NEW ORLEANS — A year after an appeals court ruled that Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry – and 2023 Louisiana gubernatorial frontrunner – could enforce a statewide abortion ban, an exclusive WWL-TV poll of 800 voters shows 50 percent of the respondents are in favor of changing the law to expand a woman's right to an abortion.
The majority of the pro-choice poll participants were shown to be Democratic African-American women between the ages of 18 to 44.
Conversely, 42 percent of those polled – predominantly Republican – would keep the current law criminalizing abortion providers and banning access to all women.
"Now, what the recent poll showed was that a majority would like to see abortion rights expanded for women. And we've seen that in the survey conducted by LSU recently as well. So there seems to be a bit of a mismatch there between what the public prefers and what the legislature was doing. So we'll have to see how that plays out. But I expect that that that issue, you know, will continue to animate people one way or the other," University of New Orleans Political Analyst Dr. Ed Chervenak said.
In May, Republicans in a House Committee voted down two bills that would have added rape and incest exceptions to its abortion ban.
"Given the fact that this is a conservative Christian state abortion bans will probably continue to be the norm," Chervenak said.
According to the poll conducted last week under the direction of Ronald A. Faucheux, Ph. D, there are substantial divides surrounding this issue in terms of race, generation and gender.
The state's pro-life organization, Louisiana Right to Life, took issue with the poll's questioning surrounding the polarizing topic.
LARTL Executive director Benjamin Clapper shared his organization's opposition in a statement to WWL-TV:
"Louisiana law not only allows abortion in situations where the life of the mother is in danger, but also in cases of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and in rare situations when baby 'has a profound and irremediable congenital or chromosomal anomaly that is incompatible with sustaining life after birth.' The responses of Louisiana citizens to the poll cannot be trusted because of the inaccuracy of the question."
However, a 2023 Louisiana Survey conducted by researchers from the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication closely collaborates the WWL-TV poll with 52 percent of the 500 adult residents polled saying abortion should be legal in all, or most, cases and will 44 percent against.
Voters can hear from candidates vying to be the next Louisiana governor in a live debate on Thursday, Sept. 7 broadcast on WWL-TV and its social media streaming platforms at 7 p.m.
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