Two-thirds of respondents in polling conducted by Marquette University either strongly or somewhat disapprove of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, which, of course, originally established the nationwide legal allowance to an abortion.
Now that Roe is overturned, state officials are allowed to impose their own restrictions on — or allowances for — abortion and related rights to reproductive healthcare, and in some Republican states, leaders leaped at the possibility — while Democratic leaders and concerned citizens have moved the other direction. In states including California and Michigan, voters approved amendments to their states’ Constitutions protecting abortion. While abortion may be generally accessible in these areas, like in New York, where voters will get to support or oppose a state measure accomplishing the same aim next year, adding the protections to these guiding documents helps guard against abortion limits emerging someplace else.
In the Marquette polling, 67 percent of those answering the query either strongly or somewhat opposed the court’s decision on Roe, and that included 50 percent of the overall total, meaning most of those who opposed the Supreme Court’s choice did strongly. Republicans only had 33 percent of those answering in their rhetorical corner, suggesting that, of all people, Donald Trump’s past assertion that certain Republicans’ stance on abortion facilitated the party’s dismal showing in the 2022 midterm elections may have been partly accurate. Around the country, subjects of litigation over individual states’ restrictions have included arguments of religious freedom, considering the uniquely conservative viewpoint on abortion is generally associated with specific religious traditions — traditions that don’t represent everybody.
