Views on abortion, 1995-2021
While public support for legal abortion has fluctuated some in two decades of polling, it has remained relatively stable over the past five years. Currently, 59% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 39% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.
Views on abortion, 2021: 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 (34%) or illegal (26%). Fewer take the position that in all cases abortion should be either legal (25%) or illegal (13%).
Views on abortion by religious affiliation, 2021
About three-quarters of White evangelical Protestants (77%) think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
By contrast, 82% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 64% of Black Protestants, 63% of White Protestants who are not evangelical, and 55% of Catholics.
Views on abortion by party identification, 2021
About six-in-ten Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party (63%) say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. By contrast, 80% of Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Views on abortion by political party and ideology, 2021
Conservative Republicans and Republican leaners are far more likely to say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases than to say that it should be legal (78% vs. 22%). Among moderate and liberal Republicans, 59% say abortion should be legal, while 39% say it should be illegal.
The vast majority of liberal Democrats and Democratic leaners support legal abortion (89%), as do seven-in-ten conservative and moderate Democrats (72%).
Views on abortion by gender, 2021
Majorities of both men and women express support for legal abortion, though women are somewhat more likely than men to hold this view (62% vs. 56%).
Views on abortion by race and ethnicity, 2021
Majorities of adults across racial and ethnic groups express support for legal abortion. About two-thirds of Asian (68%) and Black adults (67%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 58% of Hispanic adults and 57% of White adults.
Views on abortion by age, 2021
Among adults under age 30, 67% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 61% of adults in their 30s and 40s. Roughly half of those in their 50s and early 60s express support for legal abortion (53%); among those ages 65 and older 55% say the same.
Views on abortion by level of education, 2021
About two-thirds of college graduates (68%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 61% of those with some college education. Those with a high school degree or less education are more evenly divided on the question: 50% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 47% 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, see our Religious Landscape Study.
Source: Survey conducted April 5-11, 2021. Trend lines show aggregated data from polls conducted in each year. Data from 2019 and later come from Pew Research Center’s online American Trends Panel; prior data from telephone surveys. See report for more details on changes in survey mode. Question wording can be found here, and information on the Pew Research Center’s polling methodology can be found here. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Asian adults interviewed in English only.
