A new Gallup survey shows that the moral acceptance of abortion has dropped five points since 2024. The new data is encouraging because it suggests the trend towards moral acceptance of abortion following Roe’s reversal is finally waning.
Since 2001, Gallup has conducted an annual poll, Values and Beliefs. The poll addressed a variety of issues, including abortion, gender, homosexuality, doctor-assisted suicide, pornography, divorce, gambling, polygamy, affairs, cloning and animal testing to name a few.
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, Gallup recorded high levels of support for abortion and an increase in acceptance of abortion as a moral choice. In 2024, 54% of Americans said abortion was “morally acceptable” — the highest level of moral acceptance Gallup has ever polled on this question.
But this new survey data suggests that the trend may be changing.
According to Gallup’s latest survey, conducted in May of this year, only 49% of Americans say abortion is morally acceptable — that’s a five-point decline from just two years ago.
At the same time, the percentage of respondents who believe abortion is morally wrong increased from 37% to 41%.
Public opinions on moral questions often change very slowly and over time, so a five-point decline in just two years is noteworthy and should be an encouragement to the pro-life community and their efforts to win over hearts and minds on the issue of abortion.
The abortion numbers were not the only surprise in Gallup’s survey.
Interestingly, the survey also showed a decline in moral acceptability for having children outside of marriage (decline of nine percentage points), birth control (decline of seven percentage points), gambling (decline of six percentage points) and cloning animals (decline of 10 percentage points).
All this data is a momentary snapshot, but taken together and assessed over a longer period of time, it might suggest something bigger is happening here. While it’s true that American attitudes have been moving towards greater moral permissiveness, the Gallup findings don’t support the narrative that Americans are embracing an ever-expanding list of morally acceptable behaviors.
The survey doesn’t tell us why attitudes towards a specific issue area have changed, but it is a reminder that public opinion is not fixed. Cultural change is possible, and the pro-life movement can advance its cause even further as long as it doesn’t lose heart.
Only time will tell whether this year’s decline in abortion acceptance is temporary or the beginning of a long-term trend, but for the first time in several years, the trajectory appears to be moving in a pro-life direction, and that is certainly worth celebrating.
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