Don’t a majority of Americans support legal abortion?
Despite the claims of some abortion advocates, support for abortion among the American public is rather shallow. Though many Americans will tell pollsters they support Roe v. Wade, few realize that Roe and its companion case Doe v. Bolton made abortion legal for almost any reason through all nine months of pregnancy.
- See also What did Roe v. Wade decide? and What did Doe v. Bolton decide?
In fact, 49% of Americans say they believe abortion is “morally wrong,” while only 42% say they believe abortion is “morally acceptable.” Moreover, research shows most Americans do not approve of abortion for the reasons women most commonly cite for procuring them, and significant majorities support restrictions on abortion like parental involvement
laws and bans on partial birth abortion.
- See also Why do women have abortions?
What’s more, 48% of Americans actually identify themselves as “pro-life,” while only 45% identify themselves as “pro-choice.”
