{"id":292865,"date":"2026-03-12T11:48:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=292865"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:27:37","slug":"majority-of-americans-continue-to-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2026\/03\/12\/majority-of-americans-continue-to-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of Americans Continue To Say Abortion Should Be Legal in All or Most Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Share saying it is \u2018difficult\u2019 to get an abortion in their area ticks up<\/h2>\n\n\n
About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center report looks at how the U.S. public feels about the legality of abortion, including medication abortion, as well as views of the ease or difficulty of obtaining an abortion and other considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center conducted this research as part of our regular work on U.S. abortion attitudes dating back to the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a> and our politics and policy research<\/a>.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We conducted a survey Jan. 20-26, 2026, among 8,512 U.S. adults recruited through our American Trends Panel<\/a> (ATP). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions<\/a> used for this report, the detailed responses<\/a> and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Nearly four years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a majority of Americans continue to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Now, with a patchwork of differing state laws in effect, perceptions of abortion access vary by where people live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A 60% majority of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.<\/strong> This share is down slightly from the last few years \u2013 when attention to the issue was heightened after the high court\u2019s Dobbs decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About half (51%) say it would be easy to get an abortion in the area where they live, while slightly fewer (45%) say it would be difficult. In recent years, the public has become more likely to say obtaining an abortion in their area would be difficult.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly a third (32%) say it should<\/em> be easier to get an abortion where they live, 27% say it should be harder and 38% say it should be about what it is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n