A majority of Americans think a woman should be able to get a late-term abortion if testing shows the possibility that the fetus has microcephaly caused by a Zika infection, a new poll shows.
The STAT-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey finds that 59 percent think women should be able to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks if a brain abnormality caused by the Zika virus is found.
Most states have laws restricting late-term abortions after either 24 weeks, or when the fetus is viable outside the womb, also figured at about 24 weeks, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
In a separate poll conducted a week earlier by STAT and Harvard, when the question did not raise the possibility of microcephaly, only 23 percent said they favored allowing a woman to obtain an abortion after 24 weeks.
The latest survey shows among Democrats, support for late-term abortion increased from 34 percent to 72 percent when there was a strong likelihood of Zika-induced birth defects.
Among respondents who identified themselves as Republicans, 48 percent said abortion should be allow if Zika-induced birth defects were likely; 12 percent felt that way about late-term abortion in general.
The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
The survey was conducted during the week when Florida announced it had discovered two people with locally contracted Zika; since then, the number of cases in an area of Miami has grown to 15, Fox News reports.
In other findings:
- Of those aware that Congress hasn't provided Zika funding, 55 percent said the inaction is a problem, with 42 percent saying it was the Republicans’ fault, and 22 percent blaming Democrats. Seventeen percent said both parties are equally to blame.
- About one-fourth of those polled said funding Zika response efforts should be a top priority for the federal budget; nearly half said it was important but not a top priority; 20 percent said it wasn't that important.
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