A Students for Life of America & Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement 2024 YouGov Poll
LESS THAN 1 IN 10 HOLD THE SAME VIEWS AS DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADERSHIP.
YouGov/Students for Life of America Poll Indicates Interest in Pro-Life Limits & Protections for Mothers & the Preborn
MORE THAN 6 IN 10 WANT ABORTION LIMITS (65%) AND 3 IN 4 (75%) WANT LIMITS AFTER VIABILITY – A 10% INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR
“Reaching the key voting bloc that is the Youth Vote doesn’t mean running away from the issue of abortion. It means talking specifically about how to protect Life in law and in service and about plans to help women survive their exposure to an abortion industry that profits from death,” said Students for Life of America (SFLA) and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement (IPA) President Kristan Hawkins. “The Youth Vote, like most Americans, rejects the late-term abortion extremism seen in numerous state ballot initiatives, Biden Administration regulation, and Pelosi-pushed policies.”
INTRODUCTION: Now five years running, Students for Life of America & the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement (IPA) examine again the political and policy views on the LIFE issue held by a critical demographic – the Youth Vote. Reportedly more than one-third of the electorate and headed toward majority status, the Youth Vote is a key cohort for those looking for traditionally less engaged voters. But as SFLAction has written, they are becoming an important swing vote in races across the country.
A more generally liberal, less partisan cohort to be sure, there are still strong places for connection on the human rights issue of our day – abortion, as identified by this year’s YouGov poll that explored the most current of the abortion issue debates engaged today.
Importantly, the policy views expressed are from registered voters, with results coming from 27% Gen Z, ages 18 to 15, and 73% from Millennials, ages 26 to 41. The results also come from men – 46%, women – 51%, and non-binary/other – 3%.
Methodology
In early January 2024, YouGov/Vinea Research interviewed 1,121 registered voters between the ages of 18-42 (Gen-Z and Millennials) via a five-minute online survey. The sample of 1,121 was then matched down to a sample of 1,000 to produce the final data set. Respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The frame is a subset of a politically representative “modeled frame” of adults, based upon established methods for these types of surveys: using exit polls and surveys, weighting using propensity scores, applying logistic regression estimates, grouping into deciles, and post-stratification. The margin of error for this study is ± 3.52.
Hans Plate, President of Vinea Research, was the research liaison, working closely with SFLA, IPA, and YouGov in all aspects of the research. To contact Hans for questions on methodology, survey design, and results, send an email to [email protected].
FAR FROM BEING LOCK-STEP IN LINE WITH THE RADICAL ABORTION AGENDA OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADERSHIP, THE YOUTH VOTE WANTS LIMITS:
EVEN POST-ROE, LESS THAN 1 IN 10 SUPPORT THE VIEWS OF DEMORATIC PARTY LEADERSHIP. Once again, only 9% supported the Democratic Party’s radical agenda of abortion through all 9 months without limits, up to and including allowing infanticide — the death of a baby born during a botched abortion. (To learn more about the Democratic Party’s agenda as seen in support for the “Women’s Health Protection Act” — better called the Women’s Health Endangerment Act — as well as support for infanticide as seen in their refusal to sign onto the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, click here.)
EVEN WHEN A BABY SURVIVES AN ABORTION, REFUSING TO PROTECT THOSE BORN DURING BOTCHED ABORTIONS IS WILDLY UNPOPULAR AS MORE THAN 9 IN 10 WANTED LIFE-SAVING EFFORTS TO BE GIVEN TO A BABY WHO SURVIVED A BOTCHED ABORTION. 72% supported emergency measures including calling 911 with 19% desiring care, not including 911. Mirroring the same level of radical support as for the Democratic Party’s abortion views, only 9% picked: “Nothing should be done since the mother was trying to have an abortion done.”
