Gallup poll: Americans evenly split on abortion

June 11 (UPI) -- Americans remain split on the question of whether abortion should be legal in the United States, a Gallup survey showed Monday.

The annual Values and Beliefs poll shows 48 percent oppose abortion -- and 48 percent support the practice.

The poll comes as abortion is getting new attention across state legislatures.

Iowa last month passed its "Heartbeat Law," which bans nearly all abortions when a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat. It's been put on hold, though, until legal challenges can be resolved.

Also last month, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed an Arkansas ban on abortion pills to stand.

The near 50-50 split in Americans' attitudes toward abortion follows a similar split on the question in prior Gallup polls. When the question was first asked in the 1990s, 51 percent supported abortion -- compared to 40 percent who opposed. The gap narrowed in the 2000s, when the split became 47-46 percent in favor of abortion rights.

In Monday's survey, half of Americans said abortion should be legal "only under certain circumstances." Twenty-nine percent said it should be legal in all circumstances, while 11 percent saying it should be illegal outright.

In a separate question, 48 percent said abortion is wrong from a moral perspective, compared to 43 percent who disagreed. Abortion is the moral issue on which Americans are the most divided, from a survey of opinions on 22 behaviors and practices.

More than 1,000 U.S. adults were questioned for the survey, which has a margin of error of 4 points.