A new study is showing a growing gender gap between how men and women are viewing abortion. A recent Gallup poll surveyed f 1,003 adults, from all 50 U.S. states and DC revealed that overall, 51% of those surveyed identified as pro-choice and 43% identified as pro-life. When broken down by the sexes, 61% of women and 41% of men identified as pro-choice, the highest gap between the sexes since 1995. When asked whether abortion was “morally acceptable,” 57% of women agreed while 40% of men did. And, finally, when asked if abortion should be legal in any or most circumstances, 56% of women agreed and 41% of men agreed. This puts men below the national average of 49% who believe abortion should be legal in any or most circumstances.

The study found the growing divergence began around 2022 when Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision, with the national average of Americans believing abortion is morally acceptable rising from 40% before Dobbs to 49% today. Not unsurprisingly, support for abortion as being morally acceptable amongst Democrats remains strong, surging after Dobbs from 69% to 81%. Amongst Independents, that number rose slightly from 44% to 51%. For Republicans, those who said it was morally acceptable declined from 23% to 20% after Dobbs. The percentage of Republicans who identify as pro-choice also fell to record lows at 16%, with 78% of Republicans identifying as pro-life.

Researchers concluded that the data reflected the “immediate impact” the Dobbs decisions had on Americans’ views of abortion. “Women have shifted more than men on the issue, but this masks the fact that Democratic men have joined Democratic and independent women in becoming strongly more supportive of abortion rights since Dobbs. Essentially, the groups that were already the most supportive of abortion have become more so, while Republican women and men have maintained their broad opposition to abortion rights or become slightly less supportive,” researchers noted.

The widening gap between men and women also reflects the rising gap between young men and women politically. A Harvard Youth poll in 2024 found that worldwide, men aged 18 to 34 were the only group that was becoming more conservative.  The Survey Center on American Life found a similar gap between men and women on abortion as the Gallup poll, with 63% of women identifying as pro-choice, while only 45% of men did. The growing gap also comes as a time when more pro-life advocates are shining a light on the impacts that abortion has on men, who are often given little to no say. In a recent Live Action interview, men shared their stories about trying to keep their babies from being aborted. “Abortion hurts men, too,” Live Action noted.