Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court, the Democrats are campaigning strongly in support of the right to abortion. How is this likely to go down in the 2024 elections?
Every May, Gallup conducts a poll of Americans on their views about the legality of abortion. The most recent poll was in May 2023. The following article, from June 2023, reports on the poll results:
Broader Support for Abortion Rights Continues Post-Dobbs (gallup.com)
Here are some highlights:
Among the respondents, 47% self-identified as "pro-choice", while 45% self-identified as "pro-life".
The political trends are interesting:
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Meanwhile Donald Trump has said he is proud of the role he played in the overturning of Roe v. Wade (i.e. by appointing three conservative Justices to the Supreme Court).
Access to legal abortion is restricted to various degrees, depending on the State. A number of state's laws have effectively made abortion illegal, while other states have made access extremely difficult. To explore the details, state by state, see here:
Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe | Guttmacher Institute
Every May, Gallup conducts a poll of Americans on their views about the legality of abortion. The most recent poll was in May 2023. The following article, from June 2023, reports on the poll results:
Broader Support for Abortion Rights Continues Post-Dobbs (gallup.com)
Here are some highlights:
- 69% of respondents said abortion should generally be legal in the first three months of pregnancy.
- 37% said it should be legal in the 2nd three months.
- 22% said it should be legal in the last three months.
- All of these figures are at near-record highs (comparing to data since 1975).
- 52% of Americans agreed that abortion is morally acceptable.
- 61% agreed that overturning of Roe v. Wade was a "bad thing", while 38% said it was a "good thing".
- 34% of respondents said abortion should be legal under any circumtances.
- 51% said abortion should be legal only under certain circumstances. Of those, 36% said it should be legal in most circumstances, while 13% said it should be legal in only a few circumstances.
- 13% said it should be illegal in all circumstances.
Among the respondents, 47% self-identified as "pro-choice", while 45% self-identified as "pro-life".
The political trends are interesting:
- Since 2021, support for full legality (i.e. legal under any circumstances) has increased by 10 percentage points among registered Democrats. It has increased by 4% among Independents and has decreased 7% among Republicans.
- Views on the issue have become more and more polarised over time. In 1975, support for the legality of abortion under under any circumstances was approximately equal among Democrats and Republicans. Today, there is a 52 percentage point gap (60% of Democrats support, compared to 8% of Republicans).
- Republican support for fully legal abortion is the lowest ever recorded by Gallup for that group.
- 84% of Democrats identify as pro-choice, compared to 21% of Republicans.
- The view that abortion should be legal under any circumstances has increased among women each year since 2019, and is now at 40%.
- Among men, 27% now favour absolute legality - an increase of 2% since 2019.
- 55% of women identify as pro-choice, compared to 47% of men.
- Among respondents with postgraduate qualifications, 64% said abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, while 31% said it should be legal in only a few circumstances (24%) or illegal in all circumstances (7%).
- Among respondents with no college education, 35% said abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, 44% said it should be legal in only a few circumstances, and 18% said it should be illegal in all circumstances.
- Among those who said they attend religious services weekly, 45% said abortion should be legal in only a few circumstances, 31% said it should never be legal, and 21% said it should be legal in all or most circumstances.
- Among those who seldom or never attend services, 61% said abortion should be available in all or most circumstances, while 29% said it should be available in only a few circumstnaces and 7% said it should always be illegal.
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Meanwhile Donald Trump has said he is proud of the role he played in the overturning of Roe v. Wade (i.e. by appointing three conservative Justices to the Supreme Court).
Access to legal abortion is restricted to various degrees, depending on the State. A number of state's laws have effectively made abortion illegal, while other states have made access extremely difficult. To explore the details, state by state, see here:
Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe | Guttmacher Institute