A broad majority of Hispanic adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a recent Associated Press poll.
The survey’s main finding — 67 percent of Hispanics oppose abortion bans — is consistent with other polls on the matter, but it contradicts often-repeated misconceptions regarding Latinos and social conservatism.
According to the AP poll, 27 percent of Hispanic respondents said abortion should be legal in all cases, 40 percent said it should be legal in most cases, 20 percent said it should be illegal in most cases and 12 percent said it should be illegal in all cases.
The survey, conducted Sept. 12-16 among 2,028 adults nationwide, involved 712 Hispanic adults. The AP published separate results for all Hispanic adults, Hispanic Protestants and Hispanic Catholics. The news wire reported an overall 3.1 percent margin of error and a 5.2 percent margin of error for the sampling of Hispanic respondents.
Positions on abortion were similar throughout those demographic categories.
Hispanic Protestants were slightly less likely to support abortion rights: 23 percent said the practice should be legal in all cases and 39 percent in most cases, 25 percent said it should be illegal in most cases and 12 percent said abortion should be illegal in all cases.
Hispanic respondents were more likely to favor total abortion bans than the general population. Among Hispanics overall, as well as Catholics and Protestants separately, 12 percent said they would like to see abortion be illegal in all cases, while only 8 percent of the poll’s full body of respondents said the same.
And a larger share of Hispanics supports banning abortion after 15 weeks. Among all adults, 41 percent support that idea, while 48 percent of Hispanic adults agree, as do 52 percent of Hispanic Catholics and 53 percent of Hispanic protestants.
The AP poll’s results mirror an August one of 3,000 Hispanic voters conducted by civil rights organization UnidosUS.
In that survey, 71 percent agreed with the idea that it is wrong to “take that choice away” from people seeking abortion, while 21 percent disagreed with that statement.
Among respondents in that poll who identified as Catholic, 74 percent agreed with the statement, and 19 percent disagreed.
While abortion as an issue generally benefits Vice President Harris, economic issues have consistently polled as a top concern for Hispanic voters.
In the UnidosUS poll, 59 percent of respondents listed inflation as a top three issue, 39 percent listed jobs and the economy, 31 percent listed affordable housing, and only 19 percent listed abortion.
