Shifts in Abortion Attitudes: 1972-1978

Utilizing data from NORC's General Social Survey, 1972-1978, trends in attitudes toward abortion on the part of the U.S. population are analyzed with emphasis upon a comparison of attitudes before and after the 1973 Roe and Doe Supreme Court decisions. Comparisons are also made with findings from the 1960s regarding abortion attitudes. While there has been an increasing liberalization of attitudes toward legalized abortion in the past 15 years, by 1975 the trend began to change and attitudes became slightly more conservative. By 1978, the conservative trend is pronounced. These changes are a function of selected demographic variables.