On the books for Dec. 1 is the beginning of oral arguments for Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, an impending Supreme Court case that pertains to the constitutionality of a 15-week ban on abortions in Mississippi. Pro-abortion lawmakers and the like are in a frenzy to "codify" provisions from previous Court cases, like Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, into federal law via the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), as we reported. As the precedents set by these two landmark cases could be upended by Dobbs, a new survey asked respondents where they stand on overturning Roe and other pressing questions pertaining to abortion.
In a Fox News poll published Thursday, the majority of respondents, 65 percent, said the Court should let Roe stand. Twenty-eight percent said they'd like the Court to overturn it. In October 2020, 61 percent said "let it stand," compared to June 2019, where 64 percent said the same. On the contrary, the same percentage, 28 percent of respondents, said in October 2020 that the Court should overturn Roe, while 27 percent shared the same sentiment in June 2019.
When these numbers were broken down between Republicans and Democrats, 77 percent of Democrats said Roe should stand. Fifty-three percent of Republicans shared this opinion. Seventeen percent of Democrats support overturning Roe. Forty percent of Republicans want Roe overturned. The poll showed that 72 percent of white Catholics and 49 percent of white evangelical Christians, two staunchly pro-life religions, think Roe should stand.
Across the board, 49 percent of respondents think abortion should be legal, and 49 percent of respondents think abortion should be illegal. This number is compared to October 2020 and June 2019, where 53 percent and 50 percent of respondents shared the opinion that abortion should be legal, respectively. On the other hand, 45 percent of respondents in October 2020 and 46 percent of respondents in June 2019 felt abortion should be illegal.
The survey then broke down this question among Republicans and Democrats and into separate categories; abortion should be: "always legal," "mostly legal," "mostly illegal," and "always illegal."
For Democrats, 46 percent said "always legal," 24 percent said "mostly legal," 22 percent said "mostly illegal," and a mere five percent said "always illegal."
Regarding Republicans' views on abortion, an equal 13 percent of respondents said abortion should be "always legal" or "mostly legal." More than half, 53 percent, say abortion should be "mostly illegal," while 19 percent say abortion should be "always illegal."
Out of registered voters, 36 percent say they are "extremely" concerned about abortion policy. Twenty-six percent say they are "very" concerned. Sixty-eight percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans say the issue "worries" them.
According to the write-up, the survey was conducted from Sept. 12-15 under the direction of Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research. The poll includes 1,002 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected. The total sample has a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.