Views on abortion, 1995-2017
As of 2017, public support for legal abortion remains as high as it has been in two decades of polling. Currently, 57% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 40% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.
Views about abortion, 2017: A detailed look
Though abortion is a divisive issue, more than half of U.S. adults take a non-absolutist position, saying that in most – but not all – cases, abortion should be legal (33%) or illegal (24%). Fewer take the position that in all cases abortion should be either legal (25%) or illegal (16%).
Views on abortion by religious affiliation, 2017
Seven-in-ten white evangelical Protestants (70%) think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
By contrast, 80% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do two-thirds of white mainline Protestants (67%).
Black Protestants and Catholics are somewhat more divided. Among black Protestants, 55% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 41% say it should be illegal. And, among Catholics, 53% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases and 44% say it should be illegal.
Views on abortion by party identification, 2017
About two-thirds of Republicans (65%) say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. By contrast, three-quarters (75%) of Democrats say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Among independents, 60% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Views on abortion by political party and ideology, 2017
Conservative Republicans are far more likely to say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases than to say that it should be legal (71% vs. 27%). Among moderate and liberal Republicans, opinion is more evenly divided: 54% say abortion should be legal, while 45% say it should be illegal.
The vast majority of liberal Democrats support legal abortion (91%) as do six-in-ten (61%) conservative and moderate Democrats.
Views on abortion by gender, 2017
Men and women express similar views on abortion; 59% of women say it should be legal in all or most cases, as do 55% of men.
Views on abortion by age, 2017
Among adults under age 30, 65% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do a majority of adults in their 30s and 40s (59%). Roughly half of those in their 50s and early 60s (53%) and those ages 65 and older (53%) say the same.
Views on abortion by race and ethnicity, 2017
Majorities of black (62%) and white (58%) U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Among Hispanics, opinion is evenly split: 50% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 49% say it should be illegal.
Views on abortion by level of education, 2017
About seven-in-ten college graduates (69%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 57% of those with some college education. Opinion is more evenly divided among those with a high school degree or less: 49% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 48% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.
Note: For more information on other religious groups or state-by-state data on views about abortion, please see our Religious Landscape Study.
Source: Survey conducted June 8-18, 2017. Trend lines show aggregated data from polls conducted in each year. Question wording can be found here, and information on the Pew Research Center’s polling methodology can be found here.
