Roe v. Wade: Voters Divided About Repealing Decision

The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has voters divided almost evenly over the landmark abortion ruling.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters would approve of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, including 32% who would Strongly Approve. Forty-five percent (45%) would disapprove of overturning Roe v. Wade, including 35% who would Strongly Disapprove. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion was leaked to Politico this week, touching off a firestorm of controversy. In an official statement, President Joe Biden declared that “a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.” Sixty percent (60%) of voters agree with Biden’s statement, including 45% who Strongly Agree. Thirty-five percent (35%) disagree, including 22% who Strongly Disagree with Biden’s “demand” that Roe v. Wade not be overturned.

In his draft opinion, Justice Alito declared that the Roe v. Wade decision “was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters agree with Justice Alito’s statement, including 31% who Strongly Agree. Forty-six percent (46%) disagree with Alito, including 33% who Strongly Disagree that Roe “was egregiously wrong.”

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on May 3, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

A majority (51%) of voters generally consider themselves pro-choice on the issue of abortion, while 40% consider themselves pro-life. The number who consider themselves pro-choice has declined slightly from 54% in July 2019. LINK TO Voters Aren’t Ready to Cut Federal Funds for Planned Parenthood

Partisan differences on abortion are evident in the findings. While 74% of Democrats consider themselves generally pro-choice on the abortion  issue, 63% of Republicans consider themselves pro-life. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 48% consider themselves pro-choice and 39% are pro-life.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of Republicans would approve of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, as would 33% of Democrats and 48% of unaffiliated voters. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats would disapprove of Roe v. Wade being overturned, as would 27% of Republicans and 44% of unaffiliated voters.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of GOP voters, 31% of Democrats and 46% of unaffiliated voters agree with Alito’s draft opinion that Roe v. Wade “was egregiously wrong from the start.” Sixty-two percent (62%) of Democrats, 29% of Republicans and 46% of unaffiliated voters disagree with Alito’s opinion.

Eighty-five percent (85%) of Democrats, 38% of Republicans and 55% of unaffiliated voters agree with Biden’s statement that ““a woman’s right to choose is fundamental.”

Fifty-two percent (52%) of men and 45% of women would approve of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Voters under 40 are more likely than their elders to approve of a decision  overturning Roe v. Wade.

More whites (54%) than Black voters (49%) or other minorities (41%) consider themselves generally pro-choice on the abortion issue. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Black voters and other minorities, but only 43% of whites, would approve of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Voters with annual incomes over $200,000 are most likely to consider themselves pro-choice and most opposed to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

President Biden’s strongest supporters are also most pro-choice. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 82% consider themselves generally pro-choice on the abortion issue. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 66% consider themselves pro-life.

More than a year after he left office, former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of candidates still matters – more even than the current occupant of the White House.

Two-thirds of voters think America has become more divided since President Biden was elected.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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