Poll: Majority of Americans Disapprove of Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Ruling

Poll: Majority of Americans Disapprove of Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Ruling

In a five to four vote, the Supreme Court last Friday overturned its decision in Roe v. Wade that established the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

A newly released poll has indicated that nearly 60 percent of Americans—including two-thirds of women—disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The CBS News/YouGov survey, which polled roughly 1,600 adults between June 24 and June 25, further revealed that 52 percent of respondents called the court’s decision a “step backward” for the country, 31 percent said it is a “step forward,” and 17 percent said neither.

“Approval is high among Republicans, those who identify as conservatives, and evangelical Christians. Those who approve of Roe being overturned report feeling hopeful most of all, and happy and relieved. White evangelicals are also particularly likely to express these positive sentiments,” the poll reports.

“Those who disapprove of the ruling overwhelmingly report feeling upset, angry and—many add—scared. These feelings are notably more common among the women who disapprove of the decision, compared to the men who do,” it adds.  

As expected, opinion is starkly divided along party lines—78 percent of Republicans approve of the court’s decision, compared to 38 percent of Independents, and 17 percent of Democrats.

“Most Republicans would want abortion in their state to be legal in at least some circumstances. A third of Democrats would want it to be legal in most, but not all cases,” the poll notes.

“The fact that Democrats are especially disapproving of the decision has made them more critical of how things are going in the country more generally—and that, in turn, has pushed that overall measure even further down,” it continues. “Today, just 19 percent of Americans feel things in the country are going well.”

Across demographic groups, younger people were found most likely to disapprove. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Hispanic Americans disapprove, three-fourths of Black Americans, and just over half of White Americans.

Due to the court’s decision, half of Democrats admitted that they are more likely to vote in this year’s midterm elections, which is up from 40 percent last month when Roe was still in place.

In a five to four vote, the Supreme Court last Friday overturned its decision in Roe v. Wade that established the federal constitutional right to an abortion. Per CNN, more than twenty states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortions as quickly as possible, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Finance and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.