EVEN BEFORE A BABY CAN LIVE OUTSIDE A MOTHER’S WOMB: ABORTION LIMITS BEFORE VIABILITY HAVE BROAD SUPPORT. Half of respondents said abortion should be restricted to either in the first trimester or at 4 months (15 weeks). Asked which most closely resembled their view on abortion limits, HEARTBEAT OR BETTER PROTECTIONS WERE A WINNER with 37% supporting. 17% said abortion protection for preborn life should begin at conception and another 20% said that protection from abortion should begin when a child’s heartbeat is detected while 15% would limit at 3 months of pregnancy (12 weeks) and 7% said they would limit at almost 4 months/15 weeks.
EVEN WHEN ASKED ABOUT A TOTAL LIMIT ON ABORTION, ALMOST 2 IN 10 SUPPORT IT (17%), while 25% wanted unlimited abortion (including 9% who supported infanticide after a botched abortion.) That also means more than 50% were looking for limits of some kind.
EVEN AFTER MASSIVE MEDIA MISINFORMATION ON ABORTION, A CLEAR MAJORITY WANTS LESS ABORTION. Once again, more than 6 in 10 (65%) of the Youth Vote support limits on abortion, in all or some circumstances. This is the same finding as in 2023. However, MORE of the Youth Vote wants life protected after viability. When asked at what point they would support protections for life, 3 out of 4 – 75% — said that abortion should either never be legal or legal only up to the point at which a baby can live outside the womb. This is an INCREASE from last year’s poll, when 65% said that after viability abortion should NOT be permitted.
EVEN FACED WITH BIDENOMICS, ABORTION IS A KEY VOTE MOTIVATOR: 55% said that abortion ranked among their top 3 issues.
EVEN THOUGH THIS DEMOGRAPHIC IS SUPPOSED TO WANT MORE ABORTION-LOVING POLITICIANS: 4 in 10 (40%) wanted to support political candidates who support abortion limits with 16% wanting to support someone fighting “strongly in favor of abortion restriction.”
EVEN THOUGH THIS GENERATION IS TOLD TO TRUST THE MATH FROM CORPORATE ABORTION, THEY WANT A FACT CHECK: After learning that there is no National Abortion Reporting Law to verify what Planned Parenthood et al has really been up to, almost 6 in 10 (57%) supported a National Abortion Reporting law that included tracking complications from abortion, with 25% strongly supporting. Only 10% didn’t want to know what abortionists aren’t telling them.
KEY FINDING: ALMOST EVERYBODY LOVES MOTHERS – AND WANTS THEM PROTECTED & ASSISTED
THE YOUTH VOTE CARES ABOUT THE LIFE OF THE MOTHER: Currently, no issue has seemed to occupy headlines more than whether a woman in danger of losing her life can receive the medical care she needs in a nation where more states protect life earlier in pregnancy. Ironically, the laws of all 50 states require life-saving care, but we found that too few knew that the talking points they are being fed are false.
Only 14% knew that all states protect women’s lives in the law, with 35% believing most protected mothers, while 49% believed only some or a few protected pregnant mothers. Shockingly, 2% believed women’s lives were not protected at all.
Such misinformation plays heavily in media narratives … and in adding to the fears of the generations most targeted for abortion sales.
The Youth Vote overwhelmingly said – 64% in fact – that over the last two years, they are more concerned than ever that women’s lives are at risk, while 58% said that media reports had raised their concerns.
THE YOUTH VOTE SUPPORTS HELP FOR MOTHERS AND YOUNG FAMILIES: Millennial and Gen Z voters want to see those raising the next generation helped when needed. In fact, for pro-life legislators looking to connect with young voters, 31% said that they would be more willing to accept limits on abortion if the federal government offered increased support for mothers and their children.
When asked: Which of the following do you believe are most important for elected politicians to pass to support mothers, newborns, and families?
