A whopping 54% of Americans (and 56% of registered voters) now want Congress to “pass a law that would keep abortion as legal and accessible as it was nationwide.” Roe v. Wade,” according to a new poll from Yahoo News/YouGov.
That’s the highest level of public support for making Roe the “law of the land” since Yahoo News and YouGov started asking about the issue in the spring of 2022. In June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadedismantling fifty years of national protections against abortion and paving the way for individual states to curtail or ban the procedure.
In contrast, only 30% of Americans (and 33% of registered voters) would oppose federal legislation intended to restore the status quo of half a century. Roowhich protected the right to abortion until 22 or 23 weeks of pregnancy – the point of ‘viability’, at which a fetus can survive outside the womb.
The new Yahoo News/YouGov survey of 1,746 U.S. adults, conducted April 11-15, highlights the political risks anti-abortion Republicans face ahead of the 2024 election if they continue to push for tough state bans.
Since the Supreme Court overturned it Roo14 states have banned abortion entirely, while another seven have banned the procedure at an earlier stage in pregnancy – ranging from six to 18 weeks – than previously allowed under Roo.
Political analysts say Republican candidates have repeatedly lost winnable races as a result.
How the 1864 abortion ban in Arizona plays a role in this
The growing support for codification Roo in Congress may reflect the latest developments in the states.
Shortly before the Yahoo News/YouGov poll went into the field, Arizona’s highest court reinstated a long-dormant 1864 state law that banned all forms of abortion from the moment of conception, except when necessary to preserve the woman’s life to save.
After reading a brief description of Arizona’s ban, including the lack of exceptions for rape or incest and the possible two- to five-year prison sentences for doctors who perform the procedure, 57% of Americans say they oppose its reinstatement , according to the survey – while only 25% say the opposite.
Similarly, 56% of Americans oppose and only 26% support “more states passing abortion bans like Arizona.”
Among registered voters, opposition to Arizona’s abortion ban is even stronger. Fully 62% say they oppose it, and a nearly identical 60% say other states should not pass similar laws. Only about a quarter of voters say they support Arizona’s ban (25%) and want other states to follow suit (27%).
The implications for a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024
After considering a national 15-week abortion ban, former President Donald Trump announced in April that he would leave it up to individual states to make their own rules if he were re-elected in November.
“Whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” he said in a video.
In response, President Biden’s campaign accused Trump of effectively “endorsing every single abortion ban in the United States, including abortion bans without exceptions.”
Biden has repeatedly emphasized the need to restore “protection of.” Roe v. Wade in every state” by passing legislation in Congress – something that requires clear Democratic majorities.
“You can do it,” Biden told supporters in January. “Give me a Democratic House of Representatives and give me a bigger… Democratic Senate, and we will pass a new law that will protect Roe v. Wadeand I will sign it immediately.”
Whichever way you look at it, Biden’s position – which is again effectively supported by 56% of voters – is more popular than Trump’s. When asked “which of the following views… is closest to yours,” only 28% of voters say that “individual states should be able to determine their own abortion policies.” More voters say the Republican Party (48%) rather than the Democratic Party (39%) has the more extreme view on abortion. And more voters say the same about Trump (41%) than Biden (38%) — even as Trump has tried to distance himself from the Arizona ban and similar bans.
Likewise, more voters would be against (43%) than in favor (38%). Congress passes a law “banning abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy” – and more voters say they are likely to vote against (49%) rather than in favor. (29%) a “candidate for major office who wants to ban most abortions that were legal Roe v. Wade.”
Ultimately, 57% of voters say they would prefer their own states keep all (25%) or most (32%) abortions legal after the election.Roe v. Wade; only 35% would prefer that their states ban all (11%) or most (24%) abortions.
The latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that Arizona’s ban has convinced at least some voters that the best way to ensure the procedure remains legal is not to leave it up to the states.
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The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,746 U.S. adults who were interviewed online from April 11 to 15, 2024. The sample was weighted by gender, age, race, education, election turnout of 2020 and presidential elections, grassroots party. identification and current voter registration status. The demographic weighting targets are from the 2019 American Community Survey. The base party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer, given before November 1, 2022, and is weighted by the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 27% Republican ). Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 2.6%.
