Why most Americans want abortion access, even if their views of the issue are complicated

Americans generally want access to abortion. They broadly believe that women should have that choice over their own lives, and that it’s a private decision to be made between a physician and patient. But even that belief comes with certain caveats.

How will Americans vote on the issue considering these nuances? What kinds of abortion-rights policies will they vote for, and which ones will they vote against? Which states will be more lenient on abortion and which ones will grow to be more restrictive?

“Opinions are not very neat and tidy on this issue, but what we do know, what is clear, is that Americans, regardless of how they feel about abortion, overwhelmingly do not think the government should be making the decisions for them.” — Rachel Cohen, Vox senior policy reporter

Listen: How Americans are reacting to the overturning of Roe, and how it will change state politics.

Guests

Rachel Cohen is a senior policy reporter for Vox. She has been writing about the ways abortion fights have been playing out in our politics. She says that almost a third of Americans who oppose abortion still believe that the decision should ultimately be between the woman and her doctor.

“Opinions are not very neat and tidy on this issue, but what we do know, what is clear, is that Americans, regardless of how they feel about abortion, overwhelmingly do not think the government should be making the decisions for them,” says Cohen.

Lauren Gibbons is a reporter covering Michigan politics for Bridge Michigan. She says views on abortion are not always clear, but the issue is nonetheless getting people involved in local and state politics.

“There’s certainly not a binary — some people want abortion, some people don’t — there’s definitely a wider spectrum and as we see whether this issue is on the ballot in November, we’ll start to see some of those conversations play out in real time.