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A top Democrat called young people 'complacent' about abortion. Young people responded.

The chair of the Democratic National Committee — Debbie Wasserman Schultz — touched off a heated debate on Wednesday with a comment about young women and abortion rights.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.


In an interview with The New York Times, Wasserman Schultz was asked whether she thought older women were more enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton's candidacy than younger women were.

The top Democrat didn't really address the question, instead she used her answer to suggest that young women are insufficiently committed to preserving the reproductive freedoms secured by earlier generations.

"'Do you notice a difference between young women and women our age in their excitement about Hillary Clinton? Is there a generational divide?'

'Here’s what I see: a complacency among the generation of young women whose entire lives have been lived after Roe v. Wade was decided.'"

The notion that young women aren't serious about fighting for abortion rights was news to a lot of young women.

And they let Wasserman Schultz know, using the hashtag #DearDebbie.


Wasserman Schultz is right that abortion rights are being slowly-but-surely rolled back in many places across the country.


Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

While the decision in Roe v. Wade (and the more recent Planned Parenthood v. Casey) prevents states from banning the procedure outright, many have responded by passing laws that impose onerous, often near-impossible-to-satisfy, regulations on clinics that offer abortion services.

Additional regulations in many states attempt to make securing an abortion more difficult for the people who want them. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 17 states require that people seeking abortions undergo some form of counseling first.

More than half of all states — 28 — impose a waiting period between when the procedure is requested and when it is performed, which effectively means making two separate trips to the clinic in 14 of those states. For people who are poor or without access to reliable transportation or the ability to take time off from a job, this often represents an insurmountable burden.

A whopping 38 states require some form of parental notification for minors seeking an abortion (such laws have little to say about the potentially disastrous consequences of a minor having a child).

But she's not so right to suggest that young people are complacent. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images.

Contrary to Wasserman Schultz's assertion, thousands of people across the country have been speaking out against new restrictions on reproductive rights, and young people have done a pretty bang-up job leading the way. Movements like #ShoutYourAbortion and the 1 in 3 Campaign that seek to humanize those who seek out abortion — and allow them an outlet to tell their stories — were spearheaded by young people.

Even legacy reproductive rights organizations have seen an influx of youth in recent years. As of just a few years ago, a NARAL spokesperson told The Nation that roughly 60% of its members were under 35. The Planned Parenthood Generation Action Group boasts over 200 member organizations at colleges and universities in all 50 states.

After hearing from dozens of young activists, Wasserman Schultz responded on Twitter.

And made it known that she'd heard the message loud and clear.




It's an encouraging sign that young people and politicians who support reproductive rights are, perhaps, actually listening to each other.

Hopefully the mutual listening will continue — and progress can continue to be made.

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Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

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