Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to abortion has sparked intense debates across America, leading to a patchwork of laws varying by state. The decision has shifted the battleground for abortion rights, revealing stark differences in public opinion regionally. While some see abortion as a matter of women’s rights and bodily autonomy, others view it through the lens of moral and ethical considerations about the sanctity of life. A recent survey shows a nation deeply divided: 59% support legal abortion with or without restrictions, while 31% advocate for special circumstances, and 10% oppose it entirely, even in exceptional cases.
Last week marked the second anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, thus terminating the constitutional right to abortion established by the original verdict in 1973.
Having long been a contentious issue, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has revived and deepened the abortion debate in the United States, shifting the battleground to the state level and showing huge differences in public opinion across different regions.
As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz depicts in the map below, the abortion access map has been substantially reshaped after the landmark judgment was issued on June 24, 2022, resulting in a patchwork of varied rules across the United States.
While some regard abortion as a basic issue of women’s rights and bodily autonomy, others see it as a moral issue affecting the sanctity of life.
This conflict of seemingly irreconcilable beliefs has made abortion a difficult and divisive topic for decades, and it is even more so in today’s political climate.
Felix Richter of Statista illustrates this difference in the graphic below, which is based on a YouGov survey done for The Economist in June 2024.
While 59% of respondents believe abortion should be permitted, with or without gestational age limitations, 31% believe it should only be legal in exceptional circumstances, such as when the mother’s life is at risk.
Another 10% oppose such exclusions, claiming that abortions should never be permitted.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that the Supreme Court will rule on cases involving Donald Trump, social media rights, abortion, gun rights, and federal agency power, potentially altering America’s political and social landscape.
