A new YouGov survey on abortion explores how Americans feel about the issue in 2024: whether they think abortion should be legal, whether a candidate’s stance on it affects their vote, how the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade affected the country, and what their personal experience with abortion has been. Among other findings, YouGov’s most recent poll has uncovered an increase in the number of people who believe doctors are offering worse medical care to pregnant patients because of abortion restrictions.
Where do Americans stand on the legality of abortion in 2024? 27% say it should always be legal with no restrictions, 31% think it should be legal but with some restrictions (such as for minors or late-term abortions), 34% think it should only be legal in special circumstances (such as when the life of the mother is in danger), and 8% think it should be illegal and never allowed.
Democrats (48%) are more likely than Independents (22%) and Republicans (10%) to say abortion should always be legal. Among Republicans, the largest share (51%) say abortion should only be legal in special circumstances.
Most Americans (61%) believe that the country is off on the wrong track on the issue of abortion; 22% think the U.S. is generally headed in the right direction.
Many would support Congress passing laws around abortion: 84% would support legalizing abortion when the woman’s health is endangered by her pregnancy, and 78% would support legalizing abortion in the case of rape or incest. Fewer Americans — but more than half — would support Congress passing laws to legalize abortion in the first trimester (58%) or establishing a national right to abortion (52%). About one in five Americans (22%) would support Congress passing a law to ban abortion nationwide.
Among the biggest gaps between Democrats and Republicans: 82% of Democrats and 29% of Republicans would support Congress passing a law establishing a national right to abortion; 78% of Democrats and 45% of Republicans would support a law legalizing abortion in the first trimester.
The number of Americans who say they would vote for or against a candidate just on the basis of the candidate's position on the abortion issue has fallen since July 2022, from 47% who said yes then to 37% now. Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022 in the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.
Democrats (58%) are more likely than Independents (31%) and Republicans (22%) to say they’d vote for or against a candidate based solely on the candidate's abortion views. Women (42%) are more likely than men (32%) to say this.
49% of Americans believe the number of illegal abortions has increased since the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion in 2022. 45% think the number of pregnant women denied care during a medical emergency has increased. 37% think the number of pregnant women who have died has increased. 31% think the number of women abused by their partners has increased. In each case, far more believe the number has increased than say it has decreased.
YouGov asked a similar question in July 2022, about a week after the Dobbs decision, and found more dire expectations about the next two years than how people now see the last two years. At that time, Americans were asked what they thought the impact of the Supreme Court ruling would be over the next couple of years. 62% expected the number of illegal abortions to increase, 51% thought the number of babies born would increase, and 46% thought the number of pregnant women who would die would increase.
40% of Americans think abortion restrictions are causing doctors to provide worse medical care to pregnant patients. This number has been rising steadily since July 2022, when 29% thought abortion restrictions would result in worse care for pregnant patients.
In the most recent polling, 11% think the restrictions are resulting in better care, 28% think there is no impact, and 22% are not sure.
45% of Americans think abortion restrictions are resulting in doctors delaying or withholding medical treatment for pregnant patients who may need an abortion as a life-saving measure. Democrats (70%) are more likely than Independents (39%) and Republicans (24%) to think this is happening. 25% think this is not happening and 30% are unsure.
Most Americans (58%) believe that most people seeking abortions in states with abortion bans end up going to another state to get an abortion. This figure also has risen steadily since July 2022, when 47% said they thought this is what most people seeking abortions in states with abortion bans would do. In May 2023, 48% thought this was the most likely option, and 55% di in December 2023. In the most recent poll, 14% think most people in this situation get an illegal abortion within their own state, and just 6% think people in this situation end up giving birth.
A significant hurdle for people seeking abortions out-of-state can be the cost. 69% of Americans think that abortion restrictions affect poor women a lot. Far fewer think middle-class women (30%) or wealthy women (12%) are affected a lot by abortion bans.
Democrats (88%) are more likely than Independents (69%) and Republicans (48%) to say poor women are affected a lot by abortion bans.
52% of Americans believe the primary motivation of people who support the constitutional right to abortion is to protect women’s rights. Democrats (72%) are especially likely to say this.
Americans are evenly split on the primary motivation of people who oppose the constitutional right to abortion. 39% say the primary motivation for this is to protect children’s lives; 40% say this is not the primary motivation.
For many Americans, the abortion issue is personal. Half say they have either had an abortion or know someone who has. 8% say they have had an abortion themselves. 20% say a family member has had an abortion, 22% say a close friend has had an abortion, and 26% say an acquaintance has had an abortion. 40% say they do not know anyone who has had an abortion and 10% prefer not to say.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- More Americans support than oppose a 16-week abortion ban
- Most Americans would limit abortion after a certain stage of pregnancy and allow certain exceptions
- A year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, where do Americans stand on abortion access?
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on August 14 - 17, 2024 among 1,134 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (Anna Moneymaker)
