New Research Shows Young People Overwhelming Support Access to Abortion Medication
NextGen America is organizing millions of young voters across the country to take action for abortion rights
Austin, TX — A recent report from the Pew Research Center reveals that younger people are more likely than older Americans to say medication abortion should be legal in their state. Two-thirds (66 percent) of people under 30 say abortion pills should be legal, compared with half of respondents 30 and older.
This data is especially relevant following last week’s Texas court ruling which halted FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two medications most commonly used in medication abortion in the United States.
Pew’s research also shows that younger women are particularly likely to say medication abortion should be legal in their state: 71 percent of women under 30 say this, while just 12 percent say it should be illegal. Six-in-ten men under 30 say medication abortion should be legal in their state.
This research reinforces the importance of NextGen’s voter engagement program, which connects with young people in-person and online to bring them into the voting process and activates them on important issues. NextGen’s abortion action hub has served as a key resource for young people across the country since the fall of Roe last summer.
“Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago, and since then, this medicine has been used by more than five million people in the U.S. to safely end their pregnancies,” NextGen America President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez said. “When used both remotely and at a health center, mifepristone is proven to be extremely safe. That’s why the recent decision from the Texas court makes it all the more clear that rescinding FDA approval of mifepristone has nothing to do with actual safety concerns – it is strictly politically motivated.”
“Young people are outraged about the unrelenting attacks on our most basic rights and this data clearly shows that Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision does not represent the will of the people and certainly does not represent young voters and our generation’s vision for the future,” Tzintzún Ramirez said.
NextGen’s 2023 abortion rights advocacy work follows the organization’s historic work in 2022 to mobilize young voters across seven key states. These efforts contributed to the second-largest youth voter turnout in a midterm election in 30 years and underscored young voters as a powerful voting bloc in the country.
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About NextGen America
NextGen America is the leading national organization for engaging young people through voter education, registration and mobilization. We invite 18-to-35 year olds — the largest and most diverse generation in American history — into our democracy to ensure our government works for them and to find new solutions to the dire challenges facing our society and the world. Since 2013, NextGen America has registered more than 1.3 million young voters and contacted 9.6 million young eligible voters during the historic 2022 midterm elections.