According to a new Gallup poll, more Americans consider abortion to be morally wrong than morally acceptable.
The poll, which covered a wide range of moral and social issues, indicates 47% of respondents rated abortion as morally wrong, while 43% chose morally acceptable. Political party affiliation was at least somewhat tied to position on most of the issues, including abortion, with only 24% of Republicans considering abortion morally acceptable, as opposed to 44% of Independents and 62% of Democrats.
According to Gallup, “Americans’ willingness to describe many issues as morally acceptable has grown since 2001, namely for gay or lesbian relations, having a baby outside of marriage and sex between unmarried people.” However, despite trends in increasing liberal views on several issues, the poll shows that on a few issues, including abortion, there has been “little to no change” in the way Americans feel over the past 15 years.
The poll issues most widely considered to be morally acceptable were birth control and divorce. The issues considered most morally unacceptable included married people having an affair and the cloning of humans, closely followed by polygamy and suicide. Abortion fell within the “contentious” category, with both supporters and opponents maintaining high numbers.
