Why a 'record low' number of Americans are 'pro-choice': 5 theories

Gallup reveals a surprising drop in the number of people who call themselves "pro-choice," even as more Americans back gay marriage and the legalization of pot

Anti-abortion activists protest at the March for Life rally on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. In a new Gallup poll, 50 percent of Americans say they consider themselves "pro-life."
(Image credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

Gallup has released its annual poll of Americans' views on abortion rights, and the headline number made quite a stir: Half of respondents called themselves "pro-life," just shy of the record 51 percent from May 2009, while a "record-low 41 percent" identified themselves as "pro-choice." When Gallup first asked people to choose between those two labels in 1995, "pro-choice" was at its high-water mark of 56 percent and "pro-life" was at 33 percent. This isn't the only new poll raising eyebrows, and the others don't exactly paint the U.S. as increasingly socially conservative: In a Washington Post/ABC News poll, a record-high 53 percent of Americans say same-sex marriage should be legal, versus a record-low 39 percent who want it illegal; Gallup has also found that 89 percent of people think birth control is "morally acceptable" (including 82 percent of Catholics); and Rasmussen even found a new high of 56 percent of likely voters supporting legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana. So, what's going on with America and abortion?

1. Support for abortion rights is dropping

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