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Abortion Foes See Young Join the Fight

Anti- Roe leaders recruit new generation of opponents

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:51 PM CST
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(Newser) – Many of Roe v. Wade’s most passionate opponents weren't even born when the ruling came down 35 years ago. Abortion opponents have excelled at turning young people into crusaders, the LA Times reports, through anti-abortion summer camps and even political internships. “You look at pictures of marches, and the crowds just keep getting younger,” said one activist.

Although a substantial majority of Americans support abortion, young people—many of whom grew up seeing ultrasound pictures taped to the fridge—are more likely to oppose it than adults, polls show. In a recent Gallup survey, 72% of teens called abortion morally wrong and 32% said it should be completely illegal. Pro-choice groups say they've lost ground by not acknowledging that many women who support abortion rights remain deeply conflicted.

Thirty-five years after Roe vs. Wade, a new generation of anti-abortion activism is emerging.
Thirty-five years after Roe vs. Wade, a new generation of anti-abortion activism is emerging.   (Getty Images)
A child holds aloft a sign reading Stop abortion during a march in support of traditional family values in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, May 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A child holds aloft a sign reading "Stop abortion" during a march in support of traditional family values in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, May 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)   (Associated Press)
Pro abortion protesters march as they hold up signs during a protest on the steps of Parliment House on July 28, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. The Labour government has attempted to decriminalise abortion, a move which may give medical professionals in Victoria the right not to perform abortions. (Photo by...
Pro abortion protesters march as they hold up signs during a protest on the steps of Parliment House on July 28, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. The Labour government has attempted to decriminalise abortion,...   (Getty Images)
Selah Boutwell plays near a bookcase with models of fetal development at the pregnancy resource center Door of Hope, March 30, 2007, in Astoria, Ore. One of the next ground zeros in the United States' long and bitter conflict over abortion is in a tidy, nondescript storefront where four days...
Selah Boutwell plays near a bookcase with models of fetal development at the pregnancy resource center Door of Hope, March 30, 2007, in Astoria, Ore. One of the next ground zeros in the United States'...   (Associated Press)
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Roe v. Wade, 35 years later
CNN

Drop in abortion rate showing society changing, not law
Chicago Tribune

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abortion • abortion rights • Roe v. Wade

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