Texas Governor candidates react to leaked Supreme Court draft on abortion

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - With this week's spotlight on abortion, a new poll shows how some Texans feel about what could happen if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade.

If the Justices reverse the landmark ruling from 1973, access to abortion would return to the states.

Last year, the Texas legislature approved a law, often referred to as a trigger law, that would ban abortions under that scenario.

The Texas Politics Project poll released Wednesday found 54 percent of Texans surveyed said they oppose banning all abortions in the state, while 35 percent said they support the abortion ban.

TCU Political Science Professor Joanne Green said many people may not have known about the state law passed last year. "I think now a lot of people are in fact paying attention to it. And the political consequences of that could be quite large."

The poll was conducted last month, before this week's leak of a draft majority opinion indicating the Justices may be ready to reverse Roe vs. Wade.

That opinion first appeared publicly after it was obtained by Politico.

As of Wednesday evening, Governor Greg Abbott has not mentioned the draft majority opinion on Twitter but on Tuesday afternoon, he spoke with the Rick Roberts Show on WBAP 820AM, and said it was important for people to remember this was a draft opinion, not a final ruling. "The fact that it was a draft and we don't know yet whether there are five or more solid votes in favor of it. I think the majority opinion in this case must be issued this week to show the U.S. Supreme Court will not be intimidated by this attempt to a hijack by whoever released this draft opinion."

The poll shows while Republicans support the abortion ban, Democrats oppose it and so do a majority of Independents.

During the radio show, the Governor didn't say whether he agreed with the opinion itself.

Last year, he signed into law the abortion ban if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, the Texas Heartbeat Act, and another bill aimed at further regulating the use of abortion-inducing drugs.

Green said, "From a political point of view, it's wise because of the poll numbers you cited earlier. The majority of Texans support the ruling being upheld. The majority of his party does not and so he's having to walk a fine line."

His Democratic challenger, Beto O'Rourke criticized the draft opinion and Texas law in a campaign video on Twitter. "Unlike Greg Abbott, we're not going to wage a war on the women of the state of Texas and try to tell them what they can or cannot do with their bodies or their healthcare or their future. As Governor, we will make sure that every woman makes her own decisions going forward each and every single time."

Professor Green said O'Rourke can make this a key part of his campaign but, "That can't be his only campaign message. He has to have an economic message for Texas moving forward. He has to address some of the concerns Texans have about other issues. This can't be a single-issue campaign in my opinion, but it can be a heavy focus. Yes."

The same poll gives Governor Abbott an 11-point lead over O'Rourke, 48-37 percent in the general election this November. 

O'Rourke will hold a news conference with other state leaders at the Texas Capitol Thursday morning to discuss reproductive rights.

Governor Abbott will hold a campaign roundtable with small business owners in Houston Thursday afternoon.