Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study
Landmark legislative events can shift public opinion. We conducted a longitudinal survey examining abortion attitudes before and after Dobbs v. Jackson which overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Wave 1 (N = 1,014) was conducted in June 2022, and Wave 2 (N = 792) in October–November 2022. Using bivariate...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2025.2518669 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850077944043536384 |
|---|---|
| author | Xiana Bueno Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez Brandon L. Crawford Ronna C. Turner Wen-Juo Lo Kristen N. Jozkowski |
| author_facet | Xiana Bueno Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez Brandon L. Crawford Ronna C. Turner Wen-Juo Lo Kristen N. Jozkowski |
| author_sort | Xiana Bueno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Landmark legislative events can shift public opinion. We conducted a longitudinal survey examining abortion attitudes before and after Dobbs v. Jackson which overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Wave 1 (N = 1,014) was conducted in June 2022, and Wave 2 (N = 792) in October–November 2022. Using bivariate analyses, we assessed people’s attitudes towards the Dobbs decision and potential changes in abortion attitudes over time, across different abortion identity sub-groups (e.g. pro-life, pro-choice). Results indicate that people were informed about (90%) and disagreed (56%) with the decision, and did not report or experience a change in attitudes after the decision (68–73%). However, among those who did change, respondents were more inclined to endorse legal abortion after the decision (19–22%) than indicate abortion should not be legal (6–13%). Through analysing open-ended data, we found that participants more inclined to endorse legal abortion described the ruling as eroding personal rights, government intrusion, and threatening access to healthcare. Participants less inclined to endorse legal abortion indicated the ruling reinforced their belief in defending fetal rights. While not necessarily advocating outright illegality, such participants favoured stricter regulations. Notably, people who identified as “both/neither/prefer not to answer” tended to disagree with the Dobbs decision and lean towards greater endorsement of legal abortion. Uncertainty regarding (dis)agreement with the Dobbs decision was also higher among people who identified as pro-life and “both/neither/prefer not to answer” than among those who identified as pro-choice. These findings highlight important nuances that exist in abortion attitudes beyond the perceived dichotomy of the pro-life/pro-choice spectrum. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ec017da44a3477ca3878aa63d0ed663 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2641-0397 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ec017da44a3477ca3878aa63d0ed6632025-08-20T02:45:42ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSexual and Reproductive Health Matters2641-03972025-12-0133110.1080/26410397.2025.2518669Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal studyXiana Bueno0Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez1Brandon L. Crawford2Ronna C. Turner3Wen-Juo Lo4Kristen N. Jozkowski5Associate Research Scientist, Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USAAssistant Research Scientist, Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USAAssociate Professor, Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USAProfessor, Educational Statistics and Research Methods, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USAAssociate Professor, Educational Statistics and Research Methods, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USAWilliam L. Yarber Endowed Professor in Sexual Health, Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.Landmark legislative events can shift public opinion. We conducted a longitudinal survey examining abortion attitudes before and after Dobbs v. Jackson which overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Wave 1 (N = 1,014) was conducted in June 2022, and Wave 2 (N = 792) in October–November 2022. Using bivariate analyses, we assessed people’s attitudes towards the Dobbs decision and potential changes in abortion attitudes over time, across different abortion identity sub-groups (e.g. pro-life, pro-choice). Results indicate that people were informed about (90%) and disagreed (56%) with the decision, and did not report or experience a change in attitudes after the decision (68–73%). However, among those who did change, respondents were more inclined to endorse legal abortion after the decision (19–22%) than indicate abortion should not be legal (6–13%). Through analysing open-ended data, we found that participants more inclined to endorse legal abortion described the ruling as eroding personal rights, government intrusion, and threatening access to healthcare. Participants less inclined to endorse legal abortion indicated the ruling reinforced their belief in defending fetal rights. While not necessarily advocating outright illegality, such participants favoured stricter regulations. Notably, people who identified as “both/neither/prefer not to answer” tended to disagree with the Dobbs decision and lean towards greater endorsement of legal abortion. Uncertainty regarding (dis)agreement with the Dobbs decision was also higher among people who identified as pro-life and “both/neither/prefer not to answer” than among those who identified as pro-choice. These findings highlight important nuances that exist in abortion attitudes beyond the perceived dichotomy of the pro-life/pro-choice spectrum.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2025.2518669abortion attitudesabortion identityattitudinal changelongitudinal surveypublic opinionDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization |
| spellingShingle | Xiana Bueno Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez Brandon L. Crawford Ronna C. Turner Wen-Juo Lo Kristen N. Jozkowski Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters abortion attitudes abortion identity attitudinal change longitudinal survey public opinion Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization |
| title | Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study |
| title_full | Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study |
| title_short | Assessing the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels: a mixed-methods longitudinal study |
| title_sort | assessing the impact of the dobbs v jackson decision on abortion attitudes by abortion identity labels a mixed methods longitudinal study |
| topic | abortion attitudes abortion identity attitudinal change longitudinal survey public opinion Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2025.2518669 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xianabueno assessingtheimpactofthedobbsvjacksondecisiononabortionattitudesbyabortionidentitylabelsamixedmethodslongitudinalstudy AT lucreciamenamelendez assessingtheimpactofthedobbsvjacksondecisiononabortionattitudesbyabortionidentitylabelsamixedmethodslongitudinalstudy AT brandonlcrawford assessingtheimpactofthedobbsvjacksondecisiononabortionattitudesbyabortionidentitylabelsamixedmethodslongitudinalstudy AT ronnacturner assessingtheimpactofthedobbsvjacksondecisiononabortionattitudesbyabortionidentitylabelsamixedmethodslongitudinalstudy AT wenjuolo assessingtheimpactofthedobbsvjacksondecisiononabortionattitudesbyabortionidentitylabelsamixedmethodslongitudinalstudy AT kristennjozkowski assessingtheimpactofthedobbsvjacksondecisiononabortionattitudesbyabortionidentitylabelsamixedmethodslongitudinalstudy |