This week, Gallup released additional analysis of data regarding Americans’ views on abortion. The responses, taken from the annual Values and Beliefs poll, indicate that 55% of Americans think abortion should be illegal or only legal in limited circumstances. According to a news release from Gallup, “35% say it should be legal ‘only in a few circumstances.’ Meanwhile, 20% say it should be illegal in all circumstances.” This means that 55% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal under all or most circumstances.
Previously released responses from the same poll, conducted in May 2020, indicate that pro-life views have remained steady from year to year. As Live Action News previously reported, “The same poll found that 70 percent of Americans favor some restrictions on abortion, another slight decline from last year’s Gallup poll.”
READ: Gallup poll: 70% of Americans still favor abortion restrictions
The annual Gallup poll shows Americans identifying as “pro-life” and “pro-choice” holding relatively steady with 46% identifying as pro-life and 48% identifying as pro-choice. As Michael New, writing for National Review, noted, “the differences in abortion attitudes between various age demographics are small, which is noteworthy because many abortion surveys conducted during the 1970s and 1980s found a substantial generation gap in abortion attitudes.”
New continues, “At that time [1970s and 1980s], many young adults were far less likely to oppose abortion than were senior citizens. The fact that the current generation of young adults is more likely to identify as pro-life than previous generations were is a reason for pro-lifers to remain hopeful.” In fact, previous Gallup polls showed pro-life views increasing.
Gallup previously released data about how Americans’ views on abortion affect their voting decisions. Nearly a quarter of Americans indicated that they would not vote for a candidate unless that candidate shared their views on abortion. As Live Action News previously reported, “The results indicate that abortion is becoming an increasingly important issue for voters. In 1996, only 18 percent of respondents to the same survey questions indicated that they would vote for a candidate only if their views on abortion align.”
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