- 71% Paid family leave for new parents that gives them time with their newborn child without sacrificing income
- 63% Child tax credits: financial assistance for eligible families in the form of reduced tax liability for each qualifying child under a certain age
- 66% Childcare subsidies to make childcare more affordable to single mothers or low-income families
- 68% Child health and development programs that provide resources for early childhood development, such as home visitation programs, parenting classes, and early intervention services for developmental delays
- 68% Education and support services focusing on educating new parents about childcare, health, and child development
- 72% Keeping healthcare costs for pregnancy and birth affordable
- 56% College/university support programs (e.g., parking, nursing spaces, childcare, etc.)
- 63% Workplace support programs (e.g., parking, nursing spaces, childcare, etc.)
- 56% Child support from the father to the mother that begins during pregnancy
- 5% None of the above
OTHER KEY FINDINGS:
THE YOUTH VOTE DOES NOT BLINDLY SUPPORT FALSE FEMINIST DOGMA:
The abortion industry has attempted to rebrand abortion as an act of “freedom” or empowerment that women should be able to exercise for any reason or no reason at all. The Youth Vote generally disagrees: 49% indicated there needs to be a reason for abortion while 41% said no reason was necessary, and 9% were not sure.
ON WHETHER REASONS ARE NECESSARY: In considering a list of reasons that are often cited as requiring abortion to be available, saving the life of the mother was considered the most important reason.
Reasons for support for abortion included: To protect the life of the mother, 86%; in cases of rape and incest, 81%; if the baby has a life-threatening condition, 76%; if the baby has a medical condition that may be challenging; 74%; if the baby has a medical condition that will be costly, 61%; and if a woman is in an abusive relationship, 57%.
However, the following were NOT reasons for abortion support with the percentages indicating a NO vote: If a baby is NOT the desired sex, 78%; for any reason at all, 60%; if a woman is in a relationship that’s unlikely to last; if the father refuses to financially support the child, 57%; if a woman is in a relationship with someone she doesn’t want to keep seeing, 58%; or if the timing of the pregnancy is inconvenient, 54%.
BOTTOM LINE: When it comes to abortion, reasons matter for these youth voters. Finding the timing inconvenient, not liking the sex, or no longer being interested in the father is not enough to justify ending a life.
ON WHETHER ABORTION IS PAINFUL FOR WOMEN: The Youth Vote also rejects the talking point from abortion-supporting media and “feminist” groups that abortion is no big deal, without pain and suffering.
Asked “How physically and emotionally painful do you believe abortions are for the women/mothers who experience them?”, most agree that abortion is a horrific event.
97% said that abortion was physically painful, with 42% saying “very painful.” Only 4% said it was not a physically painful event.
97% said that abortion was emotionally painful, with 60% saying that it was “very painful.” Only 2% thought that abortion was not an emotionally painful event.
Once again, women’s lived experience with abortion does not match Planned Parenthood’s hype.
MOST YOUTH VOTERS BELIEVE LEGAL RIGHTS BEGIN IN THE WOMB:
More than half – 54% — of Millennial and Gen Z voters said that the legal rights of the preborn begin in the womb.
Asked “Legally speaking, at what point below do you believe human rights begin?”, the breakdown was as follows:
- 19% At conception, when a new human life with unique DNA begins and grows.
- 14% At a confirmed heartbeat
- 9% At three months of pregnancy, 12 weeks, at which point pain can be experienced.
- 4% At about four months of pregnancy, 15 weeks
- 8% At about five months of pregnancy, about 21 weeks or after, when a baby can live outside the womb, also known as viability.
- 32% After birth
- 1% After a court or law declares it.
- 5% It depends on other variables.
- 8% Not sure
- 2% Prefer not to answer.
MOST YOUTH VOTERS DO NOT SUPPORT ANY PENALTIES FOR WOMEN GETTING ABORTION:
Almost half (48%) did not want penalties; 36% wanted penalties in some instances; and 8% were either unsure or definitely wanted repercussions.
CONFRONTING THE MISINFORMATION AND MISUNDERSTANDING OF BALLOT INITIATIVES:
The Abortion Lobby’s Get-Out-The-Vote Effort.
