Americans identifying as ‘pro-choice’ near record high: Gallup

by Olafimihan Oshin - 06/02/22 9:13 AM ET

Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
FILE – A woman holds a poster that reads “Abortion is Healthcare” as abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion protesters demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Dec. 1, 2021, in Washington, as the court hears arguments in a case from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. As the Supreme Court court weighs the future of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, a resurgent anti-abortion movement is looking to press its advantage in state-by-state battles while abortion-rights supporters prepare to play defense. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

More than half of Americans identify as “pro-choice,” or supportive of abortion rights, almost equaling the record high that identified as such in 1995, according to a new Gallup poll.

The new poll, published Thursday and mostly conducted after the draft of a Supreme Court decision addressing abortion rights was leaked, found that 55 percent of respondents identified as “pro-choice,” just short of the record high of 56 percent in 1995.

Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said they consider abortion to be morally acceptable, while 38 percent of respondents consider abortion to be morally wrong. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they were “pro-life.”

Forty-eight percent of men surveyed said they consider themselves to be “pro-choice,” while 61 percent of women surveyed in the poll agreed with the same sentiment.

Along party lines, 88 percent of Democratic respondents identified as “pro-choice,” marking an 18 percent increase from last year, according to the poll.

Twenty-three percent of Republican respondents said they are “pro-choice,” while 54 percent of independent respondents said the same.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents who are in the 18 to 34 age group identified themselves as “pro-choice,” while 58 percent of respondents aged 35 to 54 years old said the same.

The poll comes amid strong reaction and criticism toward the Supreme Court after Politico obtained and published a draft opinion decision last month that signaled the majority of justices would favor overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that federally protected the right to an abortion.

The Gallup poll was conducted from May 2-22 with a total of 1,007 respondents. The poll margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.