December 1, 2023
It’s often said that correlation isn’t always causation, but sometimes it’s hard to ignore that reality. Recent polling shows that when it comes to President Joe Biden’s increasingly slim re-election chances, the current state of the economy and how young people are affected by it likely has a lot to do with his poor numbers. According to NBC News:
“Biden trails Donald Trump for the first time in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up in the NBC News poll, though the deficit falls well within the survey’s margin of error.
Trump gets support from 46% of registered voters, while Biden gets 44%.
In September, the two men were tied (at 46% each). And in June, Biden was narrowly ahead of Trump by 4 points (49% to 45%). While Biden’s support has changed throughout the year, albeit within the poll’s margin of error, Trump’s has barely budged.”
The numbers get worse for Biden, when you consider that polling also shows that only 25% say he has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively.
Former President Donald Trump has capitalized on this reality, penning an op-ed in Newsweek titled “I Will Make America Great Again for Young People,” in which he stated:
“…Thanks to Biden’s disastrous economy, interest rates have skyrocketed, making home-ownership out of reach for too many Americans, especially young Americans who in previous generations would be looking to start a family. As a result, historically high numbers of young people are delaying marriage and children. According to a recent study, three quarters of Gen Z and Millennial couples believe it’s too expensive to get married today. A 2022 study found that financial concerns are the number one reason why Americans are dropping out of school.
“Sadly, many younger Americans are putting their lives on hold because they think the Biden economy leaves them no choice.”
READ: Students for Life Action Coming to Miami to Help “Make Trump Pro-Life Again”
Trump recognizes something that Students for Life of America (SFLA) and Students for Life Action has recognized for a long time: young people want hope for the future. Many believe it’s too expensive to get married or start a family. Most Millennials can’t even afford to buy a home, according to a recent article in Marketwatch. Is it any wonder then that Millennials or Gen Z voters have such a skewed view of abortion, especially when viewed in the context of career, family, and achievement?
We ignore that reality at our peril; no political entity should disregard the fears and concerns of almost one third of the American electorate. Yet, we know that the youth vote isn’t a monolith, and they don’t want unlimited or unrestricted abortion.
Truth and compassion can win out, even among the most ardently pro-abortion – we have seen and heard this through on-the-ground testimonies from our volunteers.
Indeed, SFLA’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement commissioned polling through YouGov-Vinea found that heartbeat abortion limits and limits when a baby can feel pain poll basically the same. But a limit at heartbeat clearly will save more lives than waiting until 15 weeks, as more than 9 in 10 abortions take place by 12 weeks.
An OnMessage poll in 2022 found that there was only a one-point difference between support for a limit when a baby’s heartbeat is detected (6 weeks) or at almost four months of pregnancy (15 weeks.) There the math was 50% GOP to 30% DEM who wanted 15-week limits vs. unlimited abortion until birth compared to 49% GOP to 31% DEM who wanted 6-week limits vs. unlimited abortion until birth.
Even our own exit-polling data from Ohio’s recent election showed us that more than half of those who supported Issue 1 did not do so to allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
Why does all this matter?
Because we’ve come so far since Roe v. Wade; as SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins noted several weeks ago, this fight for life is a marathon, not a sprint.
It’s why we engage in tabling events on campuses, voter engagement drives, door knocking, canvassing, phone banking, and more. It’s why we also plan to be on every publicly funded college campus in America in the next five years. It’s why we have presences on over 1,400 college campuses across the country and have built an army of pro-life volunteers and staffers.
In 2024, the abortion lobby will use the Democrat Party to obfuscate reality and use abortion as a “get out of accountability free” card. They lied repeatedly in Virginia and in Ohio, and 2024 will probably be no different. Yet, if the youth vote is engaged, told the truth about defending life and limiting abortion, and if we have real, difficult conversations about how bad economics affects their abilities to form and start families, we can change the future.
We just have to be bold enough to try.