For the first time since 2008, more Americans identified themselves as pro-choice on abortion, according to a Gallup study released on Friday. 50 percent of study participants said they are "pro-choice," while 44 percent identified themselves as "pro-life."
Gallup stated that in a separate question about the legality of abortion, those who identified themselves as pro-choice supported "broad abortion rights," while those who identified themselve as pro-life supported "limited or no abortion rights."
The study further states that positions on abortion over the past five years were "fairly evenly divided," but before 2009, those who identified themselves as pro-choice was the generally majority. In May of 2012, those who identified themselves as pro-life was the majority (50 percent, as opposed to 41 percent pro-choice).
Though the increase of those who identify themselves as pro-choice has increased for both men and women, men showed a big drop in identification as pro-choice in 2012, causing a gap to occur between genders. Hence, more women identify themselves as pro-choice than men today, the study showed.
The amount of middle-aged and older Americans identifying themselves as pro-choice also saw a significant increase over the past four years. In 2012, 40 percent of those 35 to 55 years old, and 40 percent of those 55 years and older identified themselves as pro-choice. In this year's study, 52 percent of those 35 to 55 years old identified themselves as pro-choice, along with 47 percent of those 55 and older.
The Gallup study was conducted by telephone interviews with 1,024 random American adults (18 and older), from May 6-10, 2015.
