Pew Research Poll Shows American's Feelings on Abortion Are Affected by Regional Differences

A new poll released Monday shows that American attitudes toward abortion are influenced by where a person lives.

The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, revealed that opposition to legal abortion is highest in the Southern Central part of the U.S., like Texas. Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry passed a restrictive anti-abortion law, banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and closing 37 of 42 aboriton clinics in the state.

On the contrary, support for legal abortions remains highest in the Northeast and the West Coast states.

The survey also indicates that while overall national attitudes on abortion have remained consistent over the past decade, the gap between New England and the Southern Central states has widened over time.

According to the poll, in the 13 states that have laws banning abortions at either 22 weeks of pregnancy or earlier, 44 percent of those questioned say that abortions should be legal in all or most cases, with 49 percent saying they should be illegal in all or most cases.

When you compare that to all other states, with nearly 6 in 10 saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases, only 36 percent say it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Michael Dimock, the director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, told NPR that in addition to one's region, other characteristics and demographics also come into play. "I think what you're seeing is some policy debates that have cast the issue in different dimensions - talking about the specific timing or the safety at clinics and so forth - that may be able to take people who are personally torn over the issue of abortion, and cast it in ways that show approaches to limiting it that may fit with their conflicting views."