As a topic, abortion can inspire friction – and even hostility – among people from different political parties. But new data suggests that near-equal shares of Democratic, Republican and Independent women have sought out abortions in the past.
Research nonprofit KFF released a new report this month analyzing the abortion experiences, knowledge and attitudes of women ages 18 to 49 throughout the U.S., including those belonging to different political parties. According to its findings, which were derived from KFF’s 2024 Women’s Health Survey, 12% of Republican women, 14% of Democratic women and 15% of Independent women said they had gotten an abortion in the past — including one in 10 self-named “pro-life” women.
Abortion is a “relatively common healthcare service,” that nearly one in seven women in general have undergone overall, Brittni Frederiksen, associate director of women’s health policy at KFF, told The Story Exchange in an email. “Abortion is often talked about in the political discourse in a very polarizing way, when in fact, independent of party [identification], women may need or want an abortion at some point in their lifetime.”
KFF’s data also reveals personal and ideological divides among Republican women. In all, 39% of them expressed concern about the “impact of abortion bans on the safety of potential pregnancies for themselves or someone close to them,” the report states. And in Florida specifically, where abortion is banned after six weeks of gestation, a second KFF report finds that 72% of reproductive age women believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, including 51% of Republican women.
The debate around abortion has gained even more momentum as Americans prepare to cast their votes on Election Day in November. They do so amid a patchwork of abortion laws – as of publication, the procedure is completely banned in 14 states, the Guttmacher Institute finds, with 27 others enacting abortion bans based on how long a patient has been pregnant. This matters to women voters – data from KFF published in March also revealed that one in eight respondents, mostly those on the political left, name abortion as the most important factor in their vote.
The two leading presidential candidates have immensely conflicting views on abortion. Former president Donald Trump said in April that individual states should be in charge of their own abortion laws, while current vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has publicly condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. She has also vowed to protect reproductive rights on a federal level if voted into office. “We who believe in reproductive freedom will restore the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body,” Harris said at a convention for Houston’s American Federation of Teachers last month.
A plurality of Republican women (30%) strongly oppose federal allowances for abortion. But they are the minority overall – KFF found that three quarters of reproductive-age women believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
While KFF’s data cannot predict how women will vote, it does reveal that most respondents are concerned about women’s ability to access abortion care, Frederiksen says. And, experts add, there is a glimmer of hope in that regard. “In at least eight states, there will be abortion-related ballot measures where voters can vote to expand access to abortion,” she adds. “In all states that have had similar measures in the past few years, the side expanding abortion access has won.”
