A New Springtime for the Pro-Life Movement

Details: 02 September 2011

Blessed John Paul II repeatedly referred to a "new springtime" for the Catholic faith in the 21st Century. Given this pope’s love of young people, which was manifest in his initiation of World Youth Day in the 1980s, it is likely that his "springtime" optimism emanated (at least in part) from the characteristics he saw in young people.

Evidence to substantiate John Paul’s optimism is plentiful. My first introduction to the encouraging characteristics of "Generation Y" was about eight years ago when I saw the results of a study conducted by the Caring Foundation. Generation Y–also known as "Millennials" or "Echo Boomers" (because they are children of the Baby Boomer generation)—are now between the ages of 16 and 31.

According to Sandra Choate Faucher, who helped direct this study for the Caring Foundation, the study provides many reasons for the pro-life movement to be optimistic about Gen Y. "Gen Yers are spiritual, optimistic, ambitious and idealistic," Ms. Faucher said. "They want the truth and want to do what’s right."

"This generation does not want to be like their parents. They want to be and do better. Since many come from homes of divorce and/or are latchkey kids, they want stable marriages and homes for themselves and their children. Gen Yers are also primarily pro-life on abortion. They believe the unborn child is "pure potential" and could be the very person who finds a cure for cancer or AIDS," Faucher said.

The pro-life inclinations of Gen Y are reflected in recent polling from Gallup and other pollsters showing a pretty dramatic shift toward the pro-life position. In 2004, 54 percent of 18 to 29 year old persons identified themselves as "pro-choice" versus just 40 percent identifying as "pro-life." In 2010 those numbers flipped with 47 percent identifying as "pro-life" and 45 percent as "pro-choice."

Gen Y’s interest in pro-life activities was evident locally as the UNL Newman Center’s survey of incoming freshman Catholics this fall revealed. Of the 594 students who replied, 336 indicated an interest in pro-life activities. This was the fourth-highest response out of 31 choices. Only FOCUS Bible studies, intramural sports and a Facebook group garnered more interest by students than pro-life activities!

There is other dramatic evidence of the pro-life "fruit" of Gen Y. For example, a significant reason why Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider and apologist, is under increasing public scrutiny for its nefarious activities is thanks to the courageous work of a recent college graduate, Lila Rose. These exposés (see them at www.liveaction.org) have led several state governments to discontinue taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. And the U.S. House of Representatives voted 241 to 185 to defund Planned Parenthood, although the measure failed in the U.S. Senate.

Live Action is joined by several other outstanding youth-led organizations like Students for Life of America (www.studentsforlife.org), Generations for Life (www.generationsforlife.org), Generation Life (www.generationlife.org) and Rock for Life (www.rockforlife.org) to name a few.

Another aspect of Gen Y that provides much reason for hope, given the positive characteristics just mentioned, is its size. There are 60 million Gen Yers, compared to just 17 million in the previous generation, known as Gen X.

As Ms. Faucher noted, "everything from politicians to church groups are studying, analyzing and trying to influence this upcoming generation of young adults. They all recognize that the sheer numbers provide this generation with the ability to change society and political landscapes of the future."

While all of these characteristics of Gen Y provide much reason for hope in the pro-life movement, we cannot take them for granted. The culture of death is working overtime to undermine the pro-life and pro-family inclinations of Gen Y. Hence, the culture of life must work even harder to engage, form and equip young people to live the truth about love and life that God has written on our hearts.

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.