(RNS) For the first time since pollsters posed the question in 1995, a slim majority of Americans consider themselves “pro-life,” a new Gallup poll shows.

Fifty-one percent of respondents describe themselves as “pro-life,” while 42 percent said they are “pro-choice.”

The findings were based on answers to Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, which was conducted in early May.

Last year, 50 percent of respondents described themselves as “pro-choice” and 44 percent as “pro-life.” The previous high-water mark for the “pro-life” category was 46 percent, reached in 2001 and 2002.

Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, hailed the findings and said younger members of the anti-abortion movement contribute to the shift.

“One cannot attend the pro-life rallies that I attend across the country and fail to notice the youth, the energy and the commitment of the men and women, boys and girls in attendance,” he said.

Pollsters found comparable shifts in views about abortion’s legal status. Almost the same percentage of Americans say the procedure should always be illegal (23 percent) as say it should always be legal (22 percent). In the previous four years, more Americans favored unrestricted abortion.

The abortion shift reflects a change among Republicans surveyed. The percentage of Republicans who called themselves “pro-life” rose from 60 to 70 percent in a year. There was basically no change in the views of Democrats.

The change in “pro-life” identification occurred across Christian affiliations, with a seven-point increase among Catholics and an eight-point increase among Protestants.

The survey is based on telephone interviews of 1,015 adults between May 7 and 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.