Its about time.   I pray it continues.

If you have two different polls that ask about an issue in different ways, and then you get two different results, then it stands to reason that the questions control the response. If ever there was an issue that could be manipulated through the questions, in the way they're phrased (and especially who gets asked the questions) it's abortion.

The virtue of the polls escapes me. I don't set my moral beliefs according to polls, and if someone comes over to "our side" because they're finding it more popular, I'm not sure we should welcome them. At best, the polls might reflect an underlying agreement on some part of the issue, but disagreement on other points. That's what we need to focus on, not the general statements that can be manipulated multiple ways. 

There has been a slow trend toward pro-life over the years, and this latest stat certainly adds another data point to the trend.  I believe the trend can be explained by a number of factors:

1. The "Roe Effect."  Post-Roe babies have come of age and then some.  Babies of radical pro-abortion ideologues, ones who could've "carried the torch," had higher probabilities of getting their "torch" snuffed out.

2. Hispanic immigration.  Hispanics, generally speaking, constitute a more Catholic and traditional/family minded "bell curve" than does "mainstream" liberal America.

3. Advances in embryology and in utero photography.  Most everyone has now seen full-color, virtual 3-D images of human beings in the embryonic/fetal stage of development.

4. DNA science.  Everyone knows that forensic scientists identify human individuals by DNA, among other things, DNA probably being among the most accurate.  Using this science, a forensic scientist would conclude that an aborted fetus/embryo is not the same individual as the mother.  So much for the "my-body" mantra.
5. Knowledge of abortion statistics themselves.  To hear that millions of abortions get committed, and that only the smallest fraction (<= 1%) are for reasons such as rape, incest, mother's life in jeapordy; the vast majority of them being completely "elective," serving merely as the fail-safe for failed or, worse, willingly unused, contraception.

"Steady."  -- Keith Olbermann to Chris Matthews

I've said this before on here, but we have to look at polls like these closely. The main thing that has changed in the last 15 years is that many, many more people considered themselves pro-life now, rather than pro-choice. That is clear. But if you look at the questions regarding the legality of abortion, you will see that in the last 35 years, the numbers are almost exactly the same (2nd graph on the link provided in the post).

The real change here is how people describe themselves. Many people now call themselves pro-life MORALLY, but pro-choice LEGALLY. They don't support abortion by any means, but they don't think the govt should come in and arrest mothers/doctors that have one. You could liken the moral argument to something like adultery. Most people don't support adultery from a moral standpoint, yet they don't think it should be made illegal and prosecuted by the govt. That doesn't make them "pro-adultery" for believing it should still be legal. And yes, I know some will argue that we are comparing "murder" to cheating here. Well unless you support prosecuting mothers/doctors just as you would with 1st-degree murder; then that argument doesn't work.

It is great that the country has come around in the last 15 years from a moral standpoint. I think that is awesome. But as far as govt. action and changing the law, that is a whole other argument. And this poll shows that over the last 35 years, hardly anything has changed with those that think it should be illegal vs. legal.

On top of all this, the legality of abortion should be a STATE issue, not a FEDERAL issue.

To me, liberals have realized how hypocritical their arguments are between their compassion for the poor and a womans right to late term abortion. With these people, its about image, not substance.