Poll: Plurality of Voters Opposed to Federal Funding for Abortion

A plurality of Americans are opposed to the prospect of federal tax dollars funding abortion, a Scott Rasmussen national survey released Wednesday found.

“Under current law, no federal funding may be used to pay for abortions. Should the law be changed so that abortions can be paid for by the federal government?” the survey asked.

A plurality, 49 percent, said “no,” laws should not be changed, but just short of a third, 30 percent, said “yes,” they should be changed. Another 21 percent said they are not sure. 

Notably, a plurality, not a majority, of Democrats said the law should be changed to allow for taxpayer funded abortion — 47 percent. Meanwhile, a plurality of independents, 48 percent, said it should not be, as did 66 percent of Republicans. Additionally, a majority of women, specifically, 52 percent, said the law should not be changed to fund abortion at the federal level. 

The survey, was conducted by RMG Research Inc. November 29-30, 2021, among 1,200 registered voters.

The debate over taxpayer funded abortion remained a point of contention during the process of crafting President Biden’s radically left reconciliation bill, as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a moderate Democrat, made it clear he would not support a bill that did not include the Hyde Amendment, which largely prohibits taxpayer-funded abortions. 

“It has to be. It has to be. That’s dead on arrival if that’s gone,” the senator said in September. 

The news coincides with the Supreme Court’s first day of oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which poses a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization specifically looks at Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, which bars abortions after 15 weeks. The Supreme Court is posed to look at “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.”