New Gallup Poll Shows Increase in Pro-Life Sentiment

By: Michael J. New, originally published June 9, 2025, National Review

Today, Gallup released the results of its annual survey on abortion. Overall, the news is good for pro-lifers. A range of survey questions indicate that there was actually a slight increase in pro-life sentiment in 2025.

Overall, 43 percent of respondents identified as “pro-life,” a two percentage point gain from last year’s Gallup survey. There were also small gains in the percentage of people who thought abortion was “morally wrong” and the percentage of people who thought abortion should either be “illegal” or “legal in only a few circumstances.”

Most of the media coverage of this most recent Gallup poll has focused on a growing gender gap in abortion attitudes. From the mid-1990s into the late 2010s, most Gallup surveys found that men and women had fairly similar attitudes on abortion. As recently as 2019, men were actually more likely than women to identify as “pro-choice.” However, this most recent survey showed that 61 percent of women identified as “pro-choice” as opposed to only 41 percent of men — a 20 percentage point gender gap.

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, partisanship has become a better predictor of abortion attitudes. Various Gallup survey questions have shown that since 2021, Democrats have become more sympathetic to legal abortion, and Republicans have become less supportive. Interestingly though, this most recent Gallup survey found a short-term reduction in support for legal abortion among both Republicans and Democrats.

Overall, pro-lifers should take heart.  This Gallup survey shows that since May of 2021, the percentage of Americans identifying as “pro-choice” has increased by only two percentage points. While there have been gains in support for legal abortion among Democrats and independent women, Republicans have actually become more pro-life in recent years.  The mainstream media spin that there has been a large gain in public support for legal abortion is simply incorrect. Despite an onslaught of negative media coverage about recently enacted pro-life laws, pro-life sentiment has actually remained remarkably durable.

Michael New is an assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute.