Story at a glance
- Data for Progress published a new poll highlighting Americans’ concerns about abortion access.
- Forty-three percent of respondents felt state governments are the most appropriate body to make decisions about abortion policy.
- Another 36 percent said they were very concerned about access to legal abortion in their state.
A new poll reveals that most Americans support access to abortion, and an overwhelming number believe the procedure should be left to states to govern.
Data for Progress surveyed 1,330 likely voters in July and found that most were concerned about their state’s access to legal abortion while an overwhelming percentage, at 43 percent, felt state governments were the most appropriate body to make decisions about abortion policy.
Only 16 percent felt the U.S. Supreme Court was the most appropriate option — despite the court publishing a landmark decision in June that overturned Roe v. Wade and declared abortion access was not a constitutional right.
The American public’s perception of the court has quickly been deteriorating, with a separate Gallup poll revealing a majority of women, 61 percent, disapprove of the Supreme Court’s job performance, compared to 49 percent of men who agreed.
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Data for Progress also found that 50 percent of respondents indicated support for the federal government providing funding to states that are still providing abortions to both in-state residents and out-of-state visitors.
Currently, abortion access varies widely across the country — at least 12 states have protective abortion policies in place while at least 13 states have outright banned abortion or enacted extreme restrictions on the procedure.
Thirty-six percent of respondents indicated they were very concerned about access to legal abortion in their state while 18 percent said they were somewhat concerned.
When it came to prescribing medication abortion — a two-dose regimen that can end a pregnancy — 49 percent of respondents believed a doctor should be allowed to prescribe it by phone or mail the medication to patients who live in states that restrict abortion access.
However, 42 percent believed doctors should not be allowed to prescribe medication abortion by phone or mail.
The future of abortion access in the U.S. remains uncertain, as states implement varying abortion restrictions while others widen access. Congress is also attempting to weigh in, with a bipartisan group of senators introducing legislation that would codify the right to an abortion into federal law.
Senator Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.), part of the bipartisan group of senators that introduced the legislation, said in statement that women’s health care decisions should be left to her, her family and her doctor.
“Our bipartisan, commonsense legislation protects the health and wellbeing of women in Arizona and across the country by ensuring all women – no matter where they live – can access the health care they need and have the ability to make their own decisions about their futures,” said Sinema.
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