NBC News poll shows nation's demographic divides on abortion

[Carlitos Brigante]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nbc-news-poll-shows-nations-125800964.html

Here are the numbers:

All adults: 54 percent legal, 42 percent illegal (was 44 percent legal, 54 percent illegal in 2003)

18-34: 65 percent legal, 32 percent illegal

65+: 48 percent-49 percent

18-44: 60 percent-37 percent

60+: 48 percent-49 percent

Whites: 51 percent-46 percent

Blacks: 55 percent-39 percent

Latinos: 63 percent-35 percent

Men: 49 percent-47 percent

Women: 59 percent-38 percent

Whites with college: 60 percent-37 percent

Whites without college: 46 percent-50 percent

Urban: 65 percent-34 percent

Suburban: 54 percent-42 percent

Rural: 33 percent-63 percent

Northeast: 65 percent-34 percent

Midwest: 49 percent-48 percent

South: 43 percent-52 percent

West: 65 percent-31 percent

Evangelicals: 26 percent-70 percent

Non-evangelicals: 65 percent-32 percent

[dchill]

1. Education.

[dsc]

2. buried in here is why we have such problems with rural voters

aside from Evangelicals (and those would be white Evangelicals) rural voters are the most likely to be against legal abortion. That is why we have been doing so poorly in rural areas.

[maxrandb]

9. Maybe the problem isn't that we do poorly in rural areas

Maybe the problem is rural areas like their women barefoot and pregnant.

No amount of "outreach" is going to change that.

Maybe the solution is NOT to compromise on women's health and freedoms. Maybe the solution is NOT to compromise on minority rights and freedom.

Maybe the solution is to take away rural Americas ability to bring the rest of us down to their level.

And before DUers in rural America start attacking me, maybe you're not doing a good enough job.

Obviously, your example is NOT enough to convince the majority of the folks you live among not to murder you in your sleep.

No sir, the solution is, through economic power and voting, to make rural America irrelevant, or to make their political power commensurate with the population they contain.

If that fails, there is always the military option that was used the last time "rural" America tried to impose their values on the rest of us.

[dsc]

23. I don't mean we should go after their votes

we should do everything in our power to reward everyone but them with government goodies, and do our best to out vote them. We should spend 0 dollars, 0 time in those areas and when possible tax them to pay for things that will help urban and suburban voters.

[DeeNice]

28. I mean it is what they claim to want...no big gubmint and all.

[Hortensis]

21. Right. But include rural black folk also. Evangelical and other.

A bunch of those 39% black who oppose abortion will be rural. Rural southern AA in particular tend to be strongly conservative and churchy, and for many supporting equality for themselves by voting Democratic conflicts enormously with the need to oppose abortion. Black voter turnout in national elections ranges in the mid 60%s, similar to white, and abortion is a significant reason we don't get more of both those who vote and those who don't.

[brush]

3. Republicans, ya just screwed yourselves for the mid-terms.

It's called the law of unintended consequences.

[maxsolomon]

4. since they've gerrymandered the states they control, they probably aren't too concerned.

they'll draw some new lines before 11/22 to consolidate that control, too.

but i admire your optimism.

[brush]

7. You think republican women always vote the way their men do?

Last edited Thu Sep 2, 2021, 01:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Democratic women aren't the only ones against this.

Look a bit deeper.

[maxsolomon]

14. the ones I know do. in fact, they're even more rabidly RTL than their husbands.

regardless, it's mainly the low-information voters that flip between parties.

again, gerrymandering protects GQP control and insulates them from any theoretical pro-choice backlash, even if they don't have the support of the majority of that states voters. see: MI, WI, PA.

in the south (MS, AL, AR, MI), or the mountain west (ID, WY, UT, MT), GQP control is so solid they could institute Sharia Law and they'd be applauded.

[brush]

17. Good for you. But did you not look at the percentages...

on the chart? We'll see if all republican women, not just the ones you know, are in favor of having control of their own bodies taken away.

Oh, as far as optimism, you should try it sometimes. It helps against the knee jerk Chicken Little-ism and instead encourages GOTV-ism.

[maxsolomon]

20. i prefer realism.

i grew up on the German Catholic west side of Cincinnati. this moment has been coming my entire adult life.

[brush]

22. Don't give up so easily.

[maxsolomon]

25. acknowledging reality is not giving up.

are you really such a pollyanna that you cannot recognize facts?

it took decades of sustained GQP propaganda to get to this point: minoritarian control. it will take decades for demographics to shift enough to change this situation.

[brush]

26. It's not over yet. Your pessimism is depressing.

[maxsolomon]

30. Realism is not Pessimism.

I think things CAN change, but I have seen how long it takes. Look how long it took the GQP took to put a 6-3 court in place. The Trump Court is the result of decades of activism.

Cynicism, I'll accept. I'm cynical. America certainly facilitates that.

[brush]

31. You say realism, I say pessimism, so let's call the whole thing off.

Gloomy Guses are not for me.

