Monday, July 3, 2023
Is the Supreme Court's decision to reverse Roe v. Wade unpopular with the voting public?
The rightness or wrongness of judicial decisions depends not in the slightest on public opinion, and it is wrong--and indeed would be scandalous--for judges to consider polling data in deciding a case. Still, polling about such decisions can be interesting. Here's an example. My understanding had been that Roe v. Wade, though widely misunderstood, was popular with the American people and that Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the 2022 case that overruled Roe, was extremely unpopular. According to the most recent Rasmussen survey of likely voters, however, that's not true. A majority actually support what the Supreme Court did in Dobbs. Of course, the Rasmussen poll could be an outlier. I don't follow this area closely and don't know what other survey firms are finding.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/majority_now_approve_scotus_abortion_ruling
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2023/07/is-the-supreme-courts-decision-to-reverse-roe-v-wade-unpopular-with-the-voting-public.html