Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/95276693014
Chloe Bayle
I am a Neuroscience, and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry major at Wesleyan University currently researching potential small-molecule drugs for restoring the activity of p53, the tumor suppressor protein. My interests lie in computational biophysics research that aims to develop novel therapeutic strategies for human diseases.
Abstract:
Since the overturn of Roe v Wade, public opinion on abortion has been at the forefront of political discussions. While many studies have researched public opinion, none have assessed how the overturn may have influenced it. I am interested in uncovering how this decision has affected the population and shifted public opinion. Given the existing literature on the impact of demographic variables such as age and sex, I also looked into how these factors might be intertwined with my data. Using year as an indirect measure of the Roe v Wade overturn, and survey questions from the GSS database to create a quantitative variable representative of abortion opinion, I was able to observe trends between 2021 and 2024. My findings show that there is no significant change in public opinion on abortion since the overturn, but interesting nuances were uncovered around the use of age to predict opinion on different reasons for abortions.
Literature Review:
Following the overturn of Roe v Wade, there have been many changes in the lives of U.S. citizens. There is a potential for policy change in limiting other reproductive rights such as access to contraceptive pills (Vann, 2023). This is important as it could affect more aspects of family planning going forward. Also, certain services such as genetic counseling have had to adapt to the changes in legislation, further impacting access to reproductive services (Hart, Dugan, Heuerman, & Yashar, 2025). Given the consequences of this legislation, it is important to determine whether this decision was made based on changes in public opinion regarding abortion rights. There have been studies showing that public reaction to the overturn of Roe v Wade has been widely negative, although some support has also been present, indicating that a majority of US citizens did not support this change (Valdez, Mena-MelĂ©ndez, Crawford, Arvind, & Jozkowski, 2023). Despite this, most US Americans believe abortion should be legal only under certain conditions, pointing to the nuance behind this controversial question (Norrander & Wilcox, 2023). Given the backlash and controversy, one might wonder if the data shows a shift in public opinon that might justify the legal change, or if the decision was not a reflection of U.S. citizens’ beliefs. In addition, demographic factors such as age seem to be related to opinions on abortion (Misra, 1998). Analyzing how age impacts possible changes in abortion opinions is important to get a full picture of the story. The different reasons why people get abortions also lead to nuances in the data that are essential to explore. For instance, certain states in the U.S. have banned abortion, except for when the health of the mother is at risk (Mena-MelĂ©ndez et al., 2025). With all these additional factors, it is important to look at how specific elements might influence changes in the country’s mood as well as looking at overall shifts in U.S. citizen’s beliefs.
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