(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe the country's pregnancy termination guidelines should be altered, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 41 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be available but under stricter limits than it is now.

Conversely, 34 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be generally available to those who want it, while 23 per cent think the procedure should not be permitted.

A Supreme Court ruling in 1973 gave American women the right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, and regulated the procedure during the second trimester "in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health." In the third trimester, a state can choose to proscribe abortion, except when necessary "for the preservation of the life or health of the mother."

Earlier this month, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney—who is seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008—explained his position shift on abortion, saying, "If you had somebody in the private sector who didn't change their mind when they knew they were wrong, you fired them because they were stubborn. I'm happy to admit when I make mistakes and go on." Romney has defined himself as pro-life.

Polling Data

Which of these comes closest to your view? Abortion should be generally available to those who want it; Abortion should be available but under stricter limits than it is now; or Abortion should not be permitted?

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