When her aunt was pregnant, she asked if she could rest her hand on her aunt's belly.

Those experiences years ago helped shape Gura's current belief that a baby's life begins at conception. "All it needs is a place to grow and food, and it will survive, which is what I need," said Gura, who lives in Skokie and works as a projects coordinator for the Pro-Life Action League in Forest Glen.

The 26-year-old is one Millennial who opposes abortion in all instances at a time when the hot-button topic has become a sticking point in the national debate over the health care bill. It's a major concern among young adults on both sides of the issue--57 percent of women who had abortions in 2004 in the U.S. were in their 20s, according to a report last year by the Guttmacher Institute, which studies sexual and reproductive health.

Up for debate in the health bill, currently making its way through the Senate, is whether there will be restrictions on federal funding for abortion services. Chicago's newly passed "bubble zone" law, which places restrictions on distance between activists and people entering medical facilities that provide abortion services, has brought the issue closer to home.

Whether young people are more or less in favor of abortion today than in years past is hard to say, according to recent polling. But with the abortion debate recently reignited, opponents and advocates in the Chicago area are sounding off.

Corrina Gura (right) is a projects coordinator for the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago. Brian J. Morowczynski Photo for RedEye

"Abortion is legal and all