Republicans, Protestants and adults 55 and older are the most likely groups to want stricter U.S. abortion laws, according to a Gallup report published Jan. 22.
For all three groups, around one-third of respondents said they were satisfied with the current laws on abortion. This is in line with the nationwide satisfaction rate of 32%.
The dissatisfied respondents in all three groups were significantly more likely than other groups – and the national average – to express a desire for stricter laws.
Republicans had the greatest disparity, with 42% wanting stricter laws and only 6% less strict laws.
This 36-point difference was the widest of any group and was well above the 2% difference nationally, where 24% want stricter and 22% less strict regulations.
There was a 17-point difference among Protestants (31% more strict; 14% less strict) and 15-point difference among those 55 and older (30% and 15%, respectively).
The next closest difference was among respondents without any college education: 29% want more strict and 18% less strict laws.
The greatest differences among those favoring less strict abortion laws was among Democrats (a 33% difference with 40% seeking fewer restrictions), nones/atheists/agnostics (a 27% difference with 38% wanting fewer restrictions) and 18- to 34-year-olds (a 16% difference with 35% desiring less strict laws).
Nationwide, dissatisfaction with current laws is at an all-time high (58%) and satisfaction is at an all-time low (32%), with 24% seeking stricter laws (four points below the all-time high) and 22% wanting less strict laws (an all-time high).
The margin of error for the survey is plus-or-minus 4%.
The full report is available here. The topline results are available here.
