Gallup released the results of a new poll conducted from May 3-7 which surveyed American’s views on abortion. Here are five key takeaways.
1.) Believing abortion should be allowed under any circumstance is a very unpopular position to hold.
Only 29 percent of those surveyed believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances.
2.) Nearly one third of Democrats do not even support a major part of their party’s platform.
Seventy-one percent, “a record percentage,” of Democrats identified as pro-choice. However, the reverse of that means that nearly 30 percent of Democrats do not identify as pro-choice and are at odds with their own party’s platform which claims they “unequivocally” believe in abortion:
Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured.
3.) Americans are more pro-life than they used to be.
While slightly more respondents considered themselves pro-choice (49 percent) than pro-life (46 percent), the gap has tightened since Gallup first asked this question in 1995. That year, 56 percent of respondents identified as pro-choice.
4.) More men identify as pro-life than as pro-choice.
Among adult males, the poll discovered a pro-life advantage. Forty-eight percent of men identified as pro-life, compared to 45 percent who identified as pro-choice.
5.) Most of those who believe abortion should be legal “only under certain circumstances” say there are only a few circumstances that justify it.
Survey participants who responded that abortion should be legal “only under certain circumstances” (50 percent) were also asked whether they believed it should be legal in most circumstances or only in a few. Nearly three times as many people responded that it should only be legal in a few circumstances (36 percent) versus in most circumstances (13 percent).
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