The Roe Generation:

A New Generation for Life

By Derrick Jones

For those of us born after 1973, abortion on demand has been a way of life. We have never known a day when unborn children were granted legal protection. Throughout our lives and in every venue - - be it school, television, radio, concerts or magazines - - we have been told by pro-abortion forces that abortion was a fundamental "right" and that attacks on that "right" by "anti-life" forces would weaken our individual liberties.

Our generation's support for abortion was taken for granted. It wasn't fought for - - it was expected. After all, teenagers and college students are famous for their desire for personal "freedoms."

It is a time to break out on their own and define who they are without their parents. What better constituency could pro-abortion organizations want? Fortunately, for unborn children, they are hard-pressed to find the support they expect from young people.

After 30 years and over 43 million peers missing because of abortion on demand, the members of the Roe generation have essentially said, "Enough!" We have seen first hand the effects of abortion on our generation. We are missing brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, and spouses because of abortion.

So many of us have had friends and classmates who have had an abortion. These factors - - especially the close contact experience with abortion's devastating impact - - have had a profound impact in attitudes toward abortion over the past 10 years.

Let me offer just two of many examples. Every year, UCLA conducts a survey of incoming freshmen throughout the country to gauge their interest and attitudes on a wide variety of issues.

Support for abortion among freshmen hit an all-time high of 64.9% in 1990. By 1998, that number was down dramatically to 50.9%. This decline came coupled with an increase of those freshmen who self-identified as politically liberal.

The conclusion? First, respect for life knows no political boundaries. Second, the expected pro-abortion constituency is fast deteriorating, despite pro-abortion efforts.

More encouraging was a national poll conducted by Zogby International in November, 2002 which found that 62% of those 18-29 opposed abortion (33.2% said abortion should never be legal; another 30.1% said abortion should be legal only in cases of danger to the mother's life, rape and incest). And the pro-life sentiment ran not only deep but wide.

That same poll also asked, "If a relative or close friend told you she was pregnant and wanted to get an abortion" what would be your reaction? Of those respondents 18-29, 32.3% said that they would tell her abortion was wrong; and another 38.5% would advise against her decision.

The moral of this story: pro-life educational efforts over the past 30 years have had an amazing impact on the next generation of leaders. Be it through local Teens for Life or campus pro-life groups, one-on-one interaction at school or a personal experience with abortion, the Roe generation is definitively rejecting the pro-abortion mentality.

These numbers, however, must not give us a false sense of security. Our educational efforts are vitally important now, more than ever.

Proponents of abortion have seen these trends as well and have stepped up their efforts to restore "their" constituency among young people. The pro-abortion message can be found almost everywhere teens and college students gather.

We must not and we cannot allow another generation of Americans be destroyed by abortion. We must continue spreading the pro-life message in high schools and on college campuses throughout the country.

We must resolve to change hearts and minds through discussion and personal interaction.

We must foster a genuine respect for life among people of all ages. We must appeal to the idealism of youth, our greatest advantage in a cause that is rooted in idealism.

If we do all this we can win . . . and we will win.