By Dave Andrusko
At the risk of stating the obvious, it is more important than ever to carefully read surveys on abortion now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. Doubly so for the latest Harvard-Harris poll which probes many dimensions of the abortion issue. Hint: they are very encouraging.
By way of preface, to the question “How closely have you been paying attention to the Supreme Court repealing Roe vs. Wade last week?” a total of 72% responded very closely (34%) or somewhat closely (38%)!
First question: “Do you support or oppose the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, which allows each state to decide its own standards for abortion instead of a set right?” 55 percent of respondents said that they opposed the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Care, with 45 percent saying they supported it.
“In and of itself, this isn’t exactly resounding,” Charles Cooke writes.
“Just 55 percent against? In this media environment? But when one adds in the subsequent questions in the poll, the case for Roe as a beneficial political settlement (which was made by Justice Breyer during oral arguments, by the majority in Casey, and by anyone who was too embarrassed to pretend Roe was law) falls apart. Out of the options presented to them, 72 percent of respondents said that they supported abortion up until 15 weeks — the exact issue at stake in Dobbs — while 49 percent went only to six weeks. Both of these views were incompatible with Roe, which means that, whether they knew it or not, many Americans said they supported Roe while opposing what Roe actually did.
To be precise, Harris/Harvard found 37% “would allow” abortion only for rape and incest. Another 12% “would allow” abortion up to 6 weeks—the Heartbeat Law. Another 23% “would allow” abortion up to 15 weeks.
Thus a total of 72% [37%+ 12% +23%] would not allow abortions after the 15th week.
What else does the survey, conducted by Harvard University and the Harris polling firm, tell us? 44% believe it is “better for abortion standards to be set by the legislatures of each individual state?” Only 25% believe it is better that judges set the standards and “less than a third of voters say abortion should be set federally by congressional vote.” In other words, the dominate public opinion agrees with the Dobbs decision: the abortion issue should return to the states.
In addition to being desperate to win additional Senate seats so they can pack the High Court, Democrats insist the Court is “illegitimate.” Does the public’s agree?
Question: “Do you consider the Supreme Court of the United States to be legitimate or illegitimate?” A whopping 63% say legitimate. A followup: “Is it right or wrong for democrats to call the Supreme Court illegitimate?” 59% say wrong, including 34% of Democrats!
If you follow the media assault on the justices, this results is extremely welcomed news.
Finally, how about the political impact? “The Roe decision has a net neutral impact on the mid-term voting.” 36% are more likely to vote for a Republican. 36 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a Democrat.
We have been inundated with stories of a wave of angry resentment which will topple pro-life office holders. It wasn’t, isn’t, and won’t be true come this November.