In November 2013, the campaign group Abortion Rights announced their first-ever student conference. It was, they explained, in response to ‘many student unions reporting increased anti-choice activity on campuses’. Societies such as Oxford Students for Life, which I’ve been part of for the last couple of years, don’t tend to think of themselves as ‘anti-choice’, but it’s true there are more of us around. The number of young people who are opposed to abortion, or at least worried about it, is growing — this despite the usual hostility from student unions.
Just look at the results of a ComRes survey conducted in April. Asked whether the abortion limit should be halved to 12 weeks, the most likely age group to agree were, by some distance, the 18- to 24-year-olds: 48 per cent said yes, only 26 per cent no.
Most — not all — of the other surveys I have seen show more unease about abortion among young people. Gallup found a similar trend in the US. But perhaps this is not the best year to be basing an argument on opinion polls, so here is some anecdotal evidence. Although pro-life activism brings you up against a fair amount of angry opposition, I’ve been struck by how many students are sympathetic to our cause, or unsure quite what to think. This will surprise those who note — reasonably enough — that students are getting more socially liberal, and who — more dubiously — equate pro-life beliefs with social conservatism.
The truth is that people from all political backgrounds are disquieted by Britain’s abortion culture. My own convictions aren’t products of a left-wing or right-wing worldview; it’s just that I’ve never been able to shake the idea that each abortion is a death.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in