A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that Americans, by a large majority, think that the Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade, and, by a similar margin, oppose SB8, the Texas abortion ban that was implemented in September.
According to the poll, 60 percent of Americans say that Roe should be upheld, and 75 percent say that abortion access should be a private decision between patients and their doctors.
The poll also shows that most Americans oppose recent conservative attempts to widely restrict abortion access. Sixty-five percent say that the Supreme Court should block the Texas abortion ban, and 58 percent oppose laws in general that aim to restrict abortion.
The Texas abortion ban is the most extreme of its kind to have been implemented– while many six-week abortion bans have been passed in state legislatures across the county, they are almost always blocked; SB8 was the first six-week ban to have been enacted.
The law was specifically designed to evade judicial scrutiny, deputizing private citizens to enforce the law by encouraging them to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps someone access abortion care.
On November 1st, the Supreme Court heard arguments on procedural challenges to this law, and on December 1st the Court will hear oral arguments for the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which challenges a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi. These cases give the power to the conservative Supreme Court to overturn Roe.
Sources: Washington Post 11/16/21
