In 2022, Michigan voters headed to the polls to vote on whether to enshrine the right to abortion and other reproductive health care in the state constitution. The ballot initiative, known as Proposal 3, passed by a strong margin.
That year, Michigan also saw the highest youth voter turnout in the country. An estimated 37% of eligible voters between the ages of 18-29 cast a ballot in the 2022 midterms. And experts say that high turnout was motivated, in part, by Prop 3.
This year, reproductive rights are not on the Michigan ballot. Still, Gen Z voters are an important target for both Democrats and Republicans running for office. So, will the uncertainty of a post-Roe world still turn out Gen Z voters?
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A shifting landscape for abortion rights in the Midwest
The right to an abortion is now enshrined in the Michigan state constitution. But other nearby states took the opposite approach following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Some instituted strict regulations on abortion, while others banned it altogether.
That's had consequences for abortion providers here in Michigan, according to data from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.
“We are seeing about triple the number of out-of-state patients than we used to provide for before Roe,” said Ashlea Phenicie, the chief advocacy officer at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.
State data also shows that the number of abortions in the state increased in 2022 and 2023. And a higher proportion of those abortion patients were from out-of-state.
"They've had to take time off of work. ... They may need to arrange child care," said Phenicie. "And they tend to, because of the delays, they tend to be further along in their pregnancies, so they may require a higher level of care."
Many Gen Z voters who care about reproductive rights found themselves energized by Prop 3. And that energy has carried on beyond the 2022 midterm.
“I’m very thankful that we have abortion rights still in Michigan, but I still do think it is threatened because people are always trying to find workarounds in a legal system to try to ban it again,” said Rachel Noreen, a nursing student at Grand Valley State University.
Noreen is also a volunteer with GVSU Votes, an organization focused on voter registration on campus. Noreen said that abortion rights are an important issue to many of her peers — and they were shocked when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and erased federal protections for abortion care.
“I kind of always had an inkling that Gen Z was more progressive, especially when it came to like reproductive rights and, you know, just personal liberties," said Taegan Byers, a masters student at Michigan State University. "But it was really confirmed during 2022 when, in Michigan, we passed Proposal 3.”
People working in the reproductive rights field say that young people care about abortion, but they are also fighting for broader understanding of what sexual and reproductive health access means.
What reproductive freedom means to Gen Z
In a poll conducted last year by the Association of American Medical Colleges, about 3 in 5 members of Gen Z reported that they see reproductive justice as a top priority for the federal government to address.
Reproductive rights — including abortion — are often talked about in moral or social justice terms. And for many Gen Z voters, that is how they first understood the issue, said Nupur Huria, with the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health.
"So many of these policies disproportionately impact so many different marginalized communities," Huria said. "And especially when that comes to reproductive health, it's been a really big thing that we've seen, whether that's access to abortion care, the right to proper and inclusive sexual health education, and it goes on and on."
But, she added, as those in Gen Z get older and enter the workforce, the issue of reproductive rights could be shifting from a moral issue into an economic one.
A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation asked women voters to choose their most important issues heading into this year’s election. The survey found that for Gen Z, abortion access remained a concern to a large percentage of young voters.
However, it wasn't the only, or the most important, issue for young voters. The No. 1 concern they had going into this election year is the economy. They are concerned with the increase in inflation and the rising cost of housing.
But advocates like Huria say economic issues and reproductive rights aren’t actually as separate as they seem at first glance.
The connection between abortion access and economic freedom is clear to Isabella Grunwald, a student at Grand Valley State University.
“I mean, if you don't have control over your body that's a huge possible economic concern," she said. "That's an entire other person that you might have to be supporting ... and, if I don't have a choice, that could be a huge economic impact on my life.”
Women and children are the most vulnerable when it comes to economic changes, said Laura Schneider, an associate professor of political science at Grand Valley State University. That’s because, as a whole, women are making less money than men. And Gen Z is made up of people in their 20s who are either still in school or who are just starting to get their footing economically. Gen Z is also more ethnically diverse than the country’s population as a whole.
For many of the young voters we spoke with, ensuring abortion access is a means of ensuring that women are able to remain financially stable in the face of an unplanned pregnancy.
But Cassidy Shooltz, a student at Grand Rapids Community College and a volunteer for Grand Rapids Right to Life, said that broader access to abortion won't solve the financial issues facing young women.
“If you think about how awful it is that a woman might look at her bank account and say, 'I would have to choose between my baby and paying the rent,' that is a travesty. And our country should do a better job making sure that women are supported when they're facing an unplanned pregnancy.”
