A widening partisan gap in support for legal abortion % who say abortion should be
Support for maintaining Roe v. Wade is somewhat higher than broader measures of public support for legal abortion, but the overall patterns of opinion are similar. In October, 59% of the public said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 37% who said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
While a steady majority has said abortion should be legal in recent years, support in October was as high as it had been in two decades. Still, as with views of Roe v. Wade, the partisan gap in support for legal abortion has grown wider in recent years. While 79% of Democrats say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, just 34% of Republicans say the same.
A widening partisan gap in support for  | legal abortion  | % who say abortion should be  | Legal in all/most cases  | 59  | 40  | Illegal inall/most cases  | 1995  | 2002  | 2009  | 2016  | % who say abortion should be legalinal/most cases  | Republican  | Democrat  | Independent  | 79  | 66  | 36  | 34  | 2007  | 2010  | 2013  | 2016  | Source: Survey conducted Oct 20-25 2016  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 