For First Time, Majority of Americans Want Abortion to be Legal

But 24 percent want Roe v. Wade overturned

For the first time ever, a majority of Americans--54 percent--believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new poll. Comparatively, the study by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found that a combined 44 percent said it should be illegal – either with or without exceptions. Additionally, 70 percent of the 1,000 respondents opposed Roe v. Wade being overturned, the 1973 landmark case that established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy. “These are profound changes,” says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart. “The dialogue we have had in the last year has contributed … to inform and shift attitudes.” The dialogue McInturff refers to could be the controversial remarks on abortion and rape made by two Republican Senate candidates last year: Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock. (NBC News)

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