In 1st, Majority of Americans Say Keep Abortion Legal

Poll comes on 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2013 7:58 AM CST
In 1st, Majority of Americans Say Keep Abortion Legal
Anti-abortion and abortion activists stand side by side in front of the US Supreme Court, in Washington, Jan. 24, 2011, during a rally against Roe v. Wade on the anniversary of the court decision.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

For the first time ever—and on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade—a majority of Americans think abortion should almost always be legal. That majority clocks in at 54%; 44% think abortion should be illegal (though some of those respondents will allow for exceptions). Another big number: 70% of respondents in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll oppose the monumental Supreme Court decision being overturned, the highest percentage that question has seen since 1989. Meanwhile, just 24% do want it overturned.

In other polling news, a CNN/ORC International survey finds that a majority is in Obama's corner when it comes to immigration: 53% think the federal government should focus on letting undocumented immigrants become legal residents. But when it comes to climate change, another issue Obama wants to tackle in his second term, Americans are split down the middle on whether global warming is a manmade problem: 49% believe global warming is a proven problem and a manmade one; 24% think it's a proven problem but not manmade; another 24% think it has yet to be proven. (More abortion stories.)

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