Amid Texas Abortion Ban, Voters Strongly Support Reproductive Rights
By Devi Ruia and Lew Blank
On September 1st, the Supreme Court refused to block a new Texas abortion law. This legislation is the most restrictive in the nation, banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — before most people even know that they’re pregnant. It makes zero exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Additionaly, it calls on private citizens to sue anyone who performs an abortion or “aids” the occurance of one. These private citizens could receive at least $10,000 if they win these suits.
While other states have passed similarly restrictive bans in recent history, this law is the first to go into effect due to the Supreme Court’s decision to not block it. Many are claiming that this inaction from the Supreme Court effectively undermines Roe v. Wade — something that voters are strongly opposed to.
In a recent national survey of likely voters, conducted September 3rd to 6th, Data for Progress gauged voters’ opinions on Roe v. Wade, finding that strong majorities of voters support the Supreme Court upholding this decision by a +37-point margin. This includes Democrats by a +62-point margin, Independents by a +41-point margin, and Republicans by a +10-point margin. These findings are similar to Gallup findings from June that also showed that 6 in 10 Americans do not want Roe v. Wade overturned.
Voters were also asked about whether or not Congress should pass a law similar to the Texas one. When asked about this proposal, voters strongly opposed Congress passing such a law by a +30-point margin. This includes Democrats by a +43-point margin, Independents by a +41-point margin, and Republicans by a +8-point margin.
Additionally, voters were asked about their enthusiasm to vote in the 2022 midterm elections before and after hearing a hypothetical about the Texas abortion ban being enacted nationally. After hearing about these efforts to restrict abortion access, enthusiasm for the midterms increased significantly among Democrats by a +8-point margin. Enthusiasm also increased among Independents by a +3-point margin and decreased among Republicans by a -8-point margin. This makes it clear that attacks on abortion increase Democrats’ and Independents’ enthusiasm to vote and do not galvanize the Republican base in the same way.
We also asked voters their opinions on government involvement in reproductive rights. By a +40-point margin, voters agree that the government should not interfere in personal matters like reproductive rights. Democratic voters believe this by a margin of +58 points, Independents by a margin of +50 points, and Republicans by a margin of +14 points.
Voters are strongly opposed to government attempts to restrict abortion access and restrictive laws like the Texas abortion ban. They are also strongly against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, wanting the decision in that case to be upheld. It’s important that the government take action to protect reproductive rights, seeing as the court will not respect legal precedent and do so themselves. It’s clear that Democratic voters’ enthusiasm increases when told about these efforts to restrict abortion, and that these anti-abortion politics will likely spark backlash. Congress should push to codify reproductive rights in federal law to prevent restrictive state bans that violate and oppress people that may get pregnant and that voters strongly oppose.
Survey Methodology
From September 3 to 6, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,245 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points. N=1,245 unless otherwise specified. Some values may not add up to 100 due to rounding.