Majority of Tennessee women now identify as 'pro-choice,' new poll shows

A majority of Tennessean women across all political ideologies are self-identifying as "pro-choice," according to new poll released by Vanderbilt University, mirroring a large political gender gap seen across a number of health-related issues.

Bipartisan support for at least some abortions in certain cases has been steadily growing in the Volunteer State over the past decade, with a slim majority of Tennesseans identifying as "pro-choice" for the first time in a November 2022 poll, months after the state implemented one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation.

According to the most recent Vanderbilt poll released Wednesday, 52% of registered voters consider themselves either "definitely" or "somewhat" pro-choice. Vanderbilt defined the terms as either supporting a "woman’s right to choose an abortion" or supporting "restricting access to abortion."

The slim majority is driven heavily by Democrats, who polled at 93% pro-choice, along with 54% of independents. Republicans, which Vanderbilt splits into a more moderate faction and those who identify as "MAGA" Republicans, still largely identify as pro-life, at 69% for non-MAGA Republicans and 78% for MAGA Republicans.

But an even larger majority of Tennessee women, 57%, now identify as definitely or somewhat pro-choice regardless of their political ideology.

The female majority comes as Tennessee maintains its near-total abortion ban, with no exceptions for cases of rape or fatal fetal abnormalities. There is a narrow exception when a woman's life is threatened by a pregnancy, which a group of women and doctors have filed a lawsuit against over claims it does not clearly allow emergency abortions.

Gender gap on key issues

This gender gap is mirrored elsewhere in the new Vanderbilt poll.

A majority of state voters are in favor of Medicaid expansion, for example, but a much larger share of women, 70%, support expansion compared to 54% of men.

“This poll shows a nearly 20-point gap between the views of men and women on many major policy issues, particularly on public health, that we have not seen before,” Vanderbilt Poll co-director Joshua Clinton said. “The differences we see among registered voters on issues related to reproductive issues, gun restrictions, the expansion of Medicaid and willingness to get a vaccine for serious illnesses suggests that differences in opinion by gender may have important implications for both voting and policy decisions, in our state and across the country.”

Gun agreements and disagreements

Last year, multiples polls indicated broad, bipartisan support for some gun safety reform measures, such as an extreme risk proposal that would remove guns from people deemed a "high risk" of being a danger to others.

The issue continues to garner bipartisan support, with 76% of poll respondents agreeing they would strongly or somewhat support a similar measure, up slightly from last year. MAGA Republicans polled as the least likely to support the measure, but even 64% of the group agreed they would strongly or somewhat support an extreme risk law. Non-MAGA Republicans polled at 75% supportive with independents at 75%.

Again, a larger majority of women indicated support for the measure: 81% of women strongly agree with the measure, compared to 70% of men.

Meanwhile, political lines appear more entrenched on issues like arming teachers, which the General Assembly approved in a controversial bill earlier this year. Tennesseans polled at an even split on either side of the issue, 47% opposed and 47% in favor of. Republicans approved at significantly higher rates than Democrats on the issue.

“There continues to be bipartisan support for modest gun control in the state beyond the policies that the state legislature has decided to enact,” Clinton said. “While allowing teachers to carry weapons is an area where opinion is very much divided, there are other policies we asked about receiving strong bipartisan support that were left on the table—including restricting access to individuals with a significant risk of harming themselves or others.”

Lee, General Assembly ratings remain low

Approval ratings for Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly remain low in comparison with recent years, though Republicans are till largely satisfied with Lee.

At 54%, the approval rating for the two-term governor rose slightly from last year, though it remains well below his highest rating of 65% in 2021. Republicans across the board approve of Lee at over 80%, compared to 16% of Democrats.

Meanwhile, approval ratings for the General Assembly, currently controlled by a Republican supermajority, have plummeted in recent years. Less than half of voters approve of the job the Tennessee legislature is doing, compared to a 60% approval rating in May 2020. The poll found 46% currently approve of the General Assembly's work.

Vanderbilt Poll co-director John Geer noted a disconnect between state policy and Tennessean opinion, such as on issues like abortion and gun safety, could be driving the low approval rating.

“Because of recent actions by the Tennessee legislature, overall approval of the assembly and the governor remain low, by historical standards,” Geer said. “State government appears to be paying a bit of a penalty for pursuing policies that are out of touch with Tennesseans.”

The Vanderbilt poll surveyed 1,003 registered voters in Tennessee with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt poll: Majority of Tennessee women now identify as 'pro-choice'