Poll May Indicate Changing Views On Abortion

*This is an interesting article concerning a Gallup poll on abortion conducted recently in the United States. It’s quite positive as more respondents considered themselves pro-life as opposed to pro-choice!

--------------------------------------------------

Majority of Americans Are Pro-Life for the First Time
by Fox News

Fifty-one percent of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" and just 42 percent say they are "pro-choice," the first time a majority of the country has stated a personal objection to abortion since Gallup polls began tracking the data 15 years ago.

The numbers correspond with FOX News polls this month showing 49 percent of Americans as pro-life and 43 percent as pro-choice on abortion. Last year the numbers were essentially the reverse of the current findings: 41 percent were pro-life and 49 percent were pro-choice in September 2008.

The Gallup poll released Friday also marks a massive shift from one year ago, when 50 percent of Americans called themselves pro-choice, and just 44 percent said they were pro-life. Today 42 percent say they are pro-choice, by far the lowest level of support for abortion ever measured by the Gallup poll.

Despite that change in opinion, most Americans still believe that abortion should remain legal. Yet Gallup reports that the new numbers come in stark contrast with the last four years, when polls found a strong tilt of public opinion in favor of unrestricted abortions, which is now declining.

Fifty-three percent say abortions should remain legal under certain circumstances, and nearly equal numbers take hard-line views -- 23 percent say it should be illegal in all circumstances, and 22 percent say it should be legal no matter what.

The sample study of 1,015 adults was conducted from May 7-10 and has a margin of error of 3 points. Though the changes were notable for a single-year period, they were not an anomaly -- Gallup conducted two more polls on the issue and came out with nearly identical results.

The big jump came mostly from moderates and conservatives, whose personal opposition to abortion jumped 7 and 5 points respectively. Liberal support for abortion also increased this year.

Support for abortions has wavered among men and women in recent years, but Gallup noted that for the first time in nearly a decade significantly more men and women are pro-life than pro-choice.