Most respondents in a new poll said they do not trust the Supreme Court to decide cases related to sexual and reproductive health.
Only 37% of all adults said they trust the court “a lot” or “somewhat” to make the right decision about sexual and reproductive health, according to the poll released Friday by the KFF.
The findings come amid an ongoing lawsuit that seeks to overturn federal approval of mifepristone, a common medical abortion pill, and nearly a year after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
The poll revealed that confusion and concern about abortion is widespread.
According to the survey, awareness of mifepristone has doubled since January 2023, but about half of women under 50 said they don’t know if medical abortion is available if their state limits or prohibits the procedure.
Views on the safety of mifepristone were also influenced by politics. Nearly three-quarters of Democrats polled said medical abortion is safe, and nearly 60% of independents. But less than half of Republicans said the same.
The drug was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000. It has been used by more than 5 million people in the United States since and accounts for more than half of all abortions in the country.
Additionally, 60% of respondents thought it would be inappropriate for a court to overturn an FDA approval for a drug, including 73% of Democrats and 57% of Independents.
Republicans were split, with half saying it would be appropriate and the other half saying it would be inappropriate.
The lack of confidence in the Supreme Court on the part of women under 50 extended to political parties; 56% of Republican women in this age group and 81% of Democrats said they “not too much” or “not at all” trust the court to make decisions about reproductive and sexual health.
The issue of abortion globally remains a key issue for voters ahead of the 2024 election, especially among women and Democrats.
The poll found that 36% of female voters and 46% of Democrats said they would only vote for a candidate who shares their views on the issue. Only about 20% of Republicans said the same.
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When asked which party best represented their views on abortion, 42% of respondents said the Democratic Party, while only 26% said the Republican Party. About a third of respondents said that neither party represents their views.
Among voters who identify as independents, more said Democrats better represented their views on abortion than Republicans, though half said neither party represented their views. seen.
The survey was conducted from May 9 to May 19 with a sample of 1,674 American adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample and 4 percentage points for women aged 18-49.
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