Young People Have Mixed Views On Abortion; But Strong Support For Sex Education And Gay Rights-3069

Young people have mixed opinions on abortion, but strong positions on comprehensive sex education, HIV/AIDS policies, and gay rights, all hot button issues that could be affected by the upcoming presidential campaign, according to a new national survey of 18-24 year-olds released today by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and MTV’s “Choose or Lose” campaign. Seventy percent of young people say that whatever their own opinion on abortion, they favor a woman having the choice to have an abortion with the advice of her doctor, and 60% favor federal funding so that poor women have the same access to abortions as other women have. On the other hand, about half (47%) say they favor policies that would make abortion illegal in all cases except rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. More than 600 18-24 year-olds were interviewed for the survey, titled Sex Laws: Youth Opinion on Sexual Health Issues in the 2000 Election