Overturning Roe Would Significantly Undermine Confidence in the Supreme Court

Washington, D.C. — This summer, the Supreme Court will hand down a decision that could overturn Roe vs. Wade and decades of precedent protecting abortion. Today, Navigator Research released new polling on the issue of abortion, finding supermajorities of Democrats (70 percent) and “pro-choice” Americans (72 percent) say the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade would make them more motivated to vote in 2022. By comparison, only 54 percent of Republicans and just 48 percent of “pro-life” Americans report being more motivated to vote in the midterms if the Supreme court overturns Roe. 

By a 22-point margin, nearly three in five Americans describe themselves as “pro-choice” (58 percent compared to 36 percent who consider themselves “pro-life”), including a majority of Independents (56 percent). 

Additionally, Americans’ trust in the Supreme Court would drop by 15 points (from 60 percent to 45 percent) if the Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. Among Independents, trust in the Court would drop 15 points from 56 percent trust to 41 percent trust if Roe was overturned. 

“Even with an ultra-conservative Supreme Court poised to weaken Roe, a majority of Americans describe themselves as pro-choice and are fearful of losing access to basic bodily autonomy,” said Rachael Russell, Senior Manager at Navigator Research. “These findings show that the pro-choice majority will not sit back and accept a Court decision as fated — they’ll take to the ballot box and use their power.”

Polling also found 63 percent of Americans believe the right to an abortion in our country is at risk. While a smaller share believed the right to an abortion in their state was at risk (50 percent), this fear was highest among Americans in Southern states (60 percent believed it was at risk).

Congressional Democrats have proposed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the right to an abortion, but it was defeated by the Senate filibuster in February. 57 percent of Americans support Congress passing a law guaranteeing the right to an abortion versus just 33 percent who are opposed; Independents support such legislation by a 19-point margin.

Navigator tested twelve arguments made by opponents of the abortion bans — each was found concerning by at least 66 percent of Americans. The most moving statement argued that abortions are “medical decisions to be made between patients and doctors, not political decisions made by candidates.” This was found concerning across partisanship by 73 percent of respondents overall, including 69 percent of Independents and 65 percent of Republicans. 

###

 

About Navigator Research

The Navigator Research project is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates. By conducting research and providing reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press, Navigator helps top leaders in Washington and grassroots leaders around the country shape the debate on the issues that matter most. Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 997 registered voters from April 14-April 18, 2022. 100 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 76 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level for each survey is +/- 3.1 percent.