Almost two years after the Dobbs v. Jackson Ladies’s Well being Group Supreme Court docket ruling overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating federal constitutional protections for abortion, abortion is banned in 14 states and restricted by gestational limits in 11 others. The most recent polling from KFF finds that ladies in states the place abortion is banned usually tend to report private connections to individuals who have had issue accessing abortion providers for the reason that overturn of Roe. Latest analysis has documented that many ladies who stay in states the place abortion is banned have traveled to different states to safe abortions. This may be expensive and require them to take break day from work, discover childcare, and in some instances make a number of visits to get abortion providers. There have additionally been reviews of ladies who’ve been denied abortions regardless that they meet the state requirements for exemptions. Earlier reporting from the KFF Well being Monitoring Ballot examines girls’s views on abortion coverage together with by partisanship, which is among the strongest predictors of those views. This evaluation examines girls’s views by geography—particularly whether or not they stay in a state the place abortion is at the moment banned, restricted, or authorized.
One in Seven Ladies in States With Abortion Bans Say They or Somebody They Know Has Had Problem Accessing an Abortion
Eight p.c of ladies general, rising to 1 in seven (14%) girls of reproductive age (ages 18 to 49), say they or somebody they know has had issue accessing an abortion as a consequence of restrictions of their state since Roe was overturned. Ladies dwelling in states the place abortion is banned are twice as prone to report realizing somebody who had issue accessing an abortion in comparison with girls dwelling in states the place abortion is proscribed or authorized. One in seven (14%) girls dwelling in states the place abortion is banned say they or somebody they know has struggled to entry an abortion as a consequence of restrictions on abortions of their state, together with one in 5 (21%) girls ages 18-49 dwelling in these states. Fewer girls in states the place abortion is proscribed by gestational intervals (6%) or in states the place abortion is authorized previous 22 weeks of gestation (7%) say they or somebody they know has skilled such difficulties.
A Majority of Ladies Residing in States The place Abortion Is Banned Need Abortion To Be Authorized, Help Legal guidelines Defending Abortion Entry
Whereas there are some small variations in ranges of help for abortion restrictions between girls dwelling in states the place abortion is banned and people dwelling in different states, majorities of ladies throughout states—together with in these with abortion bans—suppose abortion needs to be authorized in all or most instances and help a spread of insurance policies that shield abortion entry.
No matter whether or not abortion of their state is banned, restricted, or authorized, a majority of ladies suppose abortion needs to be authorized in all or most instances, together with two-thirds (67%) of ladies in states the place abortion is banned and 7 in ten (71%) in states the place abortion is proscribed by gestational limits. A bigger majority (81%) of ladies in states the place abortion is at the moment authorized say abortion needs to be authorized in all or most instances. One in 4 girls dwelling in states the place abortion is banned suppose abortion needs to be “unlawful usually,” as do one in 5 girls dwelling in states the place abortion is proscribed by gestational limits (19%) and ladies dwelling in states the place abortion is authorized (17%). A small share of ladies, no matter their state’s legal guidelines, say abortion needs to be “unlawful in all instances” (8% of ladies dwelling in states the place abortion is banned, 10% in states with restricted abortion entry, 2% in states with authorized abortions out there).
A majority of ladies, whatever the abortion legal guidelines of their state, help legal guidelines equivalent to defending abortion entry for ladies experiencing pregnancy-related emergencies equivalent to miscarriages, defending the best to journey to get an abortion, and guaranteeing a federal proper to abortion.
No matter the kind of abortion restrictions of their state, fewer than half of ladies help legal guidelines that prohibit or criminalize abortion entry, although there are some variations within the stage of help for various insurance policies. Amongst girls dwelling in states the place abortion is banned, just below half help establishing a federal 16-week ban on abortions (45%), and 4 in ten help prohibiting clinics that obtain federal funding from offering abortions or referring sufferers to abortion suppliers (40%) or making it against the law for well being care suppliers to mail abortion tablets to state with abortion bans (38%). One-third help a nationwide ban on mifepristone, the abortion remedy (33%).
Fewer girls in states the place abortion is authorized help establishing a federal ban on abortion at 16 weeks (33% vs. 45% amongst girls in states the place abortion is banned), possible reflecting underlying political variations between girls who stay in most of these states. In truth, 4 in ten (38%) girls dwelling in states the place abortion is banned or restricted both are or lean Republican, in comparison with about three in ten (28%) girls dwelling in states the place abortion is authorized. The most important predictor of help for these insurance policies is political partisanship, even amongst girls. For an extra exploration on these partisanship variations, see earlier reporting on this survey.
The difficulty of abortion entry is prone to emerge in a number of varieties within the November 2024 election. A variety of states are shifting ahead with poll initiatives to guard abortion rights on the state stage. As well as, KFF polling reveals that one in eight voters (12%) say abortion is an important problem to their vote, largely comprised of adults who say abortion needs to be authorized and help protections for abortion entry. Notably, one in 5 girls of reproductive age in states the place abortion is banned say that both they or somebody they personally know has had issue acquiring an abortion. Help for abortion protections together with a federal assure to the best to abortion is strong amongst girls, no matter the place they reside. Whereas substantial minorities of ladies in states with abortion bans help some restrictions on abortion entry, two-thirds of ladies dwelling in these states suppose abortion needs to be authorized in all or most instances, suggesting a disconnect between what girls in these states help and the insurance policies their state lawmakers have enacted.