'Abortion Goes Back to the People' Says the Wall Street Journal. Does It?

 Gallup polls on abortion. Link below.

Back to the People? Really?

A Wall Street Journal editorial proclaims Abortion Goes Back to the People.

Really? The above chart shows the idea is nonsense. 

The most recent data point suggests the Supreme Court case itself may have caused a jump in pro-choice. 

Alternatively, we see a jump due to a dying off off aging boomers as more liberal opinions of millennials and Zoomers take hold. 

 'Pro-Choice' Identification Rises to Near Record High in U.S.

The Gallup poll shows 'Pro-Choice' Identification Rises to Near Record High in U.S.

A Gallup poll conducted mostly after the draft of a Supreme Court decision addressing abortion rights was leaked finds a marked shift in public attitudes over the past year. After a decade in which Americans' identification as "pro-choice" varied narrowly between 45% and 50%, the percentage has jumped six points to 55% in the latest poll, compared with the prior measure a year ago.

Pro-choice sentiment is now the highest Gallup has measured since 1995 when it was 56% -- the only other time it has been at the current level or higher -- while the 39% identifying as "pro-life" is the lowest since 1996.Reuters Poll Shows Same Thing

Please consider a Reuters Factbox: Broad U.S. support for abortion rights at odds with Supreme Court's restrictions

About 71% of Americans - including majorities of Democrats and Republicans - say decisions about terminating a pregnancy should be left to a woman and her doctor, rather than regulated by the government. 

Unfortunately, Reuters did not link to that poll conducted after the decision. 

But trends were already in place according to an Ipsos May 6, 2022 poll What we know about the public’s views on abortion

Ipsos Poll on abortion, link above.

Overall, Americans have gotten more supportive of a woman getting a legal abortion for any reason. Yet, the topline numbers mask a deeper partisan divide that has developed around the issue. Over the past 45 years, Republicans and Democrats have grown farther apart on this issue. In the late 70s, similar shares of Democrats and Republicans were more or less in agreement about abortion. Now, there is a roughly 35-point difference between the two sides. Also see Americans prefer Democrats' position on abortion to Republicans' - Reuters/Ipsos poll

YouGov Poll

While on the subject of polls, a YouGov Poll Shows Majority of Americans disapprove of overturning Roe v. Wade

• Fifty-nine percent of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and take away the federal protections of abortion rights, according to a new CBS News/YouGov reaction poll. 
• Among women polled, 67% disapprove.
• Opinion is starkly divided along party lines. 78% of Republicans approve of the decision, compared with 38% of independents and 17% of Democrats.

Back to the People? How?

In general, I am no fan of the New York Times, but this article has aspects that ring true: Supreme Court Throws Abortion to an Unlevel State Playing Field

In his concurring opinion to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh struck a note of optimism that democracy and the will of the people would prevail, even on the agonizing issue of a woman’s right to end a pregnancy.

“The nine unelected Members of this Court do not possess the constitutional authority to override the democratic process,” he wrote, adding that the court’s decision merely “restores the people’s authority to address the issue of abortion through the processes of democratic self-government.”

States, in other words, hold the power.

In Ohio, Republicans hold an undeniable edge statewide, but it’s nothing like their 64-35 edge in the Statehouse or their 25-8 edge in the State Senate. Those advantages will likely yield a near-total abortion ban in the coming weeks. Because the gerrymandering of state legislative lines is so extreme, the only competition that Republican lawmakers fear is from even more conservative Republicans.

In Wisconsin, Democrats hold virtually every statewide office, including governor. Yet, waves of gerrymandering have left Republicans with close to a supermajority in the State Senate and Assembly. That means an abortion ban that was passed in 1849, when only white men could vote, is set to go back into force now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.Gerrymandering a Two-Way Street 

Gerrymandering is a two-way street, of course. Illinois, Texas, and Ohio are among the worst. 

Let's discuss Ohio and How Republicans pass abortion bans most Americans don’t want.

On 10 April 2019, the Ohio legislature easily passed SB 23, a bill that banned abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

There wasn’t widespread support for the bill – polling showed public opinion was nearly evenly split over the bill (a poll after the bill was passed showed a majority opposed it), John Kasich, a previous Republican governor, had twice vetoed the bill, saying it was unconstitutional, and it had stalled in the legislature for years.

But Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, a Republican, nonetheless signed the bill into law the next day. 

Ohio offers a case study of how US politicians enact extreme abortion measures that don’t align with voters’ views but face little accountability at the polls.

That kind of gerrymandering will probably serve as an invisible, virtually impenetrable fortress that will allow lawmakers across the US to continue to push extreme abortion measures that are unsupported by the public.

As lawmakers have pushed these severe restrictions, they have consistently remained out of line with what most Ohioans believe. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Ohio voters support some form of legalized abortion, while a minority believes it should be illegal.

 

In Illinois, extreme gerrymandering has led to worst in the nation public union corruption, high property taxes, business flight, and personal flight. 

Illinois is one of a few states losing population due to extreme liberal policies. 

Gerrymandering is not a one-party issue. 

Abortion Access 

Abortion access courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

Abortion access across the U.S. now depends on state laws after Supreme Court overturned 1973 decision that established constitutional right to an abortion.

Here is a non-paywalled link to the WSJ article Where Abortion Is Legal and Where It Loses Protections Without Roe v. Wade

Anyone living in Southern Texas, Mississippi, or Arkansas has a hell of a long drive for clinic access.

https://mishtalk.com/economics/abortion-goes-back-to-the-people-says-the-wall-street-journal-does-it