A new generation of anti-abortion activists
Young anti-abortion advocates like Shooltz were excited when Roe v. Wade was overturned. It was a big win for anti-abortion advocates, who have been lobbying for restrictions on abortion for decades. And some worry about how a Democratic win could roll back what they saw as a major victory for their movement.
“I think that Kamala Harris is wildly out of line with the average American,” said Liliana Zylstra, a senior at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. “And Harris has repeatedly been unable to state any limit on abortion that she supports. I think that that’s the biggest threat right now in American politics.”
Zylstra believes that abortion is morally wrong, and she's been involved in anti-abortion rights activism since high school.
"I’ve talked to hundreds of people just to share the message that no innocent human being should be treated with violence and that those human rights should be extended to all humans, regardless of their stage of development.”
While anti-abortion advocates obviously don't agree with Kamala Harris' long held support for reproductive rights, Shooltz said she is also concerned about former President Donald Trump's wavering stance on abortion restrictions.
“I think one of the most concerning things when we consider the upcoming election is that neither of the presidential candidates value the lives of the unborn," Shooltz said. "So both presidential candidates have expressed that there is at least some point at which they support abortion.”
A new generation of anti-abortion activists
Access to reproductive care is important to Gen Z. In the United States, women aged 20-29 account for the majority of abortion care received. And some in Gen Z were upset about the broad abortion restrictions in other states following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Young anti-abortion advocates, on the other hand, worry about how a Democratic win could roll back what they saw as a major victory for their movement.
Liliana Zylstra, a senior at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, says she believes Vice President Kamala Harris’s stance on abortion is morally wrong, and is concerned that the Vice President would drastically loosen the country’s abortion laws. Zylstra says, “I have been involved in the pro-life movement since high school. I’ve talked to hundreds of people just to share the message that no innocent human being should be treated with violence and that those human rights should be extended to all humans, regardless of their stage of development.”
“I think that Kamala Harris is wildly out of line with the average American,” Zylstra said, “And Harris has repeatedly been unable to state any limit on abortion that she supports. I think that that’s the biggest threat right now in American politics.”
Similarly to Zylstra, Cassidy Shooltz has concerns with Harris’ advocacy for reproductive freedom. “Kamala Harris is one of the most extreme politicians in the history of the United States,” said Shooltz. For her and Zylstra, like other Gen Z voters, abortion rights are a big concern in this year’s election, even though those rights aren't explicitly on the ballot.
However, while anti-abortion advocates don’t agree with Harris’ campaigning for reproductive freedom, they are also concerned about Donald Trump’s wavering stance on abortion. “I think one of the most concerning things when we consider the upcoming election is that neither of the presidential candidates value the lives of the unborn," Shooltz said. "Both presidential candidates have expressed that there is at least some point at which they support abortion. And the reason why I don't support abortion is because we're all human beings.”
Taking action
We won’t know how much of Gen Z will turn out to the polls this November, until after the elections. However, in a swing state like Michigan, a relatively small number of votes can make a big difference.
With the election quickly approaching, some people in Gen Z are concerned that young voters may only talk about their concerns without taking action.
More than 41 million members of Gen Z will be eligible to vote in 2024, and have a potentially game-changing role in this election — whether they’re voting for someone in favor of expanding access to reproductive health care, or someone who appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and end federal protections for abortion rights.
The issue of reproductive rights is one of many that Gen Z is wrestling with in a way that their parents didn’t have to because Roe and other Supreme Court cases had settled the law: Abortions were allowed until fetal viability.
Now, just over two years since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe, the landscape is murkier, more fragmented. And Gen Z is taking to online spaces to talk about reproductive rights.
Rachel Noreen, the GVSU nursing student, said she sees discussion around these issues playing out on social media — but it’s not clear whether that discussion will translate to votes.
“I really hope that we can get young voters involved because I feel like … on TikTok and social media, we as a generation don't really take politics seriously all the time,” Noreen said.
Gen Z advocates and voters on all sides of the abortion debate are having fun with it online. They’re editing videos of politicians and adding their own commentary. And they’re making memes that try to simplify complex issues into easily understandable snippets.
In an attempt to grow awareness, Samantha Derry, a junior at GVSU, encourages young people to take this opportunity to move beyond online discussions and vote — IRL — to create the future they want.
“It’s important that young voters use this opportunity to support things that matter to them … and I think that this is a great opportunity to showcase what our future will look like,” she said.
