How Americans Really Feel About Abortion

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/05/03/how-americans-really-feel-about-abortion-the-sometimes-surprising-poll-results-as-supreme-court-reportedly-set-to-overturn-roe-v-wade/?sh=6f4609807ac1 How Americans Really Feel About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results As Supreme Court Reportedly Set To Overturn Roe V. Wade Alison DurkeeForbes Staff May 3, 2022,09:11am EDT Updated May 3, 2022, 09:13am EDT Topline The Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and let states outlaw abortion, according to a draft opinion reported by Politico, and while a review of national polls shows many Americans consistently split between identifying between the partisan labels “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” a clear majority supports keeping the procedure legal—though that support drops quickly depending on the circumstance. U.S. Supreme Court Hears Expedited Challenges Over Texas Abortion Ban Pro- and anti-abortion rights demonstrators rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on November 01 in ... [+] Getty Images Key Facts Broad support for abortion rights: Gallup polls show Americans’ support for abortion in all or most cases at 80% in May 2021, only sightly higher than in 1975 (76%), and the Pew Research Center finds 59% of adults believe abortion should be legal, compared to 60% in 1995—though there has been fluctuation, with support dropping to a low of 47% in 2009. The share of Americans in Gallup’s poll who say abortion is morally acceptable reached a record high of 47% in May, up from a low of 36% in 2009, and a Quinnipiac poll found support for abortion being legal in all or most cases reached a near-record high in September with 63% support. Steady support for Roe: Support for the Supreme Court’s abortion precedent in Roe v. Wade is similar, with a November Quinnipiac poll finding that 63% agree with the court’s ruling; and 72% of respondents in a January Marquette Law School poll and 69% of January CNN poll respondents oppose it being overturned. If Roe is overturned: A January CNN poll found a 59% majority want their state to have laws that are “more permissive than restrictive” on abortion if Roe goes away, while only 20% want their state to ban abortion entirely (another 20% want it to be restricted but not banned). Strongest support for abortion—within limits: An Associated Press/NORC poll in June found 87% support abortion when the woman’s life is in danger, 84% support exceptions in the case of rape or incest, and 74% support abortion if the child would be born with a life-threatening illness. When abortion support drops: The further into the pregnancy, with AP/NORC finding 61% believe abortion should be legal during the first trimester, but only 34% in the second trimester and 19% in the third, and an April Wall Street Journal poll finding more Americans approve of 15-week abortion bans than disapprove. Partisan split—but not in all cases: Democrats are statistically far more likely to support abortion rights than Republicans, with Quinnipiac finding in September that only 39% of Republicans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases versus 89% of Democrats—though 70% and 76% of Republicans support exceptions for rape and incest and when the mother’s life is at risk, respectively. The religious support abortion rights—except for White evangelicals: Pew found Americans with religious affiliations are far more likely to oppose abortion than the nonreligious (82% of whom believe abortion should be legal), but with the exception of white evangelical Protestants (77% of whom believe abortion should be illegal), a higher share of every religious group polled—white non-evangelicals, Black Protestants and Catholics—favor abortion rights. Gender split—not as big as you might think: Women are slightly more likely to support abortion than men, with Pew finding 62% of women want abortion to be legal versus 56% of men. Asian Americans most supportive: Pew’s polling found majorities of every race support abortion being legal, though support was higher among Black (67% believe should be legal) and Asian (68%) respondents than those who are white and Hispanic (57% and 58%, respectively). Support drops with age: The Pew poll found support for abortion highest among those ages 18-29 (67% believe should be legal), compared with 61% of those 30-49, 53% of those ages 50-64 and 55% of those ages 65 and up. Support increases with more education: Pew found 68% of college grads want it legalized versus 61% of those with some college and 50% with a high school education or less (a Washington Post/ABC poll found a similar correlation). Parents less likely to support abortion rights: All In Together’s poll, conducted in September with Lake Research and Emerson College Polling, found 36% of those with children in their house opposed the Texas near-total abortion ban versus 54.9% without kids, and the Post/ABC poll similarly found 58% of parents want the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade versus 62% of non-parents. Cities support more: Those in the Northeast are the most supportive of abortion rights, with the Post/ABC finding 71% there want Roe v. Wade to be upheld versus 58% in the Midwest, 53% in the South and 66% in the West, and urban residents are more likely to support Roe v. Wade (with 69% support) than those in suburban or rural areas (56% and 57%, respectively). Support rises with income level: The Post/ABC poll found 59% of those earning less than $50,000 per year wanting the court to uphold the law versus 62% of those making between $50,000-$100,000 and 65% of those earning more than $100,000. Surprising Fact While support for whether abortion should be legal has remained relatively stable since 1995, the share of Americans identifying as “pro-choice” or “pro-life” has not. Gallup found 49% of Americans now identify as pro-choice and 47% as pro-life, as compared with 56% and 33% who said the same in 1995, respectively. Though at least a plurality of Americans have always supported abortion being legal in at least some circumstances, more respondents actually identified as pro-life than pro-choice in 2019, 2013, 2012, 2010 and 2009. Tangent Americans’ support for abortion falls behind many other countries, with a May 2021 Ipsos poll finding 66% of Americans believe abortion should be permitted in at least some circumstances, versus a global average of 71%. Support for abortion is highest in Sweden (88% support), the Netherlands (85%) and France (81%), while the countries whose abortion views rank lower than the U.S. are Brazil, India, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Peru and Malaysia. What To Watch For The Supreme Court is reportedly likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, as the court prepares to issue an opinion in a case weighing Mississippi’s 15-week abortion bans and whether states can restrict abortion even before a fetus is viable. According to a draft of the opinion obtained by Politico, the court intends to use the ruling to overturn Roe and its 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey— which said states can’t impose an “undue burden” on people seeking abortions—with Justice Samuel Alito writing Roe “was egregiously wrong from the start.” The court’s opinion has not yet been finalized or officially released and abortion still remains legal, with the final ruling expected by late June. Key Background Abortion first became legal nationwide with the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the federal right to an abortion. The court then affirmed that ruling in 2016, when it ruled in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt that states cannot enact abortion restrictions that impose an “undue burden” on the procedure. Republican state lawmakers have repeatedly targeted abortion with an eye toward getting the Supreme Court to reconsider its precedent, however, with the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute reporting states have imposed more than 1,300 abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, including more than 100 last year alone. Abortion opponents received several victories in 2021, as the conservative-leaning Supreme Court decided to take up the challenge to Mississippi’s abortion ban and reconsider Roe v. Wade. Texas then imposed the strictest restrictions on abortion in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade when its Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) went into effect on September 1, banning nearly all abortions after six weeks, which Idaho and Oklahoma have now copied themselves. Further Reading Public Opinion on Abortion (Pew Research Center) Abortion Polling (Gallup) Americans’ Support For Abortion Surges To Near-Record Following Texas Ban (Forbes) Majority Of Americans Support Abortion, Poll Finds — But Not Later In The Pregnancy (Forbes) 65% Of Americans Want Supreme Court To Reject Texas Abortion Law, Poll Finds As Court Deliberates (Forbes) Abortion Debate Is Motivating Voters To Vote In 2022, Poll Finds (Forbes) Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip. Alison Durkee Alison Durkee I am a New York-based journalist covering breaking news at Forbes. I previously covered politics and... Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions