Missourians support abortion in cases of incest and rape, universal background checks, poll finds

Majorities of Missourians support required background checks for all firearm sales, as well as allowing abortion in cases where pregnancies result from rape or incest, a poll released Friday found.

A survey conducted by Saint Louis University and YouGov also found majority support in the Show-Me State for legal abortion within the first eight weeks of pregnancy and in cases where the baby is diagnosed with a disorder resulting in little or no life expectancy.

The poll, SLU's fourth since it began surveying the state in 2020, provides a new snapshot of the beliefs of 900 likely voters in Missouri, and where they stand on key issues facing state leaders. Their responses indicate conflicting policy stances between a sample of the electorate and many elected officials in Jefferson City, where top state offices and both chambers of the legislature are controlled by Republicans.

Missouri banned abortion in June minutes after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, activating its trigger law that makes no exceptions for rape or incest. The statute's language permitting abortion in cases of medical emergency has resulted in confusion among attorneys, legislators and medical providers, and has not been formally clarified by the state.

Questions on the subject posed to Missourians from Aug. 8 to Aug. 16 in the poll, however, indicate widespread support for a less strict law.

Asked if "you think it should be possible for a woman to legally obtain an abortion in the state of Missouri... in the first 8 weeks of pregnancy," 58 percent of respondents said they agree, and 32 percent said they disagree. Ten percent said they were not sure. When asked the same question but "in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy," 40 percent agree and 46 percent disagree; 14 percent answered not sure.

Vast majorities of respondents said they agreed that abortions should be legal in cases of rape (75 percent), incest (79 percent) or where the mother's life is in danger (87 percent).

When the baby is diagnosed with a disorder "resulting in little or no life expectancy," 65 percent said they agree that abortion should be legal (20 percent disagreed, 15 percent said not sure). If there is "a strong chance of the baby having a physical or mental disability," 46 percent agree that abortion should be legal; 31 percent disagree and 23 percent say not sure.

Respondents also expressed significant resistance to attempts to criminalize crossing state lines for abortions. Asked if "you think a Missouri woman should be criminally prosecuted for receiving an abortion in another state," 81 percent said no; 11 percent said yes and 8 percent said not sure. (The sample size for that question was 453 votes, with a 5.83 percent margin of error.)

Steven Rogers, an associate professor of political science at Saint Louis University and the director of the poll, said the results of the abortion-related questions caught his eye — but he didn't anticipate lawmakers acting to loosen the state's ban anytime soon.

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"Not all Republicans necessarily have the same opinions about abortion, but I don't foresee the state government itself necessarily trying to roll back some of these bans," Rogers said.

He pointed, however, to a possible path forward on the subject through a constitutional amendment question placed on the ballot. When asked if they would support "an initiative ... making it legal for women to receive an abortion in Missouri," 48 percent said they would vote to reverse the state's ban and make abortion legal; 40 percent said they would vote to continue the ban; 13 percent said they were not sure.

"People may be a little bit inspired by what happened in Kansas," Rogers said, referencing a decisive vote against a ballot measure last month that would have criminalized abortion in the neighboring state. "It's not a majority (of support) in our poll right now. But there is a plurality."

What poll said about background checks for guns, transgender student-athletes

Pollsters also asked likely voters whether they supported required background checks for all firearm sales and whether transgender student-athletes should be allowed to play on sports teams that match their gender identity.

Both questions were posed to sample sizes of 447 likely voters, with margins of error of 5.93 percent.

Universal background checks were popular with respondents, 76 percent of which said they agree that Missouri should require them for all gun sales; 16 percent said they disagreed, and 8 percent said not sure.

Gun laws in Missouri are among the loosest in the country, and there are no state-specific background checks or registration requirements. Republican lawmakers have backed laws in recent years loosening restrictions, including the "Second Amendment Preservation Act," which nullifies some federal gun laws in Missouri and has prompted both national criticism and litigation from the U.S. government.

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A majority of those polled — 65 percent — disagreed with allowing transgender student athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identity, rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Republicans proposed several bills earlier this year that would have banned transgender student-athletes from playing on teams that match their gender identity, or allow school districts to decide for themselves, but none of them made it across the finish line.

What poll says about legislature approval, role of social spending & top issue

Those polled were split on their opinions of Missouri's state government.

While 46 percent said they approved of the job the Republican-controlled state legislature was doing in Jefferson City (4 percent strongly approved), 44 percent said they disapproved (24 percent strongly disapproved); 10 percent said they weren't sure. (A sample of 453 voters was asked about the legislature, with a margin of error of 5.83 percent.)

Republican Gov. Mike Parson earned 50 percent approval (11 percent strongly approved) in the poll and 44 percent disapproval (26 percent strongly disapproved).

A majority of respondents at 51 percent said they believed the top priority of the state government should be the economy; other answers were health care at 16 percent; education at 11 percent; infrastructure at 14 percent; and other at 8 percent.

Asked if "the Missouri state government should spend more to aid the poor," 52 percent said they agreed; 30 percent said they disagreed and 18 percent said they weren't sure.

In a separate question to 453 voters, 45 percent rated Missouri's roads and infrastructure as "fair," and 35 percent as "poor." Just 2 percent rated them "excellent."

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Missourians are sour on the economy nationally, with 58 percent calling it "poor," but are more rosy on the state economy, as 53 percent answered "fair." Rogers said the discrepancy likely arises at least in part from party divides.

"Voters perceive things by who's in power," he said. "In Missouri, it's very clear Republicans are in power. Nationally, it's clear Democrats are in power."

For the first time in Saint Louis University's polls, Rogers, said a majority of Missourians disagreed that Missouri as a state was heading in the right direction. While 73 percent said they disagreed that the U.S. was on the right track and headed in a good direction, so too did 51 percent disagree that Missouri was on the right track and headed in a good direction.

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Abortion exceptions, gun background checks popular in Missouri poll