This should give Abbott Labs pause. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe poorer countries should be allowed to break a drugmaker’s patent on an AIDS med if doing so would help its population, according to a poll from Harris Interactive and The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

In fact, 57 percent favored the recent move by Brazil to break a patent on a Merck AIDS drug, and only 20 percent were opposed. Meanwhile, just 33 percent believe that breaking patents on AIDS drug impedes drug development, while 40 percent disagree. The poll of 2,246 adults was conducted online June 11-13. There was no question about Thailand.

Interestingly, 40 percent think the global HIV/AIDS epidemic has grown worse in the last five years, down from 58 percent in 2004. And 16 percent say they felt conditions have gotten better, while 32 percent believe things have stayed about the same. So it’s not as if a majority of Americans feel the crisis is deepening and breaking patents is the only way out.

No, it appears that most Americans simply believe there are legitimate reasons for a poorer nation to break a patent. Granted, each country has its own set of variables. But the poll results underscore why Abbott Labs is having such a hard time convincing anyone that playing hardball with the Thai government or AIDS activists in France is justified. A Pharmalot poll found that 68 percent believe Abbott was wrong to sue Act Up Paris for a cyber attack.

Miles White and his managerial team at Abbott have every right to pursue their strategy. But there’s a cost to weigh - public support and credibility.