Although the Supreme Court invalidated Roe v. Wade-awarded federal abortion rights, several states will still permit the procedure under their own sovereign authority. However, according to a survey conducted by New York University scholars at the beginning of this year, most Americans, despite adamantly opposing abortion, might still support a close friend or member of their family who was looking for a safe, legal procedure.

Despite the ban on abortion, most Americans do help in the process 

Similar to the previous point, but not as unexpectedly, many Americans would be prepared to assist a loved one in getting an abortion if they don’t think it’s immoral or have no opinion about it.

Lead study author and sociology professor at NYU Sarah Cowen “Many are willing to or have helped a close friend or family member get a legal abortion, including those who are morally opposed to it. At first blush, these people may appear as hypocrites. They are not. They are at a moral crossroads, pulled by their opposition to abortion and by their inclination to support people they care about.”

These results are from polls taken between 2018 and 2019, not long after Texas legislation was passed allowing citizens to sue other people for supposedly “aiding or abetting” an abortion carried out or performed six weeks after conception.

The research group emphasizes that although several Americans are willing to “help,” the specifics of that support vary among respondents.

Americans opposed to abortion can only offer emotional support. 

As stated in their study’s conclusion, Americans are more likely to provide emotional solidarity or aid with the logistics of a close family member or friend’s abortion rather than partially fund the abortion or its associated costs. This discrepancy may be a reflection of the social connotation of money, which is that it is a means of living out one’s ideals. Individuals who are ethically opposed to abortion can employ the tactic of refusing to make direct contributions to the procedure in order to reconcile their conflicting ideals and maintain a reasonable gap between their assistance and the abortion itself.