Abortion is an issue guaranteed to cause controversy even among groups of friends, but if those friends hail from different generations, the disagreement may be even more intense.
Age does play a role in how abortion is viewed, according to long-time Gallup surveys, although an even more important factor might be educational level of the individual answering questions about abortion, as well as political affiliation.
But abortion opinions do vary based on age, and a
2014 Gallup Poll found that the differences between generations in their opinions on abortion are shifting.
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"Americans' identification with the two abortion politics labels differs somewhat by gender and age, with women and 18 to 34 year olds tilting pro-choice, and men and Americans aged 55 and older tilting pro-life. Middle-aged adults are evenly split on the issue," reports the 2014 survey.
A 2010 Gallup Poll found that generational differences are decreasing, as well.
"In the mid-1970s, when Gallup started polling on the issue, adults aged 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 were the most supportive of legal abortion under any circumstances, and those 65 and older the least, with 50- to 64-year-olds falling in between," Gallup reported.
"That pattern continued through the late 1990s. Since 2000, however, all age groups with the exception of seniors have shown similar levels of support for broadly legal abortion."
In breaking down opinions about abortion across the generations, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, the Gallup poll found that support for abortion has been falling among younger people, while support for some abortions has been rising among seniors.
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"Two important changes are apparent. One is a significant drop in the percentage of seniors saying all abortions should be illegal," Gallup reports.
"This fell from 32 percent in the earliest years of the trend to 16 percent in the first half of the 1990s, but has since rebounded somewhat to 21 percent. This long-term 11-point decline among seniors compares with a 9-point increase — from 14 percent to 23 percent — in support for the 'illegal in all circumstances' position among 18 to 29-year-olds since the early 1990s."
The Christian Postgave another example of a study that showed pro-life support among youth and young adults have been dropping. In 2008, the anti-abortion Population Research Institute determined that more young people walk in the March for Life every year.
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