COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A majority of Ohioans would support a state constitutional right to abortion, according to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll. 

The results of the poll, which Suffolk University released Monday, showed Ohioans across education levels, regions of the state and age groups support greater access to abortion than what Ohio’s lawmakers have prescribed.

The proposed amendment – the total signature count of which will be certified Tuesday – would assure the right to abortion before the point of fetal viability, as determined by a person’s physician.

In the 500-person telephone poll, conducted July 9-12, 58% of voters said they currently support the abortion rights amendment, while 32% opposed – outside the plus-or-minus 4.4-point margin of error. Unlike polling on Issue 1, only 10% of those polled were undecided.

While both men and women support the amendment, nearly two-thirds of women support enshrining abortion rights into the constitution, while 50% of men agree. All age groups would pass the amendment, although at 48% yes to 40% no, those aged 65 and older are closely divided and within the margin of error.

An overwhelming majority of self-identified Democrats approve the measure – 81% yes to 14% no. Republicans’ opinion of the proposed amendment is nearly opposite of the overall results, with 57% opposing constitutional protections for abortion and 32% supporting such protections.

Support for abortion also transcended education and income levels, with those having a high school education or less supporting the amendment most weakly. Ohioans in the lowest income group, earning less than $20,000, and those making between $75,000 and $100,000, most strongly supported the amendment among socioeconomic groups.

More than 80% of those who voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election supported adding abortion rights to the state constitution, compared to 38% of those who voted for Donald Trump.

While not currently enforceable, in 2019 Ohio passed one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws, outlawing the procedure after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, around six weeks of pregnancy. Oft-called the “Heartbeat Bill,” the law went through periods of applicability before being temporarily blocked, pending a decision by the Ohio Supreme Court.