Majority of Floridians deem six-week abortion ban 'too strict': poll

A six-week abortion ban set to take effect in Florida next month appears to fall well short of majority support in the Sunshine State, according to a recent survey.

The law, which GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year, was worded to take effect 30 days after an existing, 15-week ban took effect. It is slated to do so next month after the Florida Supreme Court allowed enforcement of the 15-week ban.

Overall, 57% of Florida voters in an Emerson College survey found the six-week ban "too strict," while 28% said it was "about right" and 15% said it was "not strict enough." Of the 15-week ban, 43% said it was too strict, 36% said it was about right, while 21% said it wasn't strict enough.

Abortion advocates will have a chance to upend both bans in November, as the state Supreme Court also approved a ballot initiative on a potential constitutional right to the procedure prior to fetal viability.

The survey found that 42% of respondents plan to vote for the measure while 25% plan to oppose it at 32% were unsure.

Conducted April 9-10, the survey questioned 1,000 Florida registered voters and has a credibility interval of +/- 3%.

The six-week ban became a point of conflict in the Republican primary, with former President Donald Trump contending that it had gone beyond what the public would support.

"If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don't even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh," he said at the time.

"Protecting an unborn child when there's a detectable heartbeat is something that probably 99% of pro-lifers support," DeSantis retorted.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.