Poll: Most Asian individuals support legal access to abortion
The findings come from a national survey conducted by AAPI Data, the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
Attendees at last month’s Lunar New Year parade in New York City’s Chinatown (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
A majority of adult Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander believe in legal access to abortion in all or most cases, according to a recent poll.
The findings in the survey conducted by AAPI Data, the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in February found that 79% of AANHPI communities supported legal access to abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. The poll reached out to1,172 participants aged 18 and older las. through online and telephone interviews in English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.
“This is not a surprise for us,” said Tuyet Duong, chief policy and government affairs oficer at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum . “Our research has shown strong support for abortion in women of color communities for a long time. I think that it's only because there is a cultural stigma, with regards to discussing sex and reproductive health care and these topics in the AANHPI community, that we have sort of less stories about our communities in the media sphere than some of the other communities.”
AANHPI communities are less likely to be amongst the litigants in big reproductive rights cases, but the community still continues to exercise their rights in their daily lives, Duong explained.
The report showed the AANHPI community supported abortion more than the general population for any reason (68% versus 54%), and that 9 in 10 Asian Americans support abortion in the cases of rape, incest, health risks or fatal fetal abnormality. Six in 10 AAPI adults also believe in coverage for abortion by private and public insurers, regardless of age.
When it comes to access for family planning services, 59% of AAPI adults believe they have adequate access while, 55% believe they have adequate access to prenatal care. The number drops even lower when it comes to abortion services (44%).
In addition to abortion, 56% of AAPI adults support gender-affirming counseling and therapy for transgender adults while 46% of AAPI adults back gender-affirming hormone therapy. However, the number regarding support drops for minors when it comes to gender-affirming counseling (47%) and hormone therapy (30%).
Duong expects abortion will be a hot topic for elections in November, especially for the AANHPI community. About half of AAPI adults approve of President Joe Biden’s handling of abortion issues, which is higher than the general population (52% versus 39%).
“People see it as a big issue,” Duong said.“And we are going to be emphasizing that reproductive health care is health care, and that access to health care is one of the biggest issues for our community.”