Most Americans believe the federal ruling to suspend FDA approval of mifepristone is politically motivated

Washington, DC, April 13, 2023 – The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey shows that most Americans believe the federal ruling to suspend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a medication used for abortion, is politically motivated, including about half of Republicans and independents. The poll also finds that many Americans are supportive of being able to access the medication used for abortion in a variety of ways, such as at a doctor’s office, a pharmacy, or through the mail.

For more information about this study, please click here.

Detailed Findings:

A majority of Americans believe the recent suspension of FDA approval of mifepristone, a medication used for abortion, by a federal judge in Texas is politically motivated, including 51% of Republicans. Just three in ten Americans support the state-level efforts to restrict access to the pills needed for medication abortion (29%). Most Americans oppose the efforts (61%), including 73% of Democrats, 51% of Republicans, and 57% of independents. Sixty-eight percent of Americans support women obtaining abortion pills at their doctor’s office, which includes 86% of Democrats, 54% of Republicans, and 65% of independents. Just under half of Americans (47%) support women obtaining abortion pills through the mail, with Republicans and independents more likely to oppose this (54% and 46%, respectively) than Democrats (24%). When looking at other proposed restrictions around abortion, nearly three-quarters of Americans (72%) would oppose a national abortion ban without any exceptions, including 79% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans, and 74% of independents.

A majority of Americans said they are less likely to vote for a politician who supports limiting abortion access (56%), including two in five Republicans (43%) and half of independents (49%). Two in five Americans do not trust the Supreme Court to remain impartial on future cases dealing with abortion (46%), including 38% of Republicans, 60% of Democrats, and 42% of independents. More than half of Americans (57%) believe the Supreme Court is politically motivated when it comes to banning abortion in the United States, including 77% of Democrats, 40% of Republicans, and 54% of independents.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 11-12, 2023, on behalf of Thomson Reuters. For this survey, a sample of 995 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii was interviewed online in English. The sample includes 433 Democrats, 379 Republicans, and 108 independents.

The sample was randomly drawn from Ipsos’ online panel, partner online panel sources, and “river” sampling and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each study, in drawing a sample. After a sample has been obtained from the Ipsos panel, Ipsos calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. Population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2022 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Posthoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, and education. 

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online non-probability polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=995, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/-5.3 percentage points).

The poll also has a credibility interval of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points for Democrats, plus or minus 6.2 percentage points for Republicans, and plus or minus 11.5 percentage points for independents.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson

Senior Vice President, US

Public Affairs

+1 202 420-2025

[email protected]

Annaleise Azevedo Lohr

Director

Public Affairs

[email protected]

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