Jaime Monzon
People march for abortion rights in the streets of downtown San Antonio following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Even more Texas women support the right to legally access abortion since the state ban on the procedure went into effect in 2022, according to a new study from Resound Research for Reproductive Health.
The study, which incorporates data from two statewide surveys in 2019 and 2023, shows an significant increase in support for abortion by Texans assigned female at birth between the ages of 18 and 49. Resound Research is a collaborative group of social scientists and health professionals initially assembled at the University of Texas to research reproductive healthcare.
In 2023, nearly three quarters (74%) of survey respondents said they believe the government shouldn’t interfere with a woman’s access to abortion. That represents a 10% increase in support for legal abortion from the 2019 survey responses.
The shift seems to be coming from the left and center of the political spectrum. More moderates and liberals responded in 2023 that they think abortion is moral and should be legal. The most significant shift was among moderates.
In 2019, 21% of moderates answered that they think abortion is wrong and should be illegal. In 2023, that figure had dropped to just 11%.
Unsurprisingly, the shift in attitude isn’t shared by Texas conservatives. One in six of survey respondents identified as conservative, and a majority of those said they oppose abortion.
The results of the study show an increasing rift between public opinion and statewide policy, as reproductive healthcare continues to face challenges even after Texas completely banned abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and an unnamed whistleblower are suing three Planned Parenthood affiliates and Planned Parenthood Federation of America for nearly $1.8 billion, claiming the organization defrauded the state’s Medicaid system. Reproductive rights activists call the suit a politically motivated attack aimed intended to shutter clinics across the state.
In March 2024, Texas teens also lost the right toconfidential birth control without parental consent, a right afforded teens in every other state through Federal Title X.