8 key findings about Catholics and abortion
Like U.S. adults overall, the majority of U.S. Catholics say abortion should be legal – at least in some cases.
Few U.S. sermons mention abortion, though discussion varies by religious affiliation and congregation size
Roughly one-in-five of the Christian congregations we analyzed in an eight-week period heard at least one sermon that mentioned abortion.
With religion-related rulings on the horizon, U.S. Christians see Supreme Court favorably
Christians are more likely than religiously unaffiliated Americans to see the Supreme Court favorably (69% vs. 51%).
Partisanship a bigger factor than geography in views of abortion access locally
Of those surveyed, 33% said it should be harder for someone to obtain an abortion near them than it is currently.
Do state laws on abortion reflect public opinion?
Majorities in four of the seven states that enacted strict new abortion laws in 2019 say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
U.S. Public Continues to Favor Legal Abortion, Oppose Overturning Roe v. Wade
As debates over abortion continue in states around the country, a majority of Americans (61%) continue to say that abortion should be legal in all (27%) or most (34%) cases.
A majority of Americans think abortion will still be legal in 30 years, but with some restrictions
About three-in-four Americans believe that abortion will be legal in 2050. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say this.
In the U.S. and Europe, women are about as likely as men to favor legal abortion
In many European countries and the United States, women do not actually differ significantly from men in their views about abortion.
Where the public stands on key issues that could come before the Supreme Court
Ahead of the Senate’s deliberations over Kavanaugh, here’s a look at where the public stands on some of the major legal, political and social issues that could come before the Supreme Court in the years ahead.
Irish vote highlights widespread popular support for legal abortion in Western Europe
Two-thirds of Irish adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, a level of support reflected in a recent vote in Ireland on legal abortion.
