New Poll: Support for Same Sex Marriages Surges, Legal Abortion supporters still majority
While a clear majority thinks abortion should be legal in most or all cases (56%) it remains pretty much unchanged. What has changed is American views towards Gay marriage, with support surging.
In addition to its many new findings, the survey tracked other polls over the past 12 years to highlight a sharp discrepancy in attitudes toward the two most prominent hot-button issues of the culture wars.
Views on abortion have been stable, with 56 percent of Americans telling Gallup pollsters this year that it should be legal in most or all cases compared to 57 percent who said that in 1999. In contrast, support for same-sex marriage has surged - from 35 percent in 1999 to 53 percent in 2011, according to Pew Research Center polls.
A key factor in that discrepancy relates to attitudes of the so-called millennials between the ages of 18 and 29.
“Millennials strongly support gender equality and rights for gay and lesbian people,” the survey said. “However … younger Americans are no more supportive of abortion rights than the general population.”