Americans’ Dissatisfaction With Abortion Policies At Record High, Poll Finds As Lawmakers Consider Watering Down Bans

Topline

More than two-thirds of Americans are dissatisfied with the country’s abortion laws in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a new Gallup poll finds, with nearly half wanting policies to be less strict, as the U.S. continues to grapple with how to handle abortion and GOP lawmakers revisit state bans with new proposals to add exemptions.

Abortion rights advocates protest in front of the White House during the annual National Women’s … [+] March on January 22 in Washington, D.C.

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Key Facts

The poll found 69% of U.S. adults are dissatisfied with the country’s abortion policies, a record high since Gallup started polling on the question in 2001.

A 46% plurality think the country’s laws should be less strict, marking a 16% jump from January 2022, when only 30% said the same.

Only 15% think the laws should be more strict, and 26% are satisfied with how the laws are now.

A 74% majority of Democrats want less stringent laws (up from 43% in 2022), along with 44% of Independents (up from 31%).

Only 17% of Republicans (up from 14% last year) want less harsh laws, while 39% are satisfied with the policies as they are.

Half of women (50%) think the country’s laws should be less strict, up from 32% in 2022, along with 41% of men, versus 28% in 2022.

Surprising Fact

Before January 2022, Democrats had historically been much more in support of the U.S.’s abortion laws than Republicans, and Americans were more likely to believe that laws should be more, rather than less, strict. Only 17% thought laws were too strict in 2021, while 27% thought they weren’t strict enough and a 33% plurality were satisfied with them as they were. That trend reversed for the first time in 2022, as GOP lawmakers passed abortion restrictions in hopes the Supreme Court would soon overturn Roe v. Wade, with 30% wanting less strict laws and 22% wanting policies to be harsher.

Key Background

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and sparked a wave of state-level abortion bans nationwide that have drawn widespread controversy and opposition. The Gallup poll is in line with other polls that broadly show a majority of Americans support abortion remaining legal and oppose abortion bans, and all state-level ballot measures related to abortion since the court’s ruling have come out in favor of abortion rights. Lawmakers have pushed on with outlawing abortion nevertheless, though the ongoing public opposition to abortion bans—and fears that they could endanger pregnant people facing life-threatening complications—has caused an ongoing divide within the GOP over how far bans should go. Efforts to pass a near-total ban in South Carolina were derailed by disagreement over whether a ban should include exemptions for rape and incest, for instance, and extreme bans in states like Louisiana have failed to pass.

What To Watch For

Republican lawmakers in states including Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin have introduced or intend to introduce legislation that would amend existing state abortion bans, either clarifying the language on when abortion is allowed or adding in new exemptions for rape and incest. Physicians have pushed for greater clarity and leeway on when abortion should be allowed during medical emergencies, arguing that current laws may stop them from providing life-saving care for fear of being charged with a felony, and polling has shown that even those against abortion mostly support there being at least some exemptions. Anti-abortion rights groups have largely opposed the efforts to tone down the strict bans, however, while abortion rights advocates argue that exemptions are so rarely granted in the first place that amending the laws ultimately won’t make a huge difference. “Exemptions don’t reopen clinics,” Jessica Arons, senior policy counsel for the ACLU, told Politico.

Tangent

The poll was conducted January 2-22 among 1,011 U.S. adults.