Changes From Pre- to Post-Dobbs in National Attitudes Toward Self-Managed Abortion Legality, Support, and Punishment.

OBJECTIVE

We examined changes from before to after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, in national views on whether abortion, including self-managed abortion (SMA) and self-managed medication abortion (SMMA), should be legal or punished (reported to the police or child protective services [CPS], or imposed a fine or jail sentence).

METHODS

From December 2021 to January 2022 (pre-Dobbs) and June to July 2023 (post-Dobbs), we administered two nationally representative cross-sectional online surveys to a market research firm's panel members who were assigned female at birth and aged 15 to 49. Using weighted logistic, multinomial, and general linear regression models with year as the primary independent variable, we assessed changes from pre- to post-Dobbs in views about the legality of facility-based abortion (procedural and medication abortion) and SMA methods, and whether those using SMA methods should be reported to the police or CPS, be fined, or be incarcerated.

RESULTS

A total of 6,929 (2021-22) and 3,533 (2023) participants completed our primary outcome measures pre- and post-Dobbs. A growing proportion disagreed that medication abortion from a clinic/doctor's office should be illegal (pre-Dobbs: 59.8%; 95% confidence interval (CI) [58.1%, 61.5%]; post-Dobbs: 63.1%; 95% CI [60.9%, 65.4%]), although disagreement that SMMA should be illegal remained similar (pre-Dobbs: 42.8%; 95% CI [41.1%, 44.5%]; post-Dobbs: 43.4%; 95% CI [41.1%, 45.7%]). Support for reporting SMMA to the police (29.1%-23.7%, p < .001) or CPS (29.2%-24.2%, p < .001) or having someone pay a fine (25.2%-20.9%, p < .001) or go to jail (19.1%-16.1%, p < .001) decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest decreasing national support for making facility-based abortion illegal and for punishing people involved in SMA.