Attitudes Toward Abortion Are Complex

Seventy-three percent of Americans do not want to see the landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade overturned, according to Planned Parenthood. But what does that mean? The public's attitudes toward abortion are complex, as the General Social Survey has shown over the past 40 years. The GSS includes a battery of question about the circumstances under which women should have the right to a legal abortion. These are the attitudes of the American public  in 2018 and trends over the decades...

Abortion should be legal if a woman's health is in danger: 90 percent of Americans support the right to a legal abortion if a woman's health is in danger, a figure that has not changed significantly in four decades.

Abortion should be legal if a woman has been raped: 79 percent of the public support the right to a legal abortion if her pregnancy is the result of rape, a figure that has not changed significantly in four decades.

Abortion should be legal if the baby has a serious defect: 76 percent support the right to a legal abortion "if there is a strong chance of serious defect in the baby," a figure that has barely changed in four decades.

Abortion should be legal if a married woman doesn't want more children: 50 percent of the public supports the right to an abortion if a married woman does not want more children. This figure was as low as 38 percent in 1983 and has increased somewhat over the years.

Abortion should be legal if a woman cannot afford more children: Only 49 percent of the public supports the right to an abortion for economic reasons, a figure that was as low as 40 percent in 2004 and as high as 55 percent in 1974.

Abortion should be legal if a woman is single: Only 44 percent of the public supports the right to a legal abortion if a woman is not married. This figure has barely changed over the past four decades.

The great majority of Americans may not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned, but they are deeply divided on when a woman should be able to exercise her legal right to an abortion. How many think this decision should be up to the women herself? Here's the General Social Survey question: "Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if the woman wants it for any reason?" Half of Americans support the right to a legal abortion for any reason. The figure was 34 percent in 1978, climbed to 40 percent in 1998, and reached 50 percent in 2018.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the General Social Survey