Even though the fight to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that granted the right to an abortion in the United States, was one of the biggest causes of the GOP, a new poll shows that one-third of Republican voters think that was a bad idea.
The poll was commissioned by NBC News for Friday’s anniversary of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Overall, 61% of voters are against the Supreme Court decision, while 36% approve. This is up from August of 2022, only two months after Roe v. Wade was overturned, where 58% of people disapproved, and 38% approved.
While 92% of Democrats disapprove of Roe being overturned, 31% of Republican voters disapprove. Independents disapprove of the ruling by 60%. Women voters also highly disapproved, at a rate of 67%—though that goes 10 points higher when limited to women aged 18-49. The only groups who approve of the decision were Republican voters at 65%, and rural voters at 53%.
The NBC News poll had a sample size of 1,000 registered voters and a margin of error of 3.1%.
The fact that so many people disapprove of the Roe decision could be emblematic of a wider trend of disapproval of the Supreme Court in general. A Quinnipiac poll this week showed that only 30% of registered voters approve of the Supreme Court, with 70% saying the Court was “mainly motivated by politics.” A majority, 63%, also supported term limits for Supreme Court Justices. Justices currently are appointed for life.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade saw a number of protests at Supreme Court Justices’ homes in the lead-up and aftermath of the decision. The protests started after a leak of a draft opinion that showed the Court was likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. The final decision on June 23 proved those fears right.
In early July of last year, the chief security officer for the Court called on state officials in Virginia and Maryland to put a stop to the protests. The security officer said that law enforcement could use ordinances banning protests outside of people’s homes, the New York Times and NPR reported at the time.
“For weeks on end, large groups of protesters chanting slogans, using bullhorns, and banging drums have picketed Justices’ homes in Virginia,” Marshal Gail Curley wrote to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “This is exactly the kind of conduct that Virginia law prohibits.”
As of last month, however, protesters can still be seen outside of justices’ homes, NBC News reported.
There is an anniversary protest planned for Saturday. Unlike the above-mentioned protests, however, it will take place outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., according to Washingtonian. This protest is organized by Women’s March, and will start at noon at Columbus Circle. The protesters will march from there to the Supreme Court. There are also a number of other protests planned across the country.