US Supreme Court's Public Confidence Hits 50-Year Low After Abortion Ruling: Survey

Public confidence in the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) dropped to its lowest point in over 50 years in 2022 after the Dobbs ruling, which led to state-level abortion bans and other constraints.

In 2022, the gap between Democrats and Republicans on abortion rights hit an all-time high, as the General Social Survey indicates. The study, performed by NORC at the University of Chicago since 1973-the same year Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide-measures public trust in the judiciary, according to News Nation.

Compared to 26% in 2021, just 18% of Americans said they had a lot of confidence in the SCOTUS, according to a study conducted last year. On the other hand, those with less confidence rose from 21% to 36%. In the most recent study, 46% of respondents said they had "only some" trust in the SCOTUS.

Women, Democrats, and supporters of abortion rights had the biggest drop in trust. Compared to 22% in 2018 and 32% in 2018, just 12% of women had great confidence in the SCOTUS in 2022.

Confidence among Democrats fell from 25% in 2021 to 8% in the same year. Similarly, faith in the court decreased from 25% to 12% among those who favor abortion for any reason.

Trust in the SCOTUS has recently declined modestly, even among Republicans. Compared to 31% in 2021 and 37% in 2018, 26% of Republicans had a lot of trust in the US Supreme Court in 2022.

Method of Study

Over many months, the survey was carried out using a mix of in-person and online interviews, per The Guardian.

Following the conservative majority's Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in late June 2022, all interviews took place seven weeks after a draft of the judgment was revealed.

Since 1972, NORC has been conducting the General Social Survey at the University of Chicago. Its sample sizes each year range from 1,500 to 4,000 individuals, and its margins of error range from plus or minus two percentage points to plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, according to News and Sentinel.

Between May 5 and December 20, 2022, 3,544 American adults were interviewed for the most current poll. For the whole sample, the margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.