55% of Americans describe themselves as pro-choice—up from 49% a year ago—and 39% describe themselves as pro-life, the lowest figure since 1996, according to a Gallup poll of 1,007 US adults.
For the first time since Gallup asked the question in 2001, a majority of those surveyed (52%) viewed abortion as morally acceptable. 35% said abortion should be legal in all circumstances, and 18% said it should be legal under most circumstances.
32% of those surveyed said abortion should be legal in only a few circumstances, and 13% said it should be illegal in all circumstances.
The Gallup survey revealed logically inconsistent thinking on abortion among a significant number of Americans. While 35% of those surveyed said abortion should be legal under all circumstances, only 20% of the same survey group said that abortion should be legal in the third trimester. 36% of those surveyed said abortion should be legal in the second trimester, and 67% said it should be legal in the first trimester.