US

77% Of Americans Oppose Taxpayer Funding Of Abortions Abroad, Poll Shows

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More than three in four Americans oppose the funding of abortions abroad with taxpayer dollars, according to a Marist poll released Wednesday.

Seventy-seven percent of those polled by the Knights of Columbus and Marist said that they were “strongly opposed” to using tax dollars to support abortion in other countries, the poll found. Only 19% of Americans polled “support” or “strongly support” funding abortions outside the United States.

The results come only days after President Joe Biden’s administration announced that he will revoke the Mexico City Policy that prevents federal funds from going to abortions abroad.

“While the number of people who identify as ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ tends to fluctuate with the public debate, when given a broader choice of policy options, there is a strong consensus among Americans on abortion,” Dr. Barbara Carvalho, director of The Marist Poll, said in a statement. “Survey results reveal support for abortion restrictions and an aversion for use of taxpayer funding for abortions abroad.”

The Marist poll also found that almost six in 10 Americans oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions. Biden has also promised to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortions.

A majority of Independent voters, at 65%, and a smaller amount of Democrats, at 31%, oppose funding abortions with taxpayer dollars, the poll found.

The poll also found that while a majority of Americans described themselves as pro-choice, over three quarters of Americans want significant restrictions on abortion, and 70% of Americans are opposed to abortion if the unborn baby will be born with Down Syndrome.

The Knights of Columbus and Marist polled 1,173 adults over the phone between January 11th and January 13th with a margin of error of ± 3.5 percentage points.