In 2012, Republicans tend to be the most pro-life, with 72 percent identifying as such. About 34 percent of Democrats are pro-life, as are 47 percent of independents. Fifty-eight percent of Democrats say they are pro-choice, as do 22 percent of Republicans and 41 percent of independents.
Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, said that the results are "the tip of the iceberg."
"In fact, a growing number of Americans are uneasy with the unfettered, under-regulated and unsavory abortion industry as it exists today," she said May 23.
She pointed to surveys showing that 7 in 10 Americans do not want tax dollars to fund abortion. She said there is "tremendous support for commonsense limits on abortion" such as limits on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Gallup's analysis noted several abortion-related controversies in the past year, such as efforts to ban federal funding for the abortion provider Planned Parenthood to investigate its finances. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure anti-breast cancer foundation also became a newsmaker when it decided to suspend its grants to the organization, before retreating under intense pressure from abortion rights supporters.
The controversy over the HHS contraceptive coverage mandate and its effect on Catholic organizations may also be a factor, Gallup suggested, because it highlighted objections to the morning-after pill.