Most Michigan voters want abortion rights protected nationwide, new survey finds
Voters in swing states also broadly oppose criminalizing abortion before fetal viability, according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Maryland.
A majority of voters in six key swing states strongly oppose criminalizing abortion in the early stages of pregnancy, according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation.
Respondents in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin said they oppose criminalizing abortion after fetal viability, which is generally considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The survey was conducted as a policymaking simulation, providing participants with briefings and arguments for and against the policies about which they were then asked to respond. Respondents were given a choice of options regarding who should be held liable for either obtaining or providing an abortion and about whether or how severely they should be punished.
Participants were asked whether abortion should be a crime at all stages of pregnancy, after 15 weeks of pregnancy, after 22 to 24 weeks, or at no stage of pregnancy.
In Michigan, 71% of Democratic survey respondents and 44% of Republican respondents said they oppose making abortion a crime at any stage of pregnancy. Just 39% of respondents in the state said abortion providers should be charged with a crime, and 68% of respondents opposed charging a patient who obtains an abortion with a crime.
“I think the most striking finding is that you have these big bipartisan majorities agreeing on the core question, which is whether abortion should be criminalized,” said Steven Kull, the director of the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation.
When it came to leaving abortion laws up to the states, 71% of Michigan respondents said they preferred a national federal law protecting the procedure. This includes majorities of Republicans in five of the six swing states, except Nevada. Kull said this finding is likely a reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which reversed Roe v. Wade.
Abortion in Michigan is currently protected by the state constitution, but there are requirements that must be met before someone can obtain an abortion. Medicaid coverage of abortion is banned in the state and, as in most other states, parental consent is required for a minor to have an abortion.
“I think what’s important is that, though there are differences in attitudes about abortion per se … when it comes to the choice about whether or not abortion should be criminalized, there’s actually a remarkable amount of common ground,” Kull said.
