Poll Reveals Majority of LA Voters Support Constitutional Right to Abortion

The results of a recently conducted Louisiana statewide poll contradict many of the assumptions Louisiana legislators have towards voters and their opinions on abortion. The poll, which was conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling with a sample size of 1,000 likely voters, presents the following results:

• 53% of voters support an amendment to the state constitution establishing the right to an abortion,

• 73% of voters think a patient should be able to obtain an abortion if a doctor feels it is necessary to protect the patient’s health,

• 70% of voters would support a law allowing abortion in cases involving sexual offenses, such as rape and incest,

• 59% of voters oppose prison terms for doctors, who prescribe medication or perform an abortion,

• More voters, 49%, describe themselves as pro-choice than pro-life, 44%.

Lift Louisiana, partnering with Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR) Advocates, National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana and the Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom (LCRF), commissioned the poll, which took place April 3-6, 2023, and respondents’ political affiliations were 38% Republican, 39 % Democratic and 23% Independent.

Lift’s Executive Director Michelle Erenberg says she was a little surprised by the findings, but not shocked by voters’ overall opinion on abortion.

“We are constantly hearing from lawmakers that their constituents want these extreme abortion restrictions, but this poll shows the opposite.” Erenberg points out. “And it is clear, voters across the state, not just in city centers, believe we have gone too far.”

As JMC Analytics and Polling states in its summary, it’s clear that a majority of voters support amending the state constitution to include the right to an abortion. But as NBEC’s Policy Director Megan Simmons points out, many Louisiana legislators are refusing to listen to their constituents.

"The polling is clear. Louisianans do support a person’s right to have legal abortion healthcare,” Simmons says. “What is also clear is that elected officials serve at the will of the people and elected officials who oppose access to abortion do not align with what the majority of the citizens of Louisiana want."

Legislators and other elected officials aren’t only ignoring the will of the people, but they are also failing to recognize and empathize with the suffering that the abortion ban is causing. ACLU of Louisiana’s Advocacy Director Chris Kaiser says that these same politicians have lost sight of their responsibility to serve the interests of the many and not the special interests of the few.

“Voters across the political spectrum have seen what abortion bans mean—patients suffering dangerous complications without treatment and doctors threatened with prison time—and they reject it,” Kaiser says. “Most Louisianans now support a constitutional right to abortion. It’s time for our political leaders to listen to the people they serve”