As previously discussed, Gallup has published three of the six-part series on abortion and public opinion. These can be accessed here, here and here.
Among other conclusions, we can say the following:
Those who identified as pro-life and pro-choice constituted an identical proportion of the sample (48%). A majority (53%) of respondents indicated that abortion should be legal in only a few (35%) circumstances or not at all (18%), while 43% of Americans believed that abortion should be legal in all (29%) circumstances or most (14%) circumstances.
In a post dated 14 June, written by Frank Newport, it is stated that “men and women generally hold similar abortion attitudes“. Newport’s opening paragraph presents a summary of the findings from a series of telephone interviews conducted between the 1st and 10th of May 2018 with a random sample of 1,024 adults.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many U.S. political leaders may perceive abortion as a key “women’s issue,” yet the evidence suggests that women and men hold similar attitudes on this matter. A Gallup analysis indicates that the divergence in opinions on the legality of abortion between men and women has been relatively narrow for decades, extending back to the 1970s. Furthermore, there is a minimal discrepancy between men and women in their self-perception as either pro-choice or pro-life.
With regard to the proposition that abortion should be prohibited in all instances, 19% of both men and women have espoused this view for the past four years. With regard to the question of whether abortion should be legal in all circumstances, Newport notes that, on average, 31% of women and 26% of men have held this view over the past four years.
However, the pivotal concept is what Gallup refers to as the “modal choice.”
The modal choice for both men and women is the view that abortion should be legal, but only in certain circumstances. Since the 1980s, men have been slightly more likely than women to hold this view, including by a five-point average difference over the past four years.
However, there is an intriguing and highly informative twist offered by Celinda Lake, the president of Lake Research Partners and a veteran pro-abortion pollster. In fact, women are less likely to be pro-choice, according to an interview with The Hill’s Joe Concha by Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners and a veteran pro-abortion pollster. The interview was conducted as part of the publication’s new public opinion show, which they call “What America’s Thinking.”
Lake attributed this to the fact that women are more religious, and therefore slightly less pro-choice than men. Nevertheless, Lake posited that individuals will tend to assume that a female candidate is “pro-choice.”
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
