BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Abortion rights is among the number of issues in the forefront of voters’ minds as the midterm election approaches. In California, a ballot proposition seeks to codify into the California Constitution the same reproductive freedoms currently protected by state law.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, eliminating the federal right to abortion, local leaders and candidates have been hearing from constituents about what they think should be done at the state level.
In California, women’s reproductive rights are protected. Ballot Proposition 1 seeks to update language in California’s Constitution to specifically guarantee the right to an abortion, along with the decision to use or refuse birth control.
Taking a closer look at how voter trends by gender could affect the outcome for Prop 1, political scientists are saying that the data reveals it doesn’t have as much of an impact when compared to other factors like age.
Dr. Jane Junn, a professor of political science and gender and sexuality studies at the University of Southern California, says age factors more strongly into support for abortion rights because younger people have always had the right and will want to defend what they see as the status quo.
“So there’s a misconception that women are much more strong supporters of abortion rights. That’s not the case. There aren’t substantial differences between men and women,” said Junn. “What you will find are differences between older voters and younger voters, with the younger voters having always grown up with this particular right at the federal level maybe finding it to be more shocking. But on the basis of gender, there aren’t huge differences between men and women on this issue.”
A study by the Pew Research Center on gender and age when it comes to reproductive rights completed in May found that women are more likely to support abortion than men, but a majority of both genders support a person’s right to reproductive freedom. 58 percent of men believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases while 41 percent did not. Of women, 36 percent believe it should be legal in all or most cases with 35 percent saying no.
When it comes to age, the Pew study found 54 percent of voters age 65 years and older were in favor of abortion rights compared to 44 percent against. In comparison, 74 percent of voters 18 to 29 years old support abortion rights, while 25 percent are against.
One of the issues surrounding letting the states build a patchwork of abortion laws is that it means more people will have to travel longer distances in order to obtain one. Most women in the United States will have to travel and average time of more than an hour and a half to obtain a medical abortion. That’s three times longer than it was before SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade and ended the federal right to an abortion.
A new study published November 1 found that a third of women in the U.S. have to travel farther to find help now that more than a dozen states have enacted complete or partial bans on abortion. For women in Texas and Louisiana, the average driving time to the nearest reproductive health clinic is more than eight hours.