More Americans, mostly Republicans, are unhappy with U.S. abortion policies since President Obama took office.
A new Gallup poll finds that satisfaction with the country’s abortion policies has dropped 9 percentage points in the last seven years, to 34 percent, with more Americans saying they feel laws should be stricter. The drop in satisfaction has been the most dramatic among Republicans, falling by 22 percentage points during that time period.
At the same time, Democrats’ views of abortion policies haven’t changed much while Obama’s been in office. Forty-six percent are currently satisfied with the state of things, compared to 48 percent in 2008.
The shift among Republicans most likely reflects the transition from former President George W. Bush — who opposed abortion — to Obama, who supports abortion rights and whose healthcare law angered many conservatives who contend it allows taxpayer dollars to fund abortion coverage.
At the same time, states have passed a record number of abortion restrictions over the last few years. Some limit abortions past a certain point of pregnancy while others require abortion clinics and providers to meet higher standards. Still others require a woman to get an ultrasound or undergo a waiting period before obtaining an abortion.
Yet more Americans want to limit abortion further than want to lift requirements for the procedure. Nearly one-fourth of respondents to the poll said they want stricter abortion policies, twice as many as those who want them to be more lenient.
The poll of 804 adults in all 50 states and D.C. was held in early January, just before a bill banning abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy stalled in the House under pressure from female Republicans to modify it.
