Survey shows broad opposition to abortion restrictions among women of reproductive age
The group most directly affected by abortion restrictions — women of reproductive age — are broadly against them, a survey shows. Three-quarters said abortion should be legal.
The group most directly affected by restrictions on abortion — women of reproductive age — are broadly against them, new survey results have found.
According to findings released Wednesday by KFF, a nonprofit health think tank, 74% of women in the U.S. ages 18 to 49 think abortion should be legal. Around 70% support a federal right to abortion — the position held by Vice President Kamala Harris in a presidential election in which abortion rights are expected to be a motivating factor for many voters.
Nearly half of Republican women of reproductive age said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
Former President Donald Trump has said states should decide whether abortion is legal, but 74% of the women surveyed disagreed. The figure, however, includes women who instead want a nationwide ban, according to Brittni Frederiksen, an associate director for women’s health policy at KFF who worked on the survey. Around half of the Republican women surveyed who opposed leaving abortion policies up to states took that position, she said.
The findings come from the 2024 KFF Women’s Health Survey, which asked more than 6,200 women ages 18 to 64 across the country about issues such as abortion, contraception and mental health from mid-May to mid-June. The report released Wednesday focuses more narrowly on how women of reproductive age view abortion, based on 3,900 responses.
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