[maxsolomon]

33. I said I admire your optimism.

I wish I could believe that enough GQP women will change their votes over this law to make a difference. I'd like to be surprised.

[brush]

35. You've already forgetten the 2018 blue wave where suburban...

republican women vote blue. You think they'll go back to voting republican after they've had control of their bodies taken away from them? I don't.

[Demsrule86]

11. I think they have screwed themselves also.

[jcgoldie]

5. The only demographic I found surprising in there is Latinos

I wouldn't have guessed they would have favored legal abortion so strongly given the large percentage of Catholics.

[treestar]

6. +1

[róisín_dubh]

13. I'd be curious to see the M/F divide among Latinos.

Plus we tend to see Latinos as a monolith and there's quite a divergence. Women's activism in Latin America is massive in favour of their reproductive rights.
So, it's surprising in a good way, but I'm a nerd who studies the region and women's human rights...so I'm a little more curious to see the breakdown.

[bluedevil4]

8. I was shocked to see it so close. The more educated you are the more you are pro-choice

This is the gallop poll for 2021
https://news.gallup.com/poll/244709/pro-choice-pro-life-2018-demographic-tables.aspx


Americans' Self-Identified Position on Abortion, 2021
With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?



"Pro-choice" "Pro-life" No opinion^ Number of
interviews




U.S. adults 49 47 5 1,016
Gender

Men 45 50 5 545
Women 52 43 4 471
Age I
18 to 29 56 39 5 131
30 to 49 50 45 5 266
50 to 64 48 46 6 263
65 and older 39 58 3 345
Age II
18 to 34 55 39 6 194
35 to 54 49 45 6 279
55 and older 43 54 3 532
Education I
No college 33 62 6 235
Some college 49 45 6 319
College graduate only 62 36 3 251
Postgraduate 68 28 4 208
Education II
Total college graduate 65 32 3 459
Not college graduate 40 55 6 554
Yearly household income
Less than $40,000 42 53 5 267
$40,000 to $99,999 49 46 5 375
$100,000 or more 61 37 3 284
Race/Ethnicity
Non-Hispanic White Americans 50 46 4 753
Hispanic or non-White Americans 47 48 5 246
Ideology
Conservative 18 78 4 387
Moderate 56 38 6 333
Liberal 80 17 4 272
Party ID
Republican 22 74 4 317
Independent 53 41 6 348
Democratic 70 26 4 322
Leaned party ID
Republican/Lean Republican 23 73 4 464
Democrat/Lean Democratic 73 24 4 470
Attend religious services
Weekly 23 75 2 249
Nearly weekly/Monthly 40 54 6 229
Seldom/Never 64 30 6 534
Region
East 56 38 5 208
Midwest 47 51 2 212
South 44 52 4 346
West 50 43 8 250
^ No opinion includes "Mixed," "Other," and "Don't know"
GALLUP, MAY 3-18, 2021

[JanMichael]

10. Most of Gen X left out again...whatever. nt

[obamanut2012]

19. I just said the same thing

[nolabear]

24. Well fill it in!

[JanMichael]

27. It wasn't in the Yahoo article link either.

That's okay literally we don't care. It's been that way forever.

[modrepub]

12. These Polls Mean Nothing

It's who (consistently) shows up at the polls and to some extent who really feels that strongly about this issue. I suspect a vocal minority has been pushing to reverse Roe over the last 4-5 decades. There are probably slightly more who support the current set up. And I'll conjecture there's a significant number of folks who while they may have an opinion, don't care much how this plays out.

I don't know if enough people will finally be galvanized to get involved AND show up at the polls (or run for office). Maybe this will be the impetus to finally put this issue to rest. Somehow I doubt it. Apathy (and revulsion created by this issue) are too strong IMO.

[Carlitos Brigante]

15. No doubt. The people eligible to vote and participate bear a lot of the blame here. I honestly

have no idea whether this will motivate the eternally apathetic or not. It's a long time until 11-2022 and we do live in the United States of Amnesia.

[Dawson Leery]

16. Latinos are not monolithic.

As another poster noted, women in Latin America have bee active for equal rights.

[obamanut2012]

18. GenXers ignored again!

It's getting to be funny at this point.

[Marius25]

29. Pew research shows higher numbers.

70% want Roe v. Wade to remain the law. 61% want abortion to be legal in almost all or most cases. Only 28% want it illegal.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

32. K&R

[roamer65]

34. We can win on this issue alone.

2022…the message should BE CLEAR and SINGULAR.

Give us the majority needed to codify Roe v Wade into federal law.

This also needs to happen at state level.

[Piratedog]

36. Evangelicals fuck everything up!

[WarGamer]

37. The abortion issue is tough to poll

Depends on how the question is framed.


1) Do you approve of safe and legal abortion when the decision is made between a woman and her Doctor?

This will have a much more positive result than:

2) Do you approve of abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detectable?


In fact... even amongst pro-choice adults... a majority oppose 3rd Trimester abortions. (YouGov 2019)

The good news is... Americans are broadly supportive of abortion rights in general.