Supreme Court Favorability Decline and the Health Care Debate
people-press.org
Partisan Reaction to Court after the ACA hearings
The Court and Health Care
The survey was conducted after the Supreme Court’s hearings on the 2010 health care law. It finds that the law’s supporters and opponents express similar views of the court.
Overall, the public remains deeply divided over the health care law: 41% say they approve of it, while 49% disapprove. Among the bill’s supporters, 52% have a favorable view of the Supreme Court, while 34% view it unfavorably. Among the bill’s opponents, the balance is only slightly less negative; 55% favorable, 28% unfavorable.
However, a survey conducted last month found that while most Americans said the health care hearings did not change their views of the court, Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to say their opinions of the court had become less favorable.
The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and The Washington Post, conducted March 29-April 1, 2012 among 1,000 adults, found that 32% of Democrats said their opinion of the court had become less favorable as a result of the hearings on the health care law; just 16% of independents and 14% of Republicans said their views of the court had become less favorable.