Poll: Hoosiers believe Indiana’s abortion law too restrictive

INDIANAPOLIS — A new poll, conducted by an Indiana-based nonpartisan political action committee focused on reproductive rights, finds that most Hoosiers believe that Indiana’s near-total abortion law is too restrictive.

The Our Choice Coalition recently released the results of a poll of more than 1,200 registered voters in Indiana conducted online in mid-May which mainly focused on the status of abortion in Indiana, reproductive health and the state’s political landscape as a whole.

The coalition focuses on electing candidates to state and local offices in Indiana who prioritize and promote access to reproductive healthcare.

The poll states that 64% of Hoosiers believe that abortion should be legal in most, or all, cases. The other 36% said they believe that abortion should be illegal in most, or all, cases. Continuing the trend, 58% of respondents said they believe that the state’s abortion law is “too restrictive,” stressing that abortion should be easier to access.

This comes after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in June 2022, giving states the chance to choose if they want to ban abortion.

According to previous reports, Senate Enrolled Act One was first implemented in August 2023. Indiana’s bill, which was passed in August 2022, prohibits all abortions in the state except for three exceptions.

• When reasonable medical judgment dictates that performing the abortion is necessary to prevent death or a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, or the “health or life exception.”
• When the pregnant person receives a diagnosis of a lethal fetal anomaly
• When the pregnant person is a victim of rape or incest.

The poll also states that the majority of respondents, 78%, said that Hoosiers should be able to vote directly on Indiana’s abortion policy through a ballot measure.

The results of the poll also gave some insight into how some Hoosiers view some prominent Indiana political figures along with some federal political figures, including:

• Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States
  • 52% unfavorable
  • 42% favorable
• President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States
  • 64% unfavorable
  • 29% favorable
• U.S. Senator Mike Braun, the Republican nominee for Indiana governor
  • 50% unfavorable
  • 21% favorable
  • 10% never heard of this person
• Jennifer McCormick, the Democratic nominee for Indiana governor
  • 17% favorable
  • 11% unfavorable
  • 45% never heard of this person
• Joe Hogsett, the mayor of Indianapolis
  • 27% unfavorable
  • 14% favorable
  • 33% never heard of this person
• Todd Rokita, Indiana’s attorney general
  • 37% unfavorable
  • 11% favorable
  • 28% never heard of this person
• Micah Beckwith, Indiana’s Republican nominee for lieutenant governor
  • 11% unfavorable
  • 4% favorable
  • 64% never heard of this person.

According to the poll results, 51% of women responded to the poll, while 48% of men responded. Out of the total, 21% of the respondents said they were “strong Democrats,” while 22% said they were “strong Republicans.”