New poll shows majority believe Trump would sign a national abortion ban

A majority of Americans believe that former President Trump would sign a national abortion ban into law if he’s reelected, according to a new poll from the progressive polling group Navigator Research.

In recent weeks, Trump has continued to say that abortion laws should be determined by states, even though in the past he has suggested he would support a federal ban. Voters don’t seem to be buying his new stance and the majority of Americans have said they support abortion legality in all or most cases. 

Navigator Research surveyed 1,000 registered voters between April 18, 2024, and April 22, 2024. Seventy-two percent of Democrats, 40% of Republicans, and 42% of independents polled all said they think the former president would sign a national abortion ban. 

In a recent interview, Trump told Time magazine, “I’m leaving everything up to the states.” But, it’s difficult to believe what Trump says about abortion today, given the number of times he’s changed his position over the years. 

In 1999, Trump gave an interview to Meet the Press. In it, he said he was “very pro-choice.” But, years later, in his first run for president in 2016, he aligned himself with the Pro-Life Coalition and swore he would support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a congressional bill that would make it illegal for abortion care to be performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He vowed to defund Planned Parenthood and he said he would nominate judges to the U.S. Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade. 

In June 2022, the three conservative judges he appointed to the court voted with the majority in the 5-4 ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned the landmark ruling, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. The poll additionally found that 51% of those surveyed said comments Trump made in 2016 regarding “some form of punishment” for women seeking abortion care were “very concerning.” When asked about a statement Trump made in 2023 that he was proud he killed Roe v. Wade, 49% said they found his statement “very concerning” and 12% found his statement “somewhat concerning.”

When asked their position on a hypothetical candidate who supports overturning Roe and supports a national abortion ban, a majority said they found the candidate “very concerning.”

Today, 14 states have total bans on abortion at every stage of pregnancy, and five states — Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, and Arkansas — are currently gathering signatures for abortion-related constitutional amendment measures for the 2024 ballot.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they felt it was Trump who was responsible for overturning Roe, and an overwhelming percent said it was President Joe Biden who supported abortion legality.

In 2020, as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Biden was endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund. In 2021, Biden signed legislation that expanded access to heath care and reversed restrictions on abortion that Trump had put into place during his presidency. And in 2022, a month before Roe was overturned, Biden made a statement declaring that a woman’s right to choose is “fundamental.”