Bay Staters' attitudes on abortion reflect nationwide consensus

Under the Radar Podcast

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion rights were pushed into a blazing spotlight. The intense fallout from the 2022 decision resulted in new state-sponsored legal limits to abortion access as well as the successful blocking of would-be abortion bans in states like Kansas.

Despite the highly charged ongoing national debate about abortion, national surveys show Americans’ attitudes remain about the same. A new poll of Bay State residents by GBH and Commonwealth Beacon conducted by the MassINC Polling Group echoes the national polling.

MaryRose Mazzola from the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts told Under the Radar she has seen an influx of out-of-state patients since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She said new abortion bans, “force people to travel or they force people to seek other options and figure this out on their own.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will soon rule on how Americans can access mifepristone — a major abortion medication and method used by nearly two-thirds of all who seek abortions. Arizona’s highest court ruled earlier this week that an 1864 law banning abortion is now enforceable.

Amelia Bonow from Shout Your Abortion argues that the prevalence of abortion is more than what it seems from public opinion polls.

“We all know a lot of people who have had abortions,” said Bonow on Under the Radar. “One in three women has at least one abortion in their lifetime and that is a consistent statistic across demographics race, class.”

The stigma around abortion is what fuels the national debate says Erin O'Brien, a political science professor from UMass Boston.

“The more that Massachusetts and other states can do to talk about how normative of an experience abortion is, that's better for politics and reproductive health for all women, regardless of whether they choose to have an abortion,” said O'Brien.

GUESTS

Erin O’Brien, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

MaryRose Mazzola, chief external affairs officer for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

Amelia Bonow, executive director of Shout Your Abortion, an abortion rights advocacy organization.