Polls taken since the Dobbs leak last week continue to be mixed, reflecting the long-time cognitive dissonance of public opinion about abortion, with a majority favoring basic abortions rights, but with a large majority also supporting some restrictions, especially in the third trimester. Above all, most polls find that abortion ranks far down the list of voter concerns, behind inflation, crime, health care, and education.
It is ironically fitting that in our secular age, most voters don’t seem to regard abortion as the sacrament that it has become to the left. A Reuters story about voters it interviewed in Arizona captures this well:
Suburban Phoenix is cautionary tale for Democrats hoping to galvanize voters on abortion
Laura Wilson is a mother of three who lives in the sprawling suburbs of north Phoenix, a hotly contested electoral area of Arizona that could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate after November’s congressional elections.
Wilson, 61, is pro-choice, voted for Democratic President Joe Biden, and knew all about the news last week that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision giving women the right to an abortion.
Yet Wilson said she is undecided about who she will vote for this November, and abortion rights are not a priority for her.
“It’s the economy and jobs,” Wilson said. She said she was disappointed in Biden, because of high inflation and “too many homeless people on the streets.” . . .
Of the 21 women interviewed by Reuters, five said they were pro-life and Republican, while 16 said they were pro-choice. Just two of the 16 said the issue was the top priority for them when voting this November, while half of the 16 were undecided about who to vote for in the Senate race because of concerns about the economy. The other half said they would likely vote Democrat. . .
Sherica Bailey, 33, got tearful talking about her two abortions. She is now adamantly opposed to abortion and says she will vote Republican and for any candidate who is pro-life.
“I do support the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I had abortions during a very dark time in my life. I was naive and stupid,” she said.
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