A return to morality?

Gallup has just released new poll results finding that, for the first time since they began polling the abortion issue in 1995, more Americans are pro-life than pro-choice.

As you can see from the chart, this is a fairly dramatic change since last year's survey. Though driven mostly by conservatives/Republicans, the change is across both genders and is accompanied by a corresponding shift in the numbers who believe that abortion should be legal under all circumstances. Gallup sums it up nicely in their "Bottom Line":

With the first pro-choice president in eight years already making changes to the nation's policies on funding abortion overseas, expressing his support for the Freedom of Choice Act, and moving toward rescinding federal job protections for medical workers who refuse to participate in abortion procedures, Americans -- and, in particular, Republicans -- seem to be taking a step back from the pro-choice position. However, the retreat is evident among political moderates as well as conservatives.

It is possible that, through his abortion policies, Obama has pushed the public's understanding of what it means to be "pro-choice" slightly to the left, politically. While Democrats may support that, as they generally support everything Obama is doing as president, it may be driving others in the opposite direction.

As happened with the disastrous presidency of Jimmy Carter thirty years ago, this may be the first sign of a shift back toward American values and standards. It's an encouraging sign in a troubling world.