Both men and women are giving answers a little more congenial to pro-lifers than they did in the immediate aftermath of Dobbs.

The other day, I went into recent trends in public opinion concerning whether abortion should be legal “in all circumstances,” “in most circumstances,” “only in a few circumstances,” or “illegal in all circumstances.”

Historically, that question always found most respondents choosing one of the two relatively pro-life options — until Dobbs. At that point, the public’s answer changed. But the pro-choice advantage on that question is now fading a bit.

I asked Gallup to share its data breaking down the trends among men and among women, and it kindly acceded. It turns out that on this question, as on other abortion-related questions where Gallup has analyzed the breakdown, a sizable gender gap has opened up.

In earlier years, the gap has been small. In 2010, for example, women were five points more likely to choose one of the pro-life options (59 vs. 54 percent). By 2020, though, women were eight points less pro-life than men (51 vs. 59 percent). Even so, majorities of both sexes chose the pro-life options.

That changed in 2022. Right after Dobbs, 52 percent of men but only 39 percent of women went with the pro-life answers. Dobbs thus seems to have moved both men and women in a pro-choice direction by this measure, but the effect was very pronounced among women (twelve points in two years).

This year finds mirror-image results among men and women: Men split 56–41 percent pro-life and women 56–41 percent pro-choice. Both men and women are giving answers a little more congenial to pro-lifers than they did in the immediate aftermath of Dobbs, then, but this bounceback would have to keep going, especially among women, to return to the pre-Dobbs state of public opinion.