Two years after Dobbs decision overturning the federal right to abortion, the impact has been felt beyond what matters abortion must be legal or not. Abide display spread across the country that pregnant women may be at greater risk and reproductive care may be more difficult to access in countries where they have passed New restrictions on abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
A majority of gender, age, and racial groups expressed concern, especially women and young people.
That concern found more resonance with Democrats than Republicans, but four in 10 Republicans are concerned about pregnant women being more at risk in states where abortion is mostly illegal.
So how will all these factors go presidential election?
President Biden leads former President Donald Trump by a wide margin among voters who say the issue of abortion will be a major factor in their vote, but the former president leads among voters who prioritize the economy and inflation – and more of those voters. So, now, Mr. Biden’s leadership on these issues keeps him running even with Trump overall.
And Republicans who expressed concern about the increased risk to pregnant women still voted for Trump over Biden in large numbers.
It’s not just those who live in states that are traditionally run by Democrats who are concerned about the impact of the more restrictive measures that some states are taking. Most Republican-led states have passed some of the most restrictive measures on abortion access, and the majority of those living in those states are concerned.
These concerns relate to public views on the legality of abortion. Those who think abortion should be mostly legal are more worried than those who think abortion should be mostly illegal.
Two years after the Dobbs decision, most Americans continue to vote for abortion to be legal in all or most cases.
Abortion and the presidential campaign
Abortion does not rank as high in the minds of voters as an issue like the economy border and democracy.
As we saw in 2022 midterm electionit’s an issue that matters more to Democrats than Republicans, women more than men, and younger voters more than older voters.
And while these groups support Biden over Trump, they are less likely to say they will vote as groups such as Republicans and older voters who support Trump.
On abortion access: what do voters think they will get?
The Biden campaign may have some work to do on abortion. In his State of the Union address this year, President Biden promised restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.
Only about half of registered voters think they will try to pass a law legalizing abortion throughout the country, and the number is not higher among those who support the legality of abortion.
And voters generally prefer to think that Trump will leave abortion laws up to the states to decide, rather than try and enact a national ban. Less than half of voters who voted for abortion to be legal think Trump will try and make abortion illegal nationwide — something the Biden campaign says Trump will do.
Now, most Republicans say that if Trump wins, he will leave the abortion issue to the states.
Anthony Salvanto and Fred Backus contributed to this report.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,460 US adults interviewed between June 17-21, 2024. The survey included an oversample of adults ages 18-29 with a total of 743 adults in that age group. The final sample as reported is weighted to be representative of adults nationwide by gender, age, race, and education based on the US Census American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey, as well as for the 2020 presidential election. The margin of error for the total sample is ±2.8 points. The margin of error for the sample of adults 18-29 is ±5.2 points.
