Roe v. Wade Is Still Supported By The Majority Of Americans

Pro-lifers like to scream. They like to scream loud. Because they scream loud, and they scream long, they get laws passed. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a full 22 states have laws that could change abortion laws without Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protected a woman’s right to legal abortion until fetal viability (around 22-24 weeks). Those 22 states make an ugly stew of laws. 8 states have kept their pre-Roe bans: theoretically, without that ruling, abortion automatically would become illegal. 12 states have pre-Roe laws that “would ban all or nearly all abortions.” 9 states have “unconstitutional rulings currently blocked by courts” that without Roe, could come back “by court order.” 7 states have, in effect, said that in absence of Roe they’ll restrict abortion to the fullest extent of the law (so-called heartbeat laws). 4 states have a dismal amendment written into their constitution that explicitly bans the right to abortion.

According to a new poll conducted in cooperation with ABC and The Washington Post, 60% of Americans support maintaining Roe v. Wade, while a measly 27% feel the Supreme Court decisions should be overturned. These numbers match 2005 polls.

Let’s Talk Texas

Texas’s abortion law bans abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. Since a medical professional can usually suss out some “fetal cardiac activity” by six weeks, after that, pregnant folks are SOL. It gets worse: every pregnant person knows doctors measure “weeks pregnant” from the date of the last menstrual period. However, Texas’s abortion law dates pregnancy from conception, not LMP. Therefore, abortion-seekers are actually banned at two weeks pregnant: about the same date they skip their period. Raise your hand if you discovered your pregnancy around that time or later. Oh, look. Almost every person in America who’s ever experienced pregnancy raised their hand.

No Texas abortion for you! Rape? Sexual abuse? Incest? Too bad! Texas law still bans abortion in those cases.

But the law goes further. An abortion provider, or “anyone suspected of ‘aiding and abetting’ an abortion” (such as driving a woman to a clinic, referring them to a provider, etc.) can be sued by any rando Texan crazy. If they’re proven guilty, they have to fork over $10,000 — to said rando Texan crazy. You can’t make this up.

Luckily, a full two-thirds of Americans (65%) oppose that law, including “a third who otherwise support additional state restrictions.”

However, a third of Americans (29%) support it. S0 do 55% of Republicans. Breakdown! A third of Americans and just over half of Republicans think it’s okay to:

1. Force a woman to carry a child to term before she’s aware of her pregnancy
2. Force a child victim of rape to carry her child to term
3. Force an incest victim to carry her child to term
4. Force a rape victim to carry her child to term
5. Force someone who counsels an incest/rape/child victim of incest or rape to obtain an abortion, or aids them to do so in any way, to pay any moral invertebrate who rats them out $10,000 dollars.

The Pope Best Get A Handle On His People When It Comes To Roe v. Wade

Everyone knows that Catholics are supposed to hate, loath, abhor, abominate, and despise abortion. However, 62% of Catholics say that the Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade — a majority, and almost two-thirds of them. For as much caterwauling as the Church does about abortion (as a former Catholic, I’m fully aware), that particular doctrine doesn’t trickle down to its pews. On the other hand, 58% of white Evangelicals want to ditch Roe — a lot more than that Catholic crowd.

73% of those with no religion at all support Roe.

Not Surprisingly, The Biggest Divides Come Between Political Parties

Not shockingly, liberals and Democrats overwhelmingly support abortion rights, at a respective 87% and 82%. A full 95% of Democrats say that “that women and their doctors should make decisions about abortion rather than being regulated by law.” That’s a sigh of relief. Of some kind. Especially when we think of those numbers of people supporting that heinous Texan law.

On that other plane of reality (despite, as Stephen Colbert says, “It is a well known fact that reality has liberal bias.”), 70% of “strong conservatives” believe the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade, despite offering little to no social safety net for those resulting hordes of unwanted babies. However, only 38% of people who identify as “somewhat conservative” support overturning Roe. The ABC-Post poll claims 26 states “where bans or severe restrictions on abortion are considered likely if Roe were overturned,” a marginal 54% support “upholding” the ruling.

On December 1st, the Supreme Court, stacked by 3 Trump nominees vetted as anti-abortion candidates, will review a Mississippi case which seeks to ban abortion after 15 weeks. If upheld, it will remove fetal viability as a criteria for abortion rights, upending Roe v. Wade and “leaving abortion decisions to the states.” Those 26 states. Math it up: 26 states is half of the United States of America.

Planned Parenthood, knit those pink hats faster. Anti-abortion protestors in those 26 states are stocking up on plastic fetus dolls and scrawling misspelled poster boards. Do you want to need an Auntie Network again? Do you want women die from DIY abortions? If 64% of women and 56% of men support abortion rights, get out and fight for them.