The recent vote in Ohio is just one of a string of cases where voters show they mostly support abortion access to some extent (1). Polls show the same. (2) So why do Republicans (specifically Republican politicians, not necessarily Republican voters) keep trying to do something unpopular?
My (perhaps cynical) view of Republican politicians is that they’re the “do anything to win” party. They would take any stance and pull any trick if it would give them a better chance of winning. So why are they so stuck on a losing issue?
You’re right that even among the republican base, abortion rights area slightly majority accepted, except in the case of the far right and religious extremists. I don’t really think the republicans in office care about religion at all, I think they care about money.
The only thing then that makes any sense to me is that declining population growth is seen by some as an existential threat to capitalism and their way of life. Removing abortion rights means more population. They don’t care if that population is going to struggle with a difficult life, they only need them to work in the factories and serve them hamburgers anyway.
It’s a bit conspiracy-like, but I struggle to come up with other explanations for this. I don’t accept that they’re doing it because of their strong religious values 🙄