Pro-Life Issues
Declining Support for Abortion
In a recent article for the New York Times, Sheryl Gay Stolberg raises concerns that radical feminists have about the future of legalized abortion -- specifically its eroding support among the younger generation.
Ms. Stolberg makes this baffling claim: "a clear majority of Americans support the right to abortion, and there's little evidence of a difference between those over 30 and those under 30, but the vocabulary of the debate has shifted with the political culture. ... younger people tend to view abortion as a personal issue, and their interests are different."
In reality, all the major polls in recent years have pointed to a substantive gap between the generations over the abortion issue:
A Gallup survey in May 2009 shows that a majority of Americans now call themselves 'pro-life.' While the number of pro-life Americans rose to 51 percent in 2009 (a 7-point spike from the year before); those who said they were 'pro-choice' slipped from 50 percent to 42 percent during the same period.
An April 2009, a Pew Research poll found that the percentage of people who say abortion should be legal in all or most cases has declined to 46% (from 54% in August of 2008). The poll found wider support for abortion among the 30-49 group (50%) than in the 18-29 group (47%).
Another poll by Harris Interactive conducted in August 2007 found that 45% of those in the 18-30 group supported 'abortion rights,' versus 55% in the 31-42 (Generation X) group, and 54% amongst Baby Boomers (43-61). The poll also found declining support for abortion in all demographics.
The 2006 General Social Survey which asked if respondents support abortion for any reason, found 36.2% support in the 18-30 age group, versus 39.7% in the 31-44 demographic and 43.7% in the 45-64 group.
Clearly, younger people are becoming more and more pro-life. This falling support for abortion has been accompanied by a steady decline in the number of abortions for several decades. More women are choosing life for their babies, proving that the tireless work of pro-lifers is having an impact.
The drop in support for abortion isn't about "different interests." Abortion remains one of the most hotly debated and discussed issues in the United States. Rather, science has advanced considerably since Roe v. Wade. It has shown us that the child in the womb has an identity and a gender, feels pain, has facial expressions, and has a unique personality.
America is becoming more pro-life. Not because young people are apathetic about "women's rights", but because they live in a world where science and technology has revealed the humanity of the unborn child -- and the dark fog created by the abortion industry is finally being lifted to reveal the truth.
