Half of Americans call themselves pro-choice on abortion, Gallup finds, compared to 44 percent who say they are pro-life. The 2015 survey marks the first statistically significant lead for the pro-choice position since 2008.
Americans’ support for the pro-choice label has climbed from a low of 41 percent in 2012. However, it remains below levels seen in 1995, when 56 percent of Americans identified as pro-choice and only one-third considered themselves pro-life.
In 1984, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day, Gallup found half of Americans favored a constitutional amendment to ban abortion except to save a mother’s life, and 46 percent were opposed.
