More U.S. adults describe themselves as "pro-choice" than "pro-life" for the first time in seven years, according to a new Gallup poll.

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The poll finds that 50 percent support abortion rights and 44 percent oppose them. That is the first time since 2008 that more people support abortion rights.

Since then, people have been evenly divided, with those opposed to abortion rights in a small lead — last year by 47 to 46 percent.

The data show that support for abortion rights is ticking back up again after having a clear majority in the 1990s and early 2000s, before it fell off around 2008 — after the Supreme Court upheld a partial ban on abortions.

Abortion remains a divisive issue on Capitol Hill. House Republicans were forced to pull a 20-week abortion ban earlier this year over concerns from some women Republican lawmakers about a requirement that rape be reported to the police to qualify for the ban’s exemption.

Leaders later removed that provision and passed the bill this month, over strong opposition from Democrats.

Gallup does not define the terms “pro-choice” and “pro-life,” but another question shows many people hold a view in the gray area.

Twenty-nine percent of adults say abortion should be legal in all circumstances, and 19 percent in no circumstances. But in the middle, 13 percent say in “most” circumstances, and 36 percent say in a “few.”

Fifty-one percent of those saying a “few” circumstances identify as “pro-life.”