Poll: Nationwide Pro-Life Support Remains Steady 3 Years after Dobbs

By: Dan Hart, originally published June 10, 2025, The Washington Stand

A new Gallup poll has revealed that the percentage of surveyed Americans who say they are pro-life has risen two points since last year to 43%, a number that is consistent with past survey results over the last two decades. Experts say the numbers suggest that the efforts by the Democratic Party, pro-abortion activists, and the mainstream media to sway the American electorate towards widespread acceptance of abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision have been largely unsuccessful.

The survey, released Monday, was based on phone interviews of a random sampling of 1,003 American adults from every state and the District of Columbia from May 1-18. The results showed that the gap between men and women who say they are pro-choice has widened since Dobbs, with 61% of women and 41% of men identifying as such.

Gallup noted that the pro-choice position “jumped into a 16-point lead” in 2022 after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and has remained ahead of the pro-life position since then. Still, the pro-choice position dropped to 51% this year compared to 54% last year. In addition, the percentage of Americans who say abortion should be legal “under any/most circumstances” dropped since last year, while the percentage who say abortion should be legal in “only a few/Illegal in all circumstances” rose since last year and is now almost even at 49% to 48%.

In terms of partisanship predicting views on abortion, Charlotte Lozier Institute scholar Michael New pointed out Monday that the Gallup results show that “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, the 43% of Americans who say they are pro-life is largely consistent with percentages in past Gallup polls stretching back 25 years. The number reached a low of 33% in 1995 and peaked at a high of 51% in 2009, with the percentage fluctuating up and down between 40 and 50% in the intervening years.

“[P]ro-lifers should take heart,” New, who also serves as an assistant professor at the Catholic University of America, observed. “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.”

Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, emphasized that the poll results should compel the pro-life movement to redouble their efforts to witness to the culture.

“The Dobbs decision was not the end of abortion in America,” she told The Washington Stand. “The pro-life movement has considerable work to do educating Americans about the dignity of the unborn. This work starts in our homes with our own children, but then, we must continue it with our friends and neighbors. Those conversations are difficult to have at first, but sharing the truth in love is always worth it — regardless of the cost.”

“This poll should serve as encouragement for each of us to share the joy and blessing that children are with at least one person today,” Szoch concluded.

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.