Ignorance is the enemy of our people.
By Julie Roys
However, a survey released Monday shows that support for Roe v. Wade is based largely on ignorance. When educated about the realities of abortion, opposition to the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion rises sharply.
The survey conducted by Students for Life of America’s Institute for Pro-Life Advancement found that 40-percent of millennials (those in their 20s and 30s) totally support Roe, and only 12-percent totally oppose. Many (48-percent) are either unsure or neutral about the issue.
However, after being informed that Roe allows for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, opposition to Roe jumped to 51-percent and support fell to 35-percent. Additionally, when millennials were told that abortion could be used as a form of contraception, or when a mother doesn’t like the sex of the baby, opposition rose to 54-percent.
This is a crucial finding, showing how key education is to overturning the abhorrent court decision that has led to the slaughter of more than 60-million babies. As I have engaged in discussions about abortion with friends and colleagues, I am always amazed at how few know the truth. For example, most believe it’s illegal to abort babies in the third trimester, but it’s not
As former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson can attest, “Late-term abortions are legal in the U.S. and do take place through the entire third trimester, including through the ninth month of pregnancy. . . (A) late-term abortion can be provided for any reason, as long as the abortionist checks a box on her chart stating it was affecting her ‘life or health.’ No documentation of proof is required.”
Similarly, I’ve found very few Americans know what’s involved in an actual abortion. Few know, for example, that a second trimester abortion involves dismembering a baby in the womb and removing it piece by piece. Few realize that this grisly procedure is done at all, let alone that’s it’s done without any anesthesia. We treat our dogs better in this country.
A few years ago, I posted live animation of the most popular abortionprocedures to my website. Even though they’re just animated videos, they’re powerful. Every citizen of this country should watch these. If they did, I’m sure opposition to overturning Roe would evaporate.
This week, hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates will gather in D.C. for the March for Life. And as we do, or simply support the cause by posting to social media and watching the live coverage, we need to remember that education and advocacy matter. As more and more Americans hear the truth, they adopt pro-life convictions and understand Roe as a license to murder.
We also need to be smart about how we discuss the issue. I agree wholeheartedly with Kristan Hawkins, president of Student for Life of America, who said:
“On the issue of abortion, labels like pro-life, pro-choice, access, health, or women’s rights often camouflage the true realities of the policies that today crisscross the country. Especially as we talk with millennials, who are often outside the political structure of Washington D.C., the anti-abortion movement must be clear on what we are advancing and its impact on mothers, the preborn and taxpayers.”
