Americans are split over their opinions on abortion

Washington, DC, February 23, 2022 – A Reuters/Ipsos poll, fielded December 13-17, 2021, finds that a third of Americans (32%) know that if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade it would results in laws governing abortion to be made at the state level, allowing it to remain legal in some states and become illegal in others. However, 16% of Americans believe abortion would become illegal in the U.S. immediately. Overall, though, Americans are split over their opinions on abortion. Twenty-three percent believe it should be legal in all cases and 26% believe it should be legal in most cases. Meanwhile, 25% believe it should be illegal in most cases, and 12% believe it should be illegal in all cases. Americans are also split on who should decide whether abortion is legal or not: 38% say the federal government, 34% say each state government, and 28% are unsure.

Over half of Americans believe the national economy (56%) and the country in general (56%), are headed in the wrong direction. These sentiments are driven primarily by Republicans (81%), but over half of independents (59% and 63% respectively) agree as well. Overall, Americans are split on their feelings over President Biden’s performance in office, with 48% approving of his work, and 48% disapproving.

Seven in 10 (73%) Americans say they are concerned about COVID-19, this includes 88% of Democrats, 58% of Republicans, and 71% of independents. The same proportion (73%) agree that inflation is a very big concern for them and 69% say the wealthiest Americans should pay higher taxes. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans say they would be angry if the U.S. government acted in opposition to their beliefs on COVID-19. Two out of five (40%) Americans believe the Democratic party has the better plan for healthcare, compared to only 27% who believe it is Republicans. The same proportion, 40%, of Americans believe the U.S. Congress is mostly dysfunctional, but occasionally can get things done.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between December 13-17, 2021. For this survey, a sample of 4,407 Americans age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 2,048 Democrats, 1,592 Republicans, and 517 independents. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Americans been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. The poll also has a credibility interval of ± 2.7 percentage points for Democrats, ± 3.0 percentage points for Republicans, and ± 5.3 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 Lohr
Director, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]

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