On the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, 6 in 10 voters remain opposed to the court’s removing federal protection of the right to abortion, according to results from a new national NBC News poll.
Nearly 80% of female voters ages 18-49, two-thirds of suburban women, 60% of independents and even a third of Republican voters say they disapprove.
And by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, voters say abortion access across the country has become too difficult rather than too easy. A plurality — 43% — say their home states have struck the right balance, though there’s a considerable geographical difference on this question.
“Without a doubt, the issue of abortion will continue to shape our country’s political and electoral landscape moving forward,” said Democratic pollster Aileen Cardona-Arroyo of Hart Research Associates, which conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff and his team at Public Opinion Strategies.
McInturff said: “The data is stable and clear — a majority of voters support at least some access to abortion. A year after the Dobbs decision, though, there is no change in voters saying access is too difficult in their state.”
In the poll, 61% of all voters say they disapprove of the 5-4 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which leaves the legality and conditions of abortion up to individual states.
The total includes a majority of voters — 53% — who strongly disapprove of the decision. By comparison, 36% of voters say they approve of it, including 27% who strongly approve.
The numbers are essentially unchanged from an NBC News poll in September — conducted two months before last year’s midterm elections — when an identical 61% said they disapproved of overturning Roe v. Wade, compared to 37% who approved.
And they’re nearly unmoved from August — two months after the Dobbs decision — when 58% disapproved and 38% approved.
Inside the new numbers, majorities of men (55%) and women (67%); white (57%), Latino (70%) and Black voters (78%); and urban (71%) and suburban residents (57%) all disapprove of the Dobbs decision.
By comparison, majorities of Republicans (65%) and rural voters (53%) say they approve.
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