CNN Poll: Americans still broadly oppose overturning Roe; they’re less united on what abortion laws should look like

Nearly two years after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, Americans remain broadly opposed to the ruling, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. But in the midst of a presidential campaign where the major candidates offer starkly different approaches to the issue, the country is less united over how best to handle abortion laws, the survey finds.

Nearly two years after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, Americans remain broadly opposed to the ruling, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. But in the midst of a presidential campaign where the major candidates offer starkly different approaches to the issue, the country is less united over how best to handle abortion laws, the survey finds. The country’s widespread opposition to the 2022 Supreme Court decision, which held that women do not have a federal constitutional right to an abortion, does not translate into equally broad support for taking federal action to protect abortion access. Roughly half of US adults, 49%, want to see federal politicians work to enshrine abortion access nationally, while 37% say abortion laws should be left to states, and 14% call for nationwide restrictions. About two-thirds (65%) oppose the 2022 Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and 34% approve, numbers that have remained effectively unchanged in CNN’s polling across the nearly two years since the ruling. Those who strongly disapprove of the decision continue to outnumber those who strongly approve by a more than 2-to-1 margin. A 69% majority who disapprove of overturning Roe, including 82% of those who strongly disapprove, say that federal politicians should work to pass laws ensuring national abortion access. Those who support the ruling largely say federal politicians shouldn’t take action on the issue: 59% say laws on abortion should be left up to the states, with 29% in favor of further restrictions to abortion access nationwide. New national restrictions are supported by just about one-quarter of Republicans, White Evangelical Christians and those who describe themselves as conservative. The poll comes in the wake of two years of largely state-level skirmishes over abortion laws following the overturn of Roe – political fights with tangible consequences for residents’ access to abortion in those states. Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled to revive a Civil War-era abortion ban in the state, which the state’s House voted last week to repeal. Overall, a 45% plurality of Americans say that the laws governing abortion in their own state are currently about right, similar to a year ago, with 37% calling them too restrictive and 17% too permissive.