Boy, was I wrong about the reversal of Roe. Not only did I think it would never be overturned, I thought voters were more pro-choice. Turns out the Dobbs decision won’t doom the GOP come November. Two polls – YouGov in May and Harvard CAPS Harris in July – found most voters don’t support abortions after fifteen weeks and don’t want the Supreme Court to set standards on abortion.
YouGov found 21% of voters would ban all abortions, 20% oppose abortions after a heartbeat is detected (six weeks), and 13% oppose abortion after the first trimester (13 weeks). Another 10% would ban abortion after 15 weeks, meaning two-thirds of voters support the Mississippi law at the center of Dobbs.
Harvard CAPS found 49% of registered voters want abortion banned after six weeks (37% only in cases of rape and incest, and 12% before a heartbeat is detected). Another 23% support a ban after 15 weeks, meaning almost three-fourths of voters support Mississippi’s position in the Dobbs case. And, only 25% agreed that the courts – not lawmakers – should set standards on abortion, while only 10% want to keep abortion legal up until birth. I’m shocked.
For years, the press has reported how “widely popular” Roe is in America. Turns out legal abortion is a nuanced concept. 55% of voters say they oppose overturning Roe, while 72% say they support laws that Roe would strike down. More women (75%) oppose abortion after 15 weeks than men (69%). Mind you, these are Harvard CAP Harris’s findings (not exactly Fox News).
Actually, an astute follower of the issue should not be shocked. Millennial women and their moms have been getting ultrasounds for over 30 years, and it’s opinion-changing to hear that little heart beat. On the flip side, I’m not surprised so many would make exceptions for incest and rape. Above all, it makes sense that most voters want legislatures deciding the issue. Why is that?
Because Gallup just reported Joe Biden’s presidency is the least supported in almost 50 years. One must go back to 1975 (and Watergate) to find a Gallup confidence reading as low as Biden’s 23%. In other words, Biden has so screwed up Washington – what is being said and done – that governors and state legislatures look downright brilliant to voters. Look at the news: where is mud-slinging worse than DC?
Americans everywhere are sick of it, and they’re tired of being told what is moral and how they should feel about issues that are not clear and present in their lives. Abortion (and most Supreme Court rulings) is such an issue.