Most US adults support legal abortion three years after Roe overturn, new poll finds
Good morning, and welcome to the US politics blog.
Today we’re kicking off with the findings of a new poll: three years after the US supreme court opened the door to state abortion bans, most adults continue to say abortion should be legal — views that look similar to before the landmark ruling.
The new findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that about two-thirds of US adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
About half believe abortion should be available in their state if someone does not want to be pregnant for any reason. That level of support for abortion is down slightly from what an AP-NORC poll showed last year, when it seemed that support for legal abortion might be rising.
Other things to note in US politics today:
Stick with us today as we bring you all the US politics news to come.
Key events
Trump visit to Scotland expected to be met with wave of protest
Libby Brooks and Peter Walker
Scottish protest organisers anticipate a wave of resistance to Donald Trump from Ayrshire to Aberdeenshire this weekend as Scots take to the streets to express “widespread anger” at what they termed the US president’s increasingly extreme policies.
Trump t is expected to arrive in Scotland tomorrow for a five-day private visit to his luxury golf resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire.
While it is not a formal trip, Keir Starmer will hold talks in Scotland with Trump on Monday. No press conference is scheduled, but the media (not the Wall Street Journal) are expected to attend the start of the discussions.
The Stop Trump Coalition is organising events in Aberdeen in the city centre and outside the US consulate in Edinburgh on Saturday at midday – similar gatherings during Trump’s visit to Scotland in 2018 attracted thousands of protesters.
Along with the two main city gatherings, protests are expected around Turnberry and Menie, where Trump is expected to open a new 18-hole golf course named in honour of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, who was born on the Isle of Lewis.
DOJ meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell set for today
A senior justice department official is expected to meet today with Ghislaine Maxwell in Tallahassee, Florida, ABC News reported last night.
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s close associate, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, among other crimes, in Tallahassee.
The justice department said on Tuesday that the meeting between deputy attorney general Todd Blanche and Maxwell would take place “in the coming days”.
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in a statement posted by attorney general Pam Bondi on X on Tuesday.
Maxwell’s attorney confirmed that day that they were in discussions with the government about the visit, saying in a statement: “Ghislaine will always testify truthfully.”
Yesterday her brother Ian Maxwell told the New York Post that she is preparing “new evidence” ahead of the meeting. But there are substantial doubts about her veracity, Politico notes.
Among those voicing concern is House speaker Mike Johnson, who yesterday appeared to cast doubt on his own party’s movement toward subpoenaing Maxwell to testify. Referring to past justice department allegations that she is a pervasive liar, he asked: “Can she be counted on to tell the truth … can we trust what she’s going to say?”
Indeed since the DOJ announcement of the meeting, suggestions have arisen about her potential motives, given that Donald Trump has the power to pardon or commute her sentence.
The Guardian has been keeping up with the changing abortion laws across the US since Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022.
You can see the latest state-by-state breakdown here:
Here’s more context from the Associated Press on its new poll about abortion:
The June 2022 supreme court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade and opened the door to state bans on abortion led to major policy changes.
Most states have either moved to protect abortion access or restrict it. Twelve are now enforcing bans on abortion at every stage of pregnancy, and four more do so after about six weeks’ gestation, which is often before women realize they’re pregnant.
In the aftermath of the ruling, AP-NORC polling suggested that support for legal abortion access might be increasing.
Last year, an AP-NORC poll conducted in June found that 7 in 10 US adults said it should be available in all or most cases, up slightly from 65% in May 2022, just before the decision that overruled the constitutional right to abortion, and 57% in June 2021.
The new poll is closer to Americans’ views before the supreme court ruled. Now, 64% of adults support legal abortion in most or all cases. More than half the adults in states with the most stringent bans are in that group.
Similarly, about half now say abortion should be available in their state when someone doesn’t want to continue their pregnancy for any reason — about the same as in June 2021 but down from about 6 in 10 who said that in 2024.
Adults in the strictest states are just as likely as others to say abortion should be available in their state to women who want to end pregnancies for any reason.
Democrats support abortion access far more than Republicans do. Support for legal abortion has dropped slightly among members of both parties since June 2024, but nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 4 in 10 Republicans say abortion should be legal in at least most instances.
Most US adults support legal abortion three years after Roe overturn, new poll finds
Good morning, and welcome to the US politics blog.
Today we’re kicking off with the findings of a new poll: three years after the US supreme court opened the door to state abortion bans, most adults continue to say abortion should be legal — views that look similar to before the landmark ruling.
The new findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that about two-thirds of US adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
About half believe abortion should be available in their state if someone does not want to be pregnant for any reason. That level of support for abortion is down slightly from what an AP-NORC poll showed last year, when it seemed that support for legal abortion might be rising.
Other things to note in US politics today:
Stick with us today as we bring you all the US politics news to come.
