--- title: "A majority of Americans think abortion will still be legal in 30 years, but with some restrictions" description: "About three-in-four Americans believe that abortion will be legal in 2050. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say this." date: "2019-06-04" authors: - name: "Amanda Barroso" job_title: "Former Writer/Editor" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/amanda-barroso/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/04/a-majority-of-americans-think-abortion-will-still-be-legal-in-30-years-but-with-some-restrictions/" categories: - "Abortion" --- # A majority of Americans think abortion will still be legal in 30 years, but with some restrictions The recent passage of several [highly restrictive abortion bills](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html) in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Missouri has led to increased speculation about the future of abortion access in the United States. When asked about the future of abortion last December – before these states acted – about three-in-four Americans said that, in 2050, abortion will either be legal but with some restrictions (55%) or legal with no restrictions (22%), a [Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/03/21/public-sees-an-america-in-decline-on-many-fronts/) found. ![Most Americans say abortion will be legal in 30 years](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FT_19.06.04_Abortion2050_MostAmericanssayabortionwillbelegal.png) About one-in-five said abortion will be illegal 30 years from now, with 16% saying it will be illegal except in certain cases and 5% saying it will be illegal with no exceptions. Some of the sponsors of the state anti-abortion measures see them as potential test cases that could bring the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court and lead to a reconsideration of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion decision. Views about the future of abortion do not necessarily mirror Americans’ current beliefs about whether abortion *should* be legal or illegal. A separate, September 2018 survey by the Center found that a majority (58%) of the public said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 37% who said it should be illegal in all or most cases. The issue of abortion has sharply [divided the public](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/) for decades, especially along party lines. But predictions about the future of abortion laws are less polarized than views about whether abortion should or should not be legal. ![Democrats more likely to believe abortion should be legal today](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FT_19.06.04_Abortion2050_Democratsmorelikelytobelieveabortionshouldbelegal.png) Most Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party (83%) said that abortion will be legal in 2050. By comparison, 71% of Republicans and Republican-leaning adults said the same. When it comes to their views on whether abortion *should* be legal, 76% of Democrats thought abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as did 39% of Republicans. A narrow majority of Republicans (55%) said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases; 21% of Democrats said the same. Americans also have strong opinions about which political party could do a better job of dealing with policies on abortion and contraception: Half said Democrats could do a better job, while only 31% had more confidence in Republicans, according to a [June 2018 survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/06/20/3-views-of-the-parties-congress/). Again, these views are strongly linked to partisanship: 75% of Democrats said the Democratic Party could do a better a job, while 57% of Republicans said the GOP could do better. Opinions about the future of abortion also are associated with people’s religious beliefs. One-quarter (24%) of white evangelical Protestants said abortion will be legal with no restrictions in 30 years, and 15% of white mainline Protestants agreed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, black Protestants were more likely (12%) than white evangelicals (4%) and Catholics (4%) to say that abortion will be illegal with no exceptions in 2050. Of those with no religious affiliation, 61% said abortion will be legal with some restrictions in 2050, compared with 49% of all Protestants. Alongside political and religious beliefs, educational attainment is linked to people’s predictions about the future of abortion. About two-thirds (64%) of Americans with a college degree or higher said that abortion will be legal with some restrictions in 2050, compared with 47% of people with a high school degree or less. While abortion is often seen as a women’s issue, views about the current and future state of abortion law are not strongly linked with gender. Women and men have consistently expressed [similar preferences](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/) on what abortion law should be: In 2018, 60% of women and 57% of men said abortion *should* be legal in all or most cases. And looking to the future, 78% of men and 76% of women said abortion *will* be legal in 2050.