Polling: New Jersey’s Reproductive Freedom Act

In its effort to move the Reproductive Freedom Act (RFA) in New Jersey, NIRH commissioned polling in New Jersey that revealed widespread public support for the RFA and access to reproductive health care in general.

NIRH’s New Jersey poll found that the RFA is extremely popular — two-thirds of New Jerseyans support the RFA across all gender, race, ethnicity, and age groups, and this includes majority support from voters of a variety of religious backgrounds, including Catholics and Protestants.

These recent findings in New Jersey align with other NIRH public opinion research that shows that overwhelmingly voters do not want politicians interfering with people’s personal decisions about abortion. 

The poll, conducted in March 2021, also showed the following key takeaways:

New Jersey voters understand the urgency of protecting and expanding access to abortion and want their state legislators to prioritize this issue. 

• 72% of New Jerseyans see the restrictions being passed in other states that push reproductive health care out of reach and agree that it’s time for New Jersey to take action with the Reproductive Freedom Act to protect access to care.
• 63% of New Jersey voters want their state legislators to prioritize protecting and expanding access to abortion
• 3 in 5 New Jersey voters say they are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that the Supreme Court might overturn or significantly weaken Roe v. Wade in the future and allow states to ban abortion outright or make it impossible to access.  

An overwhelming majority of New Jersey voters do not want lawmakers to interfere with decisions about abortion. 

• 87% of New Jerseyans believe decisions about abortion should be made by pregnant people in consultation with their medical providers. 

There is widespread support for abortion rights amongst New Jersey voters. 

• 68% of New Jersey voters believe abortion should be legal in either most cases or all cases. 
• Overall, 80% of New Jersey voters agree that individuals have the right to make their own decision about abortion without political interference.