Misinformation about the impact of ballot initiatives on pro-life laws and abortion policy has occupied a lot of media attention since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision put an end to Roe v. Wade. The fact that vague sounding ballot initiatives have concrete policy implication has been camouflaged and covered up. In the poll, we delved into the real-world implications of ballot initiatives to get better information on what young voters really wanted.
As noted in the poll: A number of states have advanced ballot initiatives for state constitutions to include support for abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy and limit a state’s ability to make future laws related to abortion. If passed, these initiatives will have the following effects:
- Abortions can be performed at any point up to the birth.
- Future abortion-related laws would be much more difficult to pass since they would need to over-ride the state constitution.
- Minors are able to have an abortion without input or help from their parents/guardians (adult engagement laws)
- Abortions would be funded, in part, by taxes.
A plurality of the Youth Vote did not support the radical implications of such measures, indicating that better educational campaigns need to be engaged in future initiatives.
The Youth Vote, by 37%, did not want abortion legal through all 9 months of pregnancy with no limits; 36% supported parents/guardians being involved in a minor’s abortion decision; 24% opposed taxpayer funding; and 21% did not want state legislators to lose their ability to pass laws that relate to abortion.
Looking at reasons to support the ballot initiatives, FEWER Youth Voters wanted unlimited abortion – 30% (compared to 37% holding the opposite view) wanted abortion without limits. On the issue of protections for the life of the mother (already in place in all 50 states), 61% wanted to be sure those were available while 61% said that abortion in cases of rape or incest was a motivation for support. Looking at parental involvement, 25% did not want adults involved (compared to 36% who did).
OF NOTE, lack of understanding that the Life of the Mother is protected in law in all 50 states did have an impact on findings, as 16% said they would NEVER support a ballot question that permitted abortion “beyond to save the life of the mother.”
CONSIDERING THE TALKING POINT THAT SUPPORT FOR RAPE AND INCEST EXCEPTIONS WOULD LESSEN SUPPORT FOR BALLOT INITIATIVES: To further explore whether adding rape and incest exceptions in some form to ballot initiatives – or frankly laws in general – would lessen support for such measures, we asked, “Assume your state has laws permitting abortions in cases of rape and incest. How likely are you to vote for or against an additional law permitting abortion access in all 9 months of pregnancy in your state constitution?”
For the general youth vote, 63% said that exceptions for rape and incest in state law would not change their support for a ballot initiative that allowed for abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy. Of interest for future messaging is that reliance on a traditional “exceptions” argument does not sway abortion-minded voters. Instead, it’s a turn-off to those open to a human rights argument.
ON THE ABORTION INDUSTRY’S NEW CASH COW: CHEMICAL ABORTION PILLS
The Youth Vote is MORE concerned about the reckless distribution of Chemical Abortion Pills and Government-Sanctioned, Corporate Dumping of Medical Waste in our Waterways. Across the board, the INTENSITY of the 9 in 10 who oppose the Biden Administration policies has increased.
Now used to commit more than half of all abortions, Chemical Abortion Pills are much in the news as Students for Life of America’s FDA Citizen Petitions and a number of court cases challenge a cash cow for corporate abortion.
But even if you support abortion, that’s not an argument for No Test, Online Distribution of Chemical Abortion Pills, which expose women to Injury, Infertility, Death, and even Abusers, who use the drugs against women without their knowledge or consent.
As the pro-life group that has been a leader in identifying the dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills, SFLA in the poll asked the Youth Vote about their views on the policies directly impacting their generation.
More than half of abortions today are through taking abortion-inducing drugs. Two hormone pills, mifepristone (Mifeprex) and misoprostol (Cytotec), are prescribed by a healthcare provider and are then taken by a woman to end a pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently allowed for the distribution of these pills through online telehealth sales, allowing for no-test, online distribution of the pills.
