After Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade last month, former vice president Mike Pence issued a celebratory statement, the Republican also called for a national abortion affecting “all states of the earth”.
At an event last week in South Carolina, Pence echoed the goal, and as NBC News indicatedthe former vice president also suggested that the American electorate broadly agrees with the kind of systemic restrictions on reproductive rights he is eager to impose.
In the evening, he spoke at a church service in Florence, South Carolina, where he received a standing ovation after a speech praising the end of abortion rights and discussing what comes next. “The tide has turned in this nation,” Pence told about 1,500 congregants at the Florence Baptist Temple. “Many more are with us than with them. Never doubt it.
Or, alternatively, conservatives should absolutely I doubt.
There is no denying the obvious fact that abortion remains a contentious and divisive issue. That has been true for decades, and it is unlikely to change anytime soon.
But for Pence to believe, and loudly declare, that “many more” Americans agree with him and his allies on reproductive rights is clearly at odds with reality.
In fact, the day after the Indiana Republican’s remarks, the Associated Press published this report on his latest national poll:
Polling before the June 24 decision suggested overturning Roe would be unpopular with most Americans who wanted the court to uphold the 50-year precedent. The new poll, roughly three weeks after the decision, finds that 53% of American adults say they disapprove of the court’s decision, while 30% say they approve… Sixty percent think Congress should pass a law that guarantees access to legal abortion throughout the country.
Sure, it’s usually best not to draw blanket conclusions from a single poll, but therein lies the point: every major independent poll in recent times has pointed in the same direction.
Early last month, for example, shortly before the ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization was issued, Gallup found Americans identifying as “pro-choice” at a level not seen in nearly three decades.
as we have discussedthe same day the data became available, a Wall Street Journal poll found that “more than two-thirds of Americans want to defend Roe vs. Wadeand the majority is in favor of women having access to legal abortion for any reason.”
A news from NBC poll pointed in the same direction, showing that support for abortion rights reached a record level, with roughly two-thirds of Americans expressing opposition to the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
In mid-June, a Pew Research Center poll found that a 61 percent majority of American adults said abortion should be legal “in all or most cases.” once the dobbs the ruling was issued, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 56 percent of Americans disagreed with him.
“Many more are with us than those who are with them”? Nice try, but no.
If Pence and his allies think they can persuade mainstream America away from reproductive rights, they are certainly welcome to try. But to say that they have Already persuaded that the American mainstream is clearly dishonest.
That said, perhaps the former vice president is convinced that independent pollsters are wrong and that “the tide” really has turned in the right direction when it comes to reproductive health. Why not test that proposition?
Democrats and Republicans can make this issue a centerpiece of the 2022 midterms, and we’ll see which side of the debate has “a lot more” supporters.