Life down under

Roe v. Wade | The United States isn't the only place where the pro-life movement is making strides among the young | Angela Lu

Associated Press photo by Penny Bradfield

For the first time since the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, more American youth say they are pro-life than pro-choice. According to a 2009 Gallup poll, 51 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in America said they were pro-life, compared to 45 percent who called themselves pro-choice. Similar changes may be underway in other countries, including Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

In Ireland, Eoghan De Faoite, who chairs Youth Defence, speaks of protecting "the dignity of every person, no matter how 'inconvenient,' because they are all wanted by God." Youth Defence began in 1992 with discussion of the X case, where a 14-year-old rape victim wanted to leave Ireland for an abortion, and proponents of abortion claimed the youth of Ireland wanted abortion legalized. Some college students in Dublin disagreed, set up information booths on the streets, and rallied their peers to protest abortion. Youth Defence's Rally for Life drew more than 10,000 people to the streets of Dublin: Many went on to protest outside courthouses and the homes of ministers. The Irish government backed down, and 20 years later abortion is still illegal in Ireland except when the life of the mother is endangered.