ON SUPPORT FOR PRE-SCREENING FOR ECTOPIC PREGNANCY: Ultrasound screenings (a simple imaging technique used to produce images of structures within the body) are used to determine how far along a woman is in pregnancy, as the abortion-inducing drugs can fail if used later in the pregnancy and complications may arise.
Ultrasounds can also be used to determine if a woman has an ectopic pregnancy, which is when the fetus has implanted outside of the uterus/womb. In an ectopic pregnancy, the abortion-inducing drugs will not end the pregnancy, and the woman can have severe complications, including death.
9 in 10 Youth Voters Supported Health and Safety Measures to save the Life of the Mother who may be experiencing an ectopic pregnancy – with 47% saying its “extremely important.”
ON PROTECTING A MOTHER’S FUTURE FERTILITY WITH TREATMENT: A blood test is needed to check a woman’s Rh blood status. Rh-negative blood occurs in 15% of women. If the blood of an Rh-positive fetus gets into the bloodstream of an Rh-negative woman, the woman’s body produces antibodies that could attack the fetus’ blood cells, leading to serious health problems, even death, for a fetus or a newborn. The antibodies also put the mother’s future children at risk while in the womb. Antibodies can be formed after a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or an abortion. If Rh-negative blood is detected very early in the pregnancy, a prescription medicine (RhoGAM) can be given to prevent antibodies from forming.
94% supported protecting a woman’s future fertility with a blood test and treatment, with 48% saying it’s extremely important. This is an INCREASE from last year’s poll.
ON PROTECTING WOMEN FROM ABUSERS’ USING THE PILLS: There is evidence that some women have been given abortion pills without their knowledge and consent, often by partners acting against their wishes. Some argue that this practice is more easily done with online sales of the abortion pills. The Washington Post, CNN, and other news sources have reported this, for a number of examples.
Asked, “Do you support limiting the acquisition of abortion-inducing drugs to in-person clinical visits only in order to prevent misuse as shown in the examples above?”, more than 6 in 10 said yes, with only 36% opposing.
This year’s 64% is up from 60% last year.
ON PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT: Women taking the abortion pills are instructed to flush the products of the abortion (placenta, the human embryo or fetus, blood) in the toilet. This healthcare or medical waste can be “hazardous if not disposed properly.” Additionally, given how one of the abortion pills (misoprostol) is administered/inserted, some of that medication could be passed into the toilet as well (see this website). All of this could then pass to the wastewater system, potentially affecting the fertility of animals and fish, according to an article by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Asked about the importance of conducting studies on the potential environmental impact of waste and drugs related to abortion, more than 9 in 10 (91%) said that it was somewhat to extremely important to have environmental testing, with 37% saying extremely important – up from 30% last year.
ON REQUIRING THE SAME KIND OF STANDARDS FOR MEDICAL WASTE DISPOSAL FOR ABORTION AS FOR OTHER MEDICAL WASTE: In doctor’s offices, clinics, and hospitals, medical waste of all types is collected in red or yellow bags and containers for medical waste to dispose of properly. These bags/containers are also sometimes used in the home setting, for the placenta from at-home births, for miscarriages, and to collect kidney stones, among other reasons. Considering the environmental impact noted above, how important is it to require those who distribute abortion pills to also provide medical bags/ containers to collect the products of abortion and return to the provider for disposal?
9 in 10 supported requiring Red Bag Medical Waste disposal of the chemically tainted blood, placenta tissue, and human remains from abortion, with 33% saying this was extremely important, up from 30% last year.
BOTTOM LINE: The Youth Vote, by margins of 9 out of 10, are concerned about the harms of the Biden Administration’s No Test, Online Distribution of Chemical Abortion Pills.
CONCLUSION: POLLS LIKE THIS ARE HOW WE MOVE FORWARD IN FINDING CONSENSUS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE A MORE LIFE-AFFIRMING CULTURE.
The Pro-Life Generation’s commitment to having accurate, targeted, and specific conversations about abortion represents a sea change in approach, as we find that the more direct and accurate we are about abortion, the more minds and hearts are changed.