Transgenderism, abortion, and same-sex relationships are some of the most polarizing moral issues among political parties, while US adults generally agree that adultery, cloning humans, and suicide are the most immoral behaviors, a recent Gallup report found.
According to the July 23 report, 71% of Democrats and 9% of Republicans said it is morally acceptable for a person to “change” their gender. Abortion was nearly as widely disputed, with 78% of Democrats and 20% of Republicans considering it morally acceptable. Democrats were also more likely than Republicans to accept same-sex relations (86% vs. 38%).
Gallup asked respondents to rate the morality of 17 other issues and behaviors and found that Democrats and Republicans had similar levels of perspectives that three issues were immoral: cloning humans (9% vs. 5% approving), medical testing on animals (45% vs. 49%), and adultery (11% vs. 4%).
Gallup also noted that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that sex between unmarried men and women, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and teenage sex are morally acceptable. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to morally approve of the death penalty and of buying and wearing fur clothing.
Regardless of political party, the action US adults were most likely to say was immoral was adultery (89% disapproval). Cloning humans (87%) and suicide (71%) were the actions that were the second- and third-most commonly deemed immoral. The majority found that birth control (90%), divorce (75%), and sex between unmarried men and women (68%) are moral behaviors.
Medical testing on animals was a contested subject, with no clear majority of respondents morally approving or disapproving of it.
Gallup noted that though 49% say abortion is morally acceptable, the percentage is down from 54% who said the same thing in 2024, which was the record high.
