Three years after the landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for state-level abortion bans, a significant majority of U.S. adults still believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
According to a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, approximately two-thirds of U.S. adults support legal abortion, a statistic that aligns closely with opinions prior to the Supreme Court ruling.
The study revealed that nearly half of respondents believe abortion should be accessible in their state, regardless of the reason for a woman’s pregnancy termination.
Although support for legal abortion has seen a slight decrease compared to the findings from a similar poll last year, where support appeared to be on the rise, the current data reflects sentiments similar to those before the Supreme Court’s decision.
The impact of the June 2022 ruling, which officially overturned Roe v. Wade, has resulted in significant policy shifts across the nation.
While some states have enacted protections to maintain access to abortion services, others have implemented stringent restrictions. Twelve states now impose outright bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while four additional states enforce bans after approximately six weeks of gestation—a time frame often before many women are aware of their pregnancy.
In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision, AP-NORC polling indicated a potential increase in support for legal abortion access.
In June 2024, the poll indicated that 70% of U.S. adults believed abortion should be available in all or most cases. This was an uptick from 65% in May 2022, just prior to the ruling, and a marked increase from 57% in June 2021.
The latest results indicate that 64% of adults now support legal abortion in most or all cases.
Remarkably, over half of individuals living in states with the most restrictive abortion laws fall into that supportive category.
Similarly, approximately half of respondents now assert that abortion should be available for any reason within their state—mirroring opinions from June 2021 but down from around 60% in 2024.
Importantly, adults residing in states with the strictest bans are just as likely as their counterparts in less restrictive areas to advocate for the availability of abortion for any reason.
Political affiliation plays a significant role in shaping attitudes toward abortion.
Democrats overwhelmingly support abortion access, with nearly 90% favoring legal abortion in at least most instances.
Conversely, about 40% of Republicans share this view, although support has declined slightly among both parties since June 2024.
As public opinion adapts to the ramifications of state bans, personal stories illuminate how perspectives shift or solidify.
For instance, Wilaysha White, a 25-year-old mother from Ohio, reflects that witnessing the consequences of strict abortion laws, such as the prosecution of a Georgia woman following a miscarriage, has reinforced her belief in the necessity of legal abortion access.
“I’d rather have it be legal across the board than have that,” she stated, expressing concern over scenarios where women’s health is jeopardized.
In stark contrast, Julie Reynolds, a 66-year-old Arizona woman with an enduring anti-abortion stance, has seen her views remain unchanged even after the overarching ruling.
She articulated her moral opposition to abortion, which was shaped by her own experience of having an abortion in her 20s—a decision she struggles with to this day.
The poll further reveals substantial support for legal abortion in specific situations.
At least 80% of U.S. adults believe that legal abortion should be allowed if a fetal abnormality would prevent survival outside the womb, if the mother’s health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
The support remains consistent, with about 70% of adults favoring access to abortions for those experiencing miscarriages or related medical emergencies.
These medical exceptions have gained prominence, particularly in states imposing strict abortion limitations.
For Nicole Jones, a 32-year-old Florida resident, concerns about access to abortion in the event of a fetal abnormality or life-threatening conditions revolve around the realities of living in a state with restrictive laws.
“We’d have to travel out of state or risk my life because of this ban,” she remarked, emphasizing the weight of the implications on her future plans of starting a family.
When it comes to the willingness of states that permit abortion to protect access for women attending out-of-state clinics, opinions are more divided.
Just over half of respondents assert that states should support patients seeking abortion services elsewhere and protect providers from legal consequences.
Only about 20% oppose these measures, while 25% remain neutral on the issue.
Additionally, there seems to be a trend favoring legal safeguards for doctors who prescribe abortion pills, with approximately 40% of adults supporting such protections, while around 30% are opposed.
These telehealth services have played a significant role in the increase in abortion rates nationally, despite a slight decline in travel for such services.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted from July 10 to July 14, involving 1,437 adults with a representative sample drawn from NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel, which aims to reflect the U.S. population.
The margin of sampling error for the overall adult population is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
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