Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, First Lady Michelle Obama and Virginia Tech President Charles Steger at the Virginia Tech commencement on May 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
(CNSNews.com) - Americans who have spent more time in school are more likely to say they are “pro-choice” on abortion, according to newly released data from the Gallup poll.
Nonetheless, a majority of American college graduates who did not attend graduate school, as well as a majority of those who have no better than a high school diploma, say they are pro-life.
In a poll of 1,024 Americans age 18 and older, conducted May 3-6, Gallup asked: “With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?”
Only 33 percent of Americans with a high school degree or less said they were “pro-choice." Meanwhile, 41 percent of those who had done “some college,” 45 percent of those who graduated from college but did not attend graduate school, and 58 percent of those who did attend graduate school described themselves as pro-choice.
On the other side of the ledger, 53 percent of those with a high school degree or less said they were “pro-life;” as did 49 percent of those who did “some college” and 53 percent of those who had earned a college degree but did not go to graduate school.
Even though a majority of college graduates who did not attend graduate school said they were pro-life, only 37 percent of those who did attend graduate school described themselves as pro-life.
Last week, Gallup released data from the same poll, showing that only 41 percent of Americans overall describe themselves as pro-choice, the lowest percentage Gallup has registered making that declaration since it started asking the question in 1995.
Also in the same poll, Gallup asked Americans whether they thought abortion should be legal under any circumstances, under most circumstances, in only a few circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances. Twenty-five percent said it should be legal under any circumstance and 13 percent said it should be legal under most circumstances. However, 39 percent said it should be legal in only a few circumstances and 20 percent said it should be illegal in all circumstances--making a majority of 59 percent who say abortion should be illegal in most or all circumstances.