WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Gallup poll conducted mostly after the draft of a Supreme Court decision addressing abortion rights was leaked finds a marked shift in public attitudes over the past year.

After a decade in which Americans' identification as "pro-choice" varied narrowly between 45% and 50%, the percentage has jumped six points to 55% in the latest poll, compared with the prior measure a year ago.

The pro-choice sentiment is now the highest it has been since 1995 when it was 56% while the 39% identifying as "pro-life" is the lowest since 1996.

A majority of Americans (52%) now also consider abortion morally acceptable, while a record-low 38% call it morally wrong.

The latest survey was conducted by telephone May 2-22 with a nationally representative sample of 1,007 U.S. adults. The poll came after a leaked draft of the Supreme Court's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was reported, sparking debate about abortion throughout the country.

The opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito provides the court's reasoning behind its preliminary decision to uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In this first draft, Alito argues that the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that affirmed a constitutional right to seek abortion was wrongly decided and must be overturned.

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