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Memos & Media Guidance
The Polls Show the Truth: Americans Support Roe v. Wade and Confirmation After Inauguration
Date: September 27, 2020
From: NARAL Pro-Choice America
To: Interested Parties
Re: The SCOTUS confirmation fight and the stakes for abortion access will power reproductive freedom champions to electoral victory in November.
The American people overwhelmingly back the right to abortion: 77% don’t think Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Don’t let that get lost in the coverage of Amy Coney Barrett as Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Amy Coney Barrett is wildly out of step with mainstream views and ramming through her nomination is a power grab by Trump and Mitch McConnell that flies in the face of public opinion.
A Change Research poll released Friday found that a vast majority (78%) of suburban women in Georgia oppose making abortion illegal and turning back the clock to the days before Roe v. Wade. Another recent poll found that a large majority (76%) of voters in battleground states—North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, and Iowa—agree (with 60% in strong agreement) that any decision about pregnancy should be made by the woman with the support of people she loves and trusts, while just 18% disagree. This includes 79% of independent voters and 55% of Republicans.
And even before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, voters knew what was on the line for reproductive freedom. For decades, anti-choice, anti-freedom legislators and officials have chipped away at abortion rights. Then, Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation two years ago tipped the balance of power on the Supreme Court to a majority hostile to reproductive freedom.
Now, Trump is trying to jam through a third nominee and lock in a Trump supermajority on the Court for decades to come, with the added upside for Trump of securing a majority to help hand him the election if the outcome is challenged in court.
This assault on our democracy is terrifying. Full stop. Voters are already casting their ballots for the next president, who should fill this Supreme Court seat. But as they see this attack on our democracy unfolding, the American people are fired up, pouring their money and time into campaigns and causes to push back on the Trump-McConnell power grab and move our country towards a future where everyone is free to thrive.
This Supreme Court nomination fight has tremendous consequences for our nation and for every single person who may need to decide if and when to start or grow a family or how to care for the family they have. That includes everything from whether they’re seeking birth control or in need of abortion care or worried about our shameful maternal mortality rates, especially for Black women and pregnant people.
And while the attacks on reproductive rights have alarming implications for real people, they also have major political implications. After all, the American people see this power grab by Trump for exactly what it is. This may be about throwing red meat to his base, but the Republican party should be prepared to face major backlash from Democratic and independent voters. Remember:
- This Supreme Court vacancy is galvanizing to Democratic voters:
- 64% of Biden supporters say the vacancy makes it “more important” that Biden win the election, compared with 37% of Trump supporters who say the same about Trump winning reelection. Biden supporters are 19 percentage points more likely to say the vacancy makes it “much more important” that their candidate win, at 48%, compared with 29% of Trump supporters. (WaPo/ABC)
- By a 20-point margin, Americans want the winner of the November election to pick Justice Ginsburg’s replacement. (Navigator Research)
- Fewer than one-third of independents think Trump should immediately nominate a replacement. (Navigator Research)
- 62% of American adults agree the vacancy should be filled by the winner of the Nov. 3 matchup between Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden (Reuters/Ipsos)