Youth vote on abortion could surprise both sides

With almost biblical certainty, most mainstream media reports indicate that abortion will be the issue to save the Democratic Party from the malaise generated by a feeble president, a stumbling economy and failed attempts at international peace. Specifically, abortion is presumed to be the way to energize young voters, certain targets in a race already too close to call.  

That focus on abortion – the human rights issue of our day – has remained in the headlines since Roe v. Wade was tossed on the ash heap of history. With the youth vote reportedly one-third of the electorate and headed to a majority, getting past Planned Parenthood slogans to the fine print of policy will be vital for campaigning legislators. And on the issue of abortion, a significant number of youth voters are reachable and winnable for conservatives.  

For the fifth year in a row, Students for Life of America took a look at the abortion views of registered youth voters or Millennials and Gen Z. Working this time with YouGov, our Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement found that, far from being driven to vote for abortion, nearly two-thirds of young voters (65%) want limits on abortion.  

AHEAD OF MARCH FOR LIFE, MISSISSIPPI UNVEILS MOBILE APP TO HELP PREGNANT MOMS

In fact, fewer than one in 10 voters support the radical abortion views of the Democratic Party of unlimited abortion through all nine months, up to and including infanticide for babies surviving a botched abortion. Democratic Party leadership can name no abortion they oppose. They support the radical, so-called "Women’s Health Protection Act" and oppose the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act." 

With the U.S. Capitol in the background, anti-abortion demonstrators march toward the U.S. Supreme Court during the March for Life, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

But that’s not true for youth voters. For three out of four, abortion should not be legal at all after a baby can live outside the womb, and nearly all (91%) supported medical care for a child who survives a botched abortion.   

And 37% support limits when a baby’s heartbeat can be detected or better, and more than half (54%) said legal rights begin in the womb.   

For political leaders looking to make a connection, 31% said that they would be willing to consider more limits on abortion if more services for mothers and young families were in place.   

When asked about a number of services that interested them, about six-to-seven in 10, they supported plans like parental leave, childcare subsidies, healthcare assistance and a number of policy items that legislators of all political parties should advance.   

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What they did not support was the Biden administration’s chemical abortion pill policies that expose women to abusers, infertility, injury and death. Though once again, nearly all (nine in 10) supported the health and safety standards now being debated before the Supreme Court, and their intensity of support increased.  

Nearly all young voters (91%) also strongly supported environmental testing to determine if government-sanctioned, corporate dumping of chemically tainted blood, placenta tissue and human remains following a chemical abortion were harming the planet and all its inhabitants.    

Even if you support abortion, that’s not an argument in favor of the reckless abortion policies of the Democratic Party. 

Interestingly, nearly two-thirds of the youth vote (65%), supported a national abortion reporting law that includes tracking both the number of abortions and the complications, something not taking place today. How odd for the Democratic Party and Planned Parenthood to insist that abortion is safe, while vigorously fighting to prevent true tracking of the effects of a procedure that abortionists claim impacts so many women.   

Pro-life supporters march in Washington D.C., United States on January 20, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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The poll also unpacks data on the youth vote response to messaging used in ballot initiatives, currently a get-out-the-vote Hail Mary for Democrats, finding that highlighting abortion extremism – the fact that such measures allow for abortion through all nine months – to be very important.   

In 2024, abortion will be on the ballot in every state, as it is now possible to limit this deadly violence earlier in pregnancy, for the first time in the lifetimes of today’s youth voters. For conservatives, connecting with those concerned about abortion radicalism will be key. 

Consider the results of 2020. In Georgia, youth voters by 58%-39% went for Biden, accounting for 20% of the total vote, and he won by just 11,779 votes. In Arizona, young people voted 59%-37% for Biden and accounted for 16% of the total vote, giving him a win with just 10,457 more votes. That same kind of math carries into Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania.  

For political leaders looking to make a connection, 31% said that they would be willing to consider more limits on abortion if more services for mothers and young families were in place.   

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Our analysis of youth voter participation data indicates that small, single-digit increases among conservative young voters can impact swing state outcomes, and that’s our plan. 

Appealing to a principled, pro-life plurality among the youth vote can be a game-changer for Republicans this election. And in this election, every vote will be needed. 

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