The 19 Taboo Issues Now 'Morally Acceptable' Among Americans

A new Gallup survey reveals that most Americans view divorce and birth control as morally acceptable. 

These two ideas were rated the highest out of a list of 19 other items, including sex between an unmarried man and woman, pornography, medical testing on animals, and doctor-assisted suicide. 

Birth control, divorce, and sex outside of marriage topped the list of morally acceptable issues. Birth control ranked the highest with nearly nine out of 10 Americans believing it is morally acceptable.

However, more contested issues include abortion, doctor-assisted suicide, and medical testing on animals. The issues that ranked in the lowest brackets include suicide, cloning humans, and polygamy.

The survey asked Americans to only respond "whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong" regardless of the law.

The results offered more insight into Americans' moral landscape than political convictions. However, the results correlate to a greater move towards social liberalism in recent years.

The percentage of people who view an issue as morally acceptable or not was broken down according to which political party they ascribe to: Republican, Independent, or Democrat.

Issues like having a baby out of wedlock, sex between unmarried men and women, and lesbian or gay relations have seen exponential increases of public acceptance in the 21st Century. Americans view more issues as morally acceptable.