More than half of Americans say they are more likely to favor candidates in 2020 who support abortion restrictions ranging from an outright ban up to allowing the procedure only in the first trimester, a new poll has found.

The Marist poll, which was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization, found that 65% of Americans are likely to vote for a candidate who believes abortion should be outlawed after the first three months of a pregnancy; allowed only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother; or not permitted under any circumstance.

Twenty-five percent said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who believes abortion should be available at any point during a pregnancy, and 9% said they would back a candidate who thinks the procedure should be allowed only in the first six months of a pregnancy.

When it comes to how Americans characterize their views on abortion, 55% consider themselves pro-choice and 40% say they are pro-life. Public attitudes abortion have diverged in the last year, as a February 2019 poll found Americans were as likely to consider themselves pro-life — 47% — as they were pro-choice.

The survey also found that seven in 10 Americans support limiting abortion to the first trimester of a pregnancy. Twenty-one percent believe the procedure should be available to a woman at any point during her pregnancy. (Read more from “Almost Two-Thirds of Americans Will Back Candidates Who Support Abortion Bans or Restrictions” HERE)

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The attorney general of Indiana has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a state law that requires parents to be notified when a minor obtains an abortion. . .

The law pertains to minors who have already received an exemption from a juvenile court allowing them to have an abortion without parental permission. Parental notice, however, is still required except when the court indicates the child lives with abusive family members or some other reason that would be against the best interests of the minor.

The preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Indiana’s parental notice law by a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is still in place. That court declined the state’s petition for a rehearing of the matter by the full court.

In 2017, the ACLU challenged the law on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky shortly after it passed and just before it was about to be enacted, reported WIBC News.

“This requirement would impose an undue burden on the recognized constitutional right of young women to obtain an abortion,” said ACLU lawyer Ken Falk. “In some cases, parents aren’t available or would put the woman in serious danger of either physical or emotional harm of blocking the abortion.” (Read more from “Indiana Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Parental Notice of Abortion Law” HERE)

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Almost a third of the abortion clinics in the United States not affiliated with Planned Parenthood have closed over the course of the last seven years, according to a new report from the Abortion Care Network, which also says state-level abortion laws are partially behind the trend.

“Over the last decade, abortion clinics have been closing at an alarming rate,” the report claims. “Of those closures, the vast majority have been independent abortion care providers.”

The report breaks down abortion providers into four groups, with independent abortion clinics providing a 58% majority of abortion procedures, while Planned Parenthood is responsible for a 37% share. Doctor’s offices and hospitals together account for 4% of performed abortions. Furthermore, the report says, independent clinics represent only a quarter of the facilities offering abortion in the United States.

In 2012, the report says there were 510 non-Planned Parenthood abortion clinics operating in the United States. Since 2014, however, 136 clinics have closed down, while few others have opened, bringing the current total to 344, representing an overall decrease of over 32%. The report notes that a clinic is considered “closed” if it either closes entirely or stops providing abortions.

Also, the report finds that the trend of closures “threatens to make already-scarce abortion care beyond the first trimester increasingly difficult to access” and notes that 85% of the independent clinics that closed in 2018 and 2019 provided abortions after the first trimester.

The ACN finds one of the main reasons for the decreasing number of clinics is state-level pro-life laws, which make compliance expensive.

“Since 2010, anti-abortion politicians have passed more than 400 laws that attempt to make it too expensive or logistically impossible for abortion clinics to operate,” ACN executive director Nikki Madsen told CBS News in a story published on Wednesday. The report notes that independent abortion clinics “lack visibility, institutional support, and sustainable financial resources.”

The report also takes a jab at the wave of state-level abortion laws — such as fetal heartbeat legislation and bans on abortion based on sex, race, or disability — passed across the United States earlier this year. It notes that “several of the states that passed harmful restrictions this year are states where independent clinics play an integral role in providing abortion care.”

The report notes, for example, “Kentucky, North Dakota, and Mississippi only have one clinic remaining, and that clinic is independent,” while “in Louisiana and Alabama, the only remaining clinics are independent clinics and in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Georgia, the only providers of in-clinic [abortions] are independent.” (For more from the author of “Report: A Third of Independent Abortion Clinics in the United States Have Closed” please click HERE)

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Outspoken pro-abortion actress Jameela Jamil blasted pro-life advocates on Twitter this week and made no bones about her position on the matter, saying “my life *is* more important to me than an unborn fetus’ one. Suck on that.” . . .

The British actress’ mention of feminist Gloria Steinem refers to a November Harper’s Bazaar interview between the two, in which they discussed abortion.

“I’m very outspoken about the fact that I, similarly to you, feel very passionately about a woman’s right to choose,” Jamil told Steinem in the piece. “I’m someone who’s had an abortion, and I feel like I need to make sure that we prove it’s not always just emergencies. People have abortions, sometimes a woman just wants her liberty, and we have to normalize that it’s okay just to make that choice for yourself, because your life is as important as a newborn life that doesn’t even exist yet.”

Steinem concurred, telling the actress: “I utterly agree, and actually, as maybe you already know, going to a very early speak-out about abortion was what made me realize that we needed a women’s movement. It took me a while to understand that the first step in every authoritarian regime is controlling reproduction, and that means controlling us. Unless we — men and women — have power over our own bodies and voices, there is no such thing as democracy.” . . .

After receiving criticism for what she said in the interview, Jamil hit back hard on Twitter, telling her detractors that “I SAID WHAT I F***ING SAID and you’re clueless if you think I’m going to take it back.”

I had an abortion when I was young, and it was the best decision I have ever made. Both for me, and for the baby I didn’t want, and wasn’t ready for, emotionally, psychologically and financially. So many children will end up in foster homes. So many lives ruined. So very cruel.

— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) May 13, 2019

(Read more from “Disgusting Pro-Abortion Actress: ‘My Life *Is* More Important to Me Than an Unborn Fetus’ One. Suck on That.'” HERE)

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