New poll shows millennials will change position on Roe when given the facts
Pro-choice advocates consistently forward the narrative that the majority of the American public does not want to overturn Roe v. Wade. And to some degree, surveys and polls agree. For example, a 2018 poll reported in Vox found that 67-percent of Americans would not like to see Roe overturned, and only 29-percent would.
However, a survey released Monday shows that support for Roe v. Wade is based largely on ignorance. When educated about the realities of abortion, opposition to the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion rises sharply.
The survey conducted by Students for Life of America’s Institute for Pro-Life Advancement found that 40-percent of millennials (those in their 20s and 30s) totally support Roe, and only 12-percent totally oppose. Many (48-percent) are either unsure or neutral about the issue.
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However, after being informed that Roe allows for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, opposition to Roe jumped to 51-percent and support fell to 35-percent. Additionally, when millennials were told that abortion could be used as a form of contraception, or when a mother doesn’t like the sex of the baby, opposition rose to 54-percent.
This is a crucial finding, showing how key education is to overturning the abhorrent court decision that has led to the slaughter of more than 60-million babies. As I have engaged in discussions about abortion with friends and colleagues, I am always amazed at how few know the truth. For example, most believe it’s illegal to abort babies in the third trimester, but it’s not
As former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson can attest, “Late-term abortions are legal in the U.S. and do take place through the entire third trimester, including through the ninth month of pregnancy. . . (A) late-term abortion can be provided for any reason, as long as the abortionist checks a box on her chart stating it was affecting her ‘life or health.’ No documentation of proof is required.”
Similarly, I’ve found very few Americans know what’s involved in an actual abortion. Few know, for example, that a second trimester abortion involves dismembering a baby in the womb and removing it piece by piece. Few realize that this grisly procedure is done at all, let alone that’s it’s done without any anesthesia. We treat our dogs better in this country.
A few years ago, I posted live animation of the most popular abortion procedures to my website. Even though they’re just animated videos, they’re powerful. Every citizen of this country should watch these. If they did, I’m sure opposition to overturning Roe would evaporate.
This week, hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates will gather in D.C. for the March for Life. And as we do, or simply support the cause by posting to social media and watching the live coverage, we need to remember that education and advocacy matter. As more and more Americans hear the truth, they adopt pro-life convictions and understand Roe as a license to murder.
We also need to be smart about how we discuss the issue. I agree wholeheartedly with Kristan Hawkins, president of Student for Life of America, who said: “On the issue of abortion, labels like pro-life, pro-choice, access, health, or women’s rights often camouflage the true realities of the policies that today crisscross the country. Especially as we talk with millennials, who are often outside the political structure of Washington D.C., the anti-abortion movement must be clear on what we are advancing and its impact on mothers, the preborn and taxpayers.”
Some other findings from Monday’s poll include:
- 7 of 10 millennials support limits on abortion like parental notification and limiting abortions later in pregnancy, like at five months.
- Nearly three times more millennials prefer that their tax dollars go to federally qualified health centers than abortion giant, Planned Parenthood.
- Only 7-percent shared the position of the Democratic Party—that abortion should be allowed without any exceptions and funded by tax dollars.
- 56-percent oppose selling chemical abortion drugs online or dropping the requirement for a physical exam because of the risks to women.
These are encouraging findings, reflecting a millennial generation that is sympathetic to the pro-life cause. Similarly, a 2018 survey of 2,000 millennial women by Refinery 20 and CBS News found that 38-percent of respondents believed abortion should be illegal, while only 28-percent said it should be legal in “all cases.”
“Millennials have lived with the harsh realities of abortion all their lives and understand more than their parents’ generation that we must address the human rights issue of our day and make changes in defense of mothers and their preborn infants,” said Kristan Hawkins. “Millennials may reject labels in general, but when it comes to the specifics of abortion policy, they are anti-abortion.”
So this week, let’s talk about abortion with those we know, especially millennials. But let’s do so from an informed and winsome perspective. Try not to get in fights, but draw people out on the issue. And listen. People are usually willing to hear your perspective when they believe you’ve heard theirs.
Then, when you get the opportunity, share what you know. It probably will be enlightening to your pro-choice neighbor or friend. And it may just open his or her mind to a new position.
