A nationwide poll of 1,000 high school seniors found nearly half describing themselves as “pro-choice.” But when specific hypothetical scenarios were described, most said they did not support abortion rights under those circumstances.
More than 60 percent of the seniors, many of whom will be old enough to vote in the November elections, wanted to preserve the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that overturned state laws restricting abortion, according to the survey conducted by Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.
However, when asked about a woman’s legal right to abortion in six specific circumstances, a majority of the respondents said they did not believe in the legal right to abortion in four of the scenarios. The rejected scenarios were a pregnant woman not wanting more children, an out-of-wedlock pregnancy of a teenager, the threat of a serious birth defect in the baby and poverty.
In addition, a majority of the seniors told researchers they believe “abortion is always or usually morally wrong,” the poll report said.
Dennis Jones, a Washington-based spokesman for National Right to Life, said the study shows young people are “fed up with the doctrine that says unborn children can be got rid of at any moment.” (RNS)
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