Showing 'Anti-Choice Agenda Is Out-of-Touch and Patently Un-American,' Public Support for Roe v. Wade Hits Record High

Pro-choice activist Lisa King holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Showing 'Anti-Choice Agenda Is Out-of-Touch and Patently Un-American,' Public Support for Roe v. Wade Hits Record High

Across the political spectrum, the majority of people surveyed said they want the landmark ruling that ensures abortion rights upheld

While reproductive rights advocates raise alarm about President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as the administration and Republican lawmakers continue to wage war on women's access to healthcare, new polling shows that public support for Roe v. Wade--the landmark ruling that constitutionally guarantees a woman's right to have an abortion--has hit a record high across the political spectrum.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published Monday found that 71 percent of all respondents do not want the 1973 ruling overturned--the highest degree of support in the poll's 13-year history. Notably, those supporters spanned political party affiliation, with 88 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of independents, and 52 percent of Republicans indicating that they want Roe upheld.

"Voters also say that they are more likely to vote for a political candidate who supports abortion rights rather than for one who opposes them," NBC reported. "Forty-four percent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a pro-abortion-rights candidate, while 26 percent said they would be more likely to support a candidate who backs restrictions on abortions."

"I hope my Republican colleagues who believe that women, not the government, have the right to control their own bodies will stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, who don't want Roe v. Wade overturned."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders

In addition to their stance on Roe and political candidates, the survey also asked respondents where they stand on Kavanaugh. While only 26 percent everyone surveyed--including 52 percent of Democrats--said they oppose his nomination, NBC noted that "public support for Kavanaugh's confirmation to the court is significantly lower than it was in advance of most of his predecessors' confirmations."

Since Trump's announcement that he had selected Kavanaugh, reproductive rights advocates have organized nationwide protests against the nominee, warning that if the Senate confirms him and the anti-choice movement succeeds with its ploy to force the high court to revisit Roe, Kavanaugh would be the deciding vote on a woman's right to choose.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)--who has been a vocal opponent of the Trump nominee--responded to the poll on Twitter by calling on his Republican colleagues to stand with the majority of the American public and defend women's reproductive rights.

The reproductive rights group NARAL claimed the poll is just the latest proof "that the anti-choice agenda is out-of-touch and patently un-American."

Last month, a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed similarly high support for Roe, with 67 percent of respondents--including 81 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of independent voters--reporting that they do not want the ruling overturned.

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