Author Archive
Rich Nathan
Rays of Hope for the Valuing of Life
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
Here is a quiz question: Regarding which social issue are young people decidedly more conservative than their parents and grandparents?
The surprising answer, according to a magisterial new book titled American Grace by Harvard Professor of Public Policy, Robert Putnam, is – abortion!
The survey data of public opinion is really incontrovertible. Concerning almost every social issue, young adults are more liberal than their elders. So, for example, young adults are more permissive regarding gay marriage, premarital sex, and marijuana use than are older generations. But post-boomers are significantly less pro-choice than their boomer parents. According to Putnam, abortion is a stunning outlier for young adults. There is particularly strong disapproval for abortion for social or economic reasons such as a woman who is married and doesn’t want another child, a family which feels it can’t afford more children, or an unmarried woman who does not want to marry the father.
