Students for Life of America Releases Poll Finding that the Largest Voting Bloc, Millennials, Supports Limits on Abortion & Voting on the Human Rights Issue of our Day
“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 SFLA’s Kristan Hawkins. “Millennials may reject labels in general, but when it comes to the specifics of abortion policy, they are anti-abortion.”
Key Findings:
- 7 of 10 Millennials support limits on abortion through specific policies like parental notification, limiting abortions later in pregnancy like at 5 months of pregnancy, and opposition to government funding of abortion.
- Only 7 percent shared the position of the Democratic Party Platform – abortion without any exceptions and funded by tax dollars.
- More Millennials than not support Roe’s reversal. Asked directly about support for overturning Roe and returning abortion to the states, 41 percent supported Roe’s reversal.
- 65 percent of Millennials support the right to vote on abortion-related policy and want a voice on abortion policy
- 56 percent of Millennials, oppose selling Chemical Abortion drugs on-line or dropping the requirement for a physical exam because of the risks to women.
- By about a 3 to 1 margin (48 percent to 17 percent), Millennials said they preferred that their tax monies went to Federally Qualified Health Centers rather than the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood.
- 51 percent said that they opposed Roe, when they understood it allows for abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy
WASHINGTON D.C. (01-14-19) – Students for Life of America’sInstitute for Pro-Life Advancement on Monday released a poll of Millennials’ attitudes on Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Boltonand their views of America’s current abortion policies. Pollster the polling company, inc./WomanTrend conducted the poll of 18-34 year olds the first week of January.Now the largest voting bloc in America, the views of Millennials surveyed were nuanced and anti-abortion in much of their thinking, while avoiding the labels of pro-life and pro-choice (equally divided at 39 percent to 39 percent.) “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 SFLA President Kristan Hawkins. “Our poll found that Millennials do not blindly support unlimited abortion paid for with their tax dollars, no matter what the popular culture says. Millennials may reject labels in general, but when it comes to the specifics of abortion policy, they are anti-abortion.”
The poll found that though a majority of Millennials (56 percent) were political independents with about 20 percent calling themselves Republicans and the same number calling themselves Democrats, they agreed on some significant abortion policy. Millennials want to vote on abortion issues even if that means Roe v. Wade is reversed, and they support policies that limit abortions.
Read more in Hawkins’ op-ed at the Washington Timestoday, here.
Check out Students for Life of America’sInstitute for Pro-Life Advancementfor poll results.
RESULTS OF THE POLL INCLUDED:
MILLENNIALS SUPPORT LIMITS ON ABORTION:
70 percent of Millennials support limits on abortion with 42 percent opposing abortion broadly and 28 percent supporting limits through specific policies like parental notification, limiting abortion later in pregnancy like at 5 months of pregnancy and beyond, and opposition to government funding of abortion.
But just as powerful as the support for commonsense limits on abortion was the lack of support for the radical abortion policy that is pushed as the views of Millennials – ONLY 7 PERCENT supported abortion without any exceptions and funded by tax dollars, the position articulated in the Democratic Party platform.
MILLENNIALS SUPPORT VOTING ON ABORTION POLICY:
65 percent of Millennials polled want a voice on abortion policy – a right to vote on abortion-related policy — compared to only 16 percent who want abortion to remain as it is, in the hands of judges, while 19 percent were unsure or had no opinion.
In fact, more Millennials than not support Roe’s reversal. Asked directly about support for overturning Roeand returning abortion to the states, 41percent supported Roe’s reversal, with 33 percent opposed, and 27 percent undecided, leaving room for conversation.
MILLENNIALS SUPPORT FOR ROEIS SOFT AND OPEN FOR DISCUSSION:
Only 40 percent said they support Roewhen first asked, but after discussing Roe’sactual impact that changed. This is a shift from the conventional wisdom that has insisted there is broad support for Roe.
51 percent said that they opposed Roe,afterbeing informed that it allows for abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy, and 54 percent when they found it abortion could be used as a form of contraception or when a mother doesn’t like the sex of the baby.
On issues of taxpayer funding for abortion, 45 percent opposed, with only 33 percent supporting such spending, and 22 percent undecided.
No gender gap: The data shows that men and women responded similarly to the issue.
AFTER LEARNING MORE ABOUT ROE’SIMPACT, MILLENNIAL OPPOSITION TO THE RULING ROSE ALMOST 30 PERCENT.
After learning about Roe’srealities, support for Roe DROPPED from 40 percent to 35, while opposition to Roewent from 12 percent to 41 percent.
Noteworthy, after learning more about Roe’sactual impact, women were more likely to be strongly opposed. We found 20 percent of men and 14 percent of women strongly supported Roewhile 23 percent of men and 13 percent of women somewhat supported Roe. But for those opposed to Roe, 18 percent of men and 14 percent of women somewhat opposed while 19 percent of men and 30 percent of women strongly opposed.
MILLENNIALS DO NOT SUPPORT ENDANGERING A WOMAN’S LIFE WITH RECKLESS CHEMICAL ABORTION DRUG DISTRIBUTION
Given the realities of abortion drugs (that women have died when receiving the chemicals later in pregnancy or when given them while experiencing an ectopic pregnancy), a physical exam has been required before distributing abortion drugs like RU-486. A clear majority, 56 percent of Millennials, oppose selling the drugs on-line or dropping the requirement for a physical exam because of the risks to women.
As about a third of abortions are now caused by Chemical Abortion drugs making this not only a trend, but the forefront of the fight to protect women from abortion industry abuses.
WHEN IT CAME TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD, MILLENNIALS ALSO WANTED THEIR TAX MONEY TO GO ELSEWHERE.
Room for growth for the pro-life movement: the public perceptions of Planned Parenthood. We found that Millennials’ general acceptance of Planned Parenthood doesn’t extend to Planned Parenthood’s specific business model. For example, 41 percent had an unfavorable reaction to Planned Parenthood after learning about the corporation’s political engagement in the millions and their more than $1 billion in income, with about half of that coming from taxpayers. When examining Planned Parenthood’s decline in services like breast exams, Pap tests, STD treatment and pre-natal services, 43 percent had an unfavorable reaction compared to 32 percent who still favored Planned Parenthood.
A general support for Planned Parenthood did not equal specific support for them and their corporate practice.
WINNERS: FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS
Messaging on alternatives to Planned Parenthood can be highly effective in reaching this generation. In looking at the availability and wide variety of services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (10,000+ nationwide treating 25 million Americans annually offering all of PP’s services except abortion) compared to Planned Parenthood (with 650 facilities treating 2.4 million people a year and no ability to provide overall healthcare), Millennials support for funding Planned Parenthood dropped dramatically.
By about a 3 to 1 margin (48 percent to 17 percent), Millennials said they preferred that their tax monies went to Federally Qualified Health Centers rather than Planned Parenthood.
Even Planned Parenthood knows that most women don’t need them for medical care. Planned Parenthood’s President Leana Wen recently wrote, “Nationwide, one in five women will get health care at Planned Parenthood in her lifetime.” By definition, that means 4 in 5 know they have other options, while the other woman may be regretting she ever walked through those doors. Millennials are open to those other options.
FORGET THE LABELS: TALK SPECIFICS WITH MILLENNIALS
Hawkins observed: “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. And for those elected officials who want to engage in life-affirming legislation, Millennial voters are listening when you compassionately address the specifics of Life in law.”
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Students for Life of Americais the nation’s largest, pro-life, youth organization. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, SFLA serves more than 1220 groups on college and high school campuses in all 50 states.
