(The Lion) — A new survey shows the political divide over abortion has reached its widest level in nearly 20 years.
The poll from Pew Research Center found 60% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. That figure has remained relatively steady even after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned authority over abortion policy to states and voters.
Since then, states have adopted very different policies. Some have passed laws aimed at protecting unborn children, while others have expanded abortion access.
The Pew survey found 64% of women and 55% of men say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. But notably, the data shows the biggest change is the growing divide between Democrats and Republicans.
The survey found 84% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, only 36% said the same.
That produces a 48-point gap between the parties, roughly double the divide in 2007.
“Partisanship is a much larger factor than gender in attitudes toward abortion,” an ABC News report said.
Indeed, majorities of both Republican men and women oppose abortion in most circumstances: 67% of Republican men and 58% of Republican women said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
The survey also asked Americans about access to abortion where they live. Nearly half of respondents, 45%, said obtaining an abortion would be difficult in the area where they live.
Among adults living in states where abortion is banned, 73% said getting an abortion where they live is difficult. In states where abortion remains broadly legal, roughly half (51%) of respondents reported easier access.
The poll also examined views on chemical abortion. Americans said by more than a 2-to-1 margin that chemical abortion should be legal, with 55% supporting legality compared with 26% who said it should be illegal.
Only a narrow majority of Americans, 52%, said the decision about whether to have an abortion should belong solely to the pregnant woman.
The Pew poll surveyed 8,512 U.S. adults between Jan. 20-26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.
