By more than two-to-one, Americans say medication abortion should be legal in their state
A majority of Americans say medication abortion should be legal, but there is a stark divide by age, religion and party affiliation.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
A majority of Americans say medication abortion should be legal, but there is a stark divide by age, religion and party affiliation.
Democrats hold the edge on many issues, but more Americans agree with Republicans on the economy, crime and immigration. Inflation remains the top concern for Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with 77% saying it is a very big problem. For Democrats and Democratic leaners, gun violence is the top concern, with about 81% saying it is a very big problem.
Public attitudes about the legality of abortion are largely divided along partisan lines – and to a greater extent than in past decades.
A majority of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases; 37% think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
Americans’ ratings of the Supreme Court are now as negative as – and more politically polarized than – at any point in more than three decades of polling. And nearly two-thirds of Democrats (64%) now say the Supreme Court has too much power, almost three times the share who said this in August 2020 (23%).
There is a wide partisan split on the fairness of the House committee’s probe.
While public support for legal abortion has fluctuated some in two decades of polling, it has remained relatively stable over the past five years. Currently, 59% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 39% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.
A majority of Americans say significant changes are needed in the “fundamental design and structure of American government.”
Growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems. 49% of U.S. adults say gun ownership increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
The share of Americans who say the United States stands above all other nations in the world has declined modestly over the past four years.
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