The Republican party didn't believe they would receive much pushback after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Before the ruling, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told NPR that voters would prioritize other issues. Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson said something similar at the time, telling The Wall Street Journal, “I just don’t think this is going to be the big political issue everybody thinks it is.”

Just last week, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is running for president in 2024, told NBC that the political effect of abortion will "settle as time goes on," and that he didn't see abortion as "an issue that’s going to hurt us long term.”

While the United States Supreme Court is the body that initially overturned the right to abortions, they recently issued a ruling that did not side with their GOP constituents, but rather the majority of Americans.

After a Texas judge blocked the abortion medication mifepristone, attempting to reverse the FDA's approval of it, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling. The medicine will now remain available (where legal) until lower courts review the case.

While Republicans were unhappy with the decision, recent polling data proves that the majority of Americans agreed with it, and want to keep the medication available. In fact, most Americans just want abortion to remain legal.

A poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that 64 percent of Americans oppose banning medication abortion — 73 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of Independents, and 55 percent of Republicans. 61 percent said a federal judge should not be allowed to reverse a ruling from the FDA.

The poll also found that public opinion of the Supreme Court is rapidly decreasing. Only 37 percent of Americans reported having confidence in the Supreme Court, down from 39 percent one year ago, and the lowest degree recorded in the past five years, the highest being 59 percent.

Abortion played a huge factor in the 2022 midterm elections, spurring voters to overwhelmingly back Democratic candidates. In contrast, GOP candidates ran largely on culture war issues, particularly having to do with education, and lost.

Despite election losses and proven low public opinion, Republicans aren't backing down. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill banning abortions after six weeks, and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird defunded and completely halted emergency medical care for sexual assault victims because treatment sometimes involved contraception methods.

“The Supreme Court’s decision on medication abortion comes at a critical time for the Court as an institution,” said Lee M. Miringoff, Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “With Americans’ confidence in the Court on a decline, the Court’s decision will likely fuel the flames of debate and not squelch them.”