it should be illegal in most or all cases, and 7 percent are unsure.

Poll participant Tammy Richards, 42, a political independent from Davenport, believes abortion should be illegal in almost all cases, unless the pregnancy endangers a mother’s life.

“No matter what stage you’re in, it’s murder of a human being,” she said of abortion. “A baby is a baby.”

Richards, who is on disability, said she’s a single mother who has raised three children. “If I can do it, anybody can,” she said.

Barbara Petersen-Fox, a Democrat from Johnston, said she was surprised that Iowa had passed such a strict abortion law. “I feel that Iowa usually does a very good job of taking women’s rights into account,” she said.

Petersen-Fox, 50, is a clinical social worker.

She said many women wouldn’t even know they’re pregnant before a fetal heartbeat could be detected. Iowa’s new law “doesn’t give them a fair chance — time to make an educated choice about what to do,” she said.

Petersen-Fox believes abortion should be legal in most cases. She said women choose abortions in tough situations and after careful consideration.

“I don’t think people take this lightly,” she said.

Methodology for this Iowa Poll

About the poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted September 17-20 for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 801 Iowans ages 18 or older, including 555 likely voters in the 2018 general election for governor and other offices. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent census data.

Questions based on the sample of 801 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error. Questions based on likely voters in the 2018 general election have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Republishing the copyrighted Iowa Poll without credit to the Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.

Abortions are becoming rarer

The number of Iowa women obtaining abortions has dropped 51 percent over the past decade, state reports show.

In 2007, 6,649 abortions were performed in Iowa, according to the state Department of Public Health. That number had fallen to 3,269 by 2017. 

Iowa’s declining abortion rate mirrors national trends. Activists on both sides of the abortion debate say it's good news that the number of abortions is falling.

The decline apparently is not due to more pregnant women deciding against having abortions. If that were the case, there should be more babies being born here. But the number of live births also has been falling in Iowa. The 38,142 babies born here in 2017 were nearly 7 percent fewer than the 40,835 babies born in 2007, state reports show. As in many other states, Iowa’s birth rate has not fully rebounded since falling during the recession that began in 2008.

Family planning proponents say the most plausible explanation for the falling abortion rates is that fewer women are becoming pregnant unintentionally. They cite the increased availability of long-term birth control methods, such as intrauterine devices and hormone implants, plus studies showing many teenagers are waiting longer before beginning to have sex.