• YouGov Debunks long-standing exaggeration about the number of women who reportedly had an abortion. LESS THAN 1 in 10 women or LESS THAN 1 in 20 “Americans” reported having an abortion … depending, perhaps, on what is a woman? 
• More than 1 in 5 Republicans believe abortion should be illegal – AN INCREASE. 
• AFTER the “Big, Beautiful” Budget Bill was far along, MORE Americans said that the country was on the right track on abortion policy (Reminder, Planned Parenthood & Big Abortion misuse of healthcare spending ended when it was finalized just days after this survey!) 
• Abortion Lobby Scare Tactics have influenced too many who express concern for mothers who may need life-saving medical care, mandated in all 50 states. 

Mainstream pollster YouGov released a late June survey of abortion-related questions, focusing on the views of people who express concern about pregnant mothers since the Dobbs decision ended Roe v. Wade. Their headline highlighted the feelings and impressions of Americans bombarded with massive media messaging on the repercussions of ending the long-term mistake that was Roe v. Wade. Too bad it didn’t come with a fact check. 

The headline reads: 42% of Americans say the overturning of Roe v. Wade has increased deaths of pregnant women; 4% say deaths have decreased.

Ironically, it’s impossible to verify the impressions left by media misinformation, as there is no National Abortion Reporting Law to track the fallout of millions of deaths by abortion accurately. We can’t even verify, thoroughly, the number of babies who have died, let alone what happened to their mothers. 

Noting the terrible reality of bad data on abortion in the United States, Pew reports: “An exact answer (on the number of abortions) is hard to come by. The CDC and the Guttmacher Institute have each tried to measure this for around half a century, but they use different methods and publish different figures.” 

That tragic confusion aside, there is a lot to unpack from YouGov, a polling firm that Students for Life of America (SFLA) worked with because of their professional analysis. 

Read more at Students for Life’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement.

DEBUNKING ABORTION INDUSTRY CLAIMS

The abortion industry consistently tries to inflate its importance and reach by insisting that many women have gotten abortions and by trying to confuse people on the differences between miscarriage and abortion. The abortion industry think tank and apologist, the Planned Parenthood-founded Guttmacher Institute, claims that 1 in 4 women (24.7%) will have an abortion. 

But YouGov reports: “5% of Americans say they have had an abortion. 17% say a family member has had an abortion, and 20% say a close friend has. 9% of women say they have had an abortion.”

While we can’t tell you the difference between “What is a woman” and “What is an American,” we do know math. This indicates that only 1 in 20 women or fewer than 1 in 10 have had an abortion, far fewer than 1 in 4. 

A PARTISAN DIVIDE ON ABORTION MEANS THE GOP NEEDS TO GO BIG ON LIFE

YouGov finds that more than 1 in 5 Republicans believe abortion should be illegal … AN INCREASE. 

YouGov: The share of Americans who believe abortion should always be legal and there should be no restrictions on it has increased since August 2024, to 32% from 27%. Among Democrats, 59% believe abortion should always be legal, up from 48% last August. The share of Independents who say abortion should always be legal has increased to 33% from 22%. (Other YouGov polling has found that over a longer time period, views on this question have been mostly stable.) The share of Republicans who believe abortion should be illegal and should never be allowed has risen since last August, to 22% from 13%.

MOST AMERICANS WANT LIMITS ON ABORTION – AND NOT WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE SELLING

We note that 68% of all Adults want NO abortion or limited abortion, but Democrats LOVE abortion the most, as 59% want abortion without limits. 

Only 6% of Republicans want unlimited abortion, which means 94% want LESS. In fact, 22 % want NO abortion, while 46% wanted very limited abortion.

AS THE GOP WAS WORKING TO DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD & ALL ABORTION VENDORS, THOSE SURVEYED SAID WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK

This poll took place as President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” Budget Bill was in the home stretch. 

MORE Americans say “the country generally is headed in the RIGHT direction on the issue of abortion – now at 29% in June 2025 from 22% in August 2024. 

Let’s be clear: the policy changes in this time frame have primarily been in the pro-life direction. And while a good number believe that abortion policy is “off on the wrong track,” that number includes many pro-life Americans who grieve the millions of lives still lost to intentional abortion.

MEDIA MISINFORMATION HAS HAD AN IMPACT, CAUSING CONCERNS ABOUT AMERICAN MEDICAL CARE

While this report does not include any data on what is happening to pregnant mothers in America, it conveys concern. 

YouGov reports, “Americans who believe that the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion increased the number of pregnant women who have died has gone up, from 37% to 42%. Only 4% say the number has decreased … 35% of Americans believe the number of women abused by their partners has increased in the past couple of years as a result of the decision; only 2% think the number has decreased. 47% believe the number of pregnant women denied care during a medical emergency has increased; only 7% say it has decreased.” The report also addresses other similar concerns. 

Headlines certainly add to anxiety. Consider a few samples:  

NBC: With abortion on 10 state ballots, reports of deadly consequences of bans emerge before election

Ms. Magazine: Rest in Power: A Running List of the Preventable Deaths Caused by Abortion Bans

PBS: More pregnant women face life-threatening sepsis in wake of strict abortion laws

The issue isn’t whether the abortion industry uses fear tactics to get support for their ugly, deadly business. The issue is whether the fears are valid. 

We’ve written volumes on this, and all 50 states have laws to protect pregnant mothers’ lives, but here are a few things to read.

SFLA: Abortion for Life of the Mother Cases

SFLA: Today on Explicitly Pro-Life: Abortions Are NEVER Medically Necessary

ON WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE ON ABORTION SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION

The results are a bit muddy here. Without follow-ups or alternative options for motivation, we are left with differing views on the two at the center of every abortion.

It’s a women-versus-babies kind of argument laid out in this survey. For those who SUPPORT abortion, “62% say the primary motivation of people who support the constitutional right to abortion is to protect women’s lives.”

While for those who OPPOSE abortion, “35% of Americans believe that the primary motivation of people who oppose the constitutional right to abortion is to protect children’s lives.” 

BOTTOM LINE

As we saw in the last election, abortion was NOT a winning issue. And most Americans don’t want what Planned Parenthood and their friends in the Democratic Party are selling. 

From methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted June 24 – 26, 2025, among 1,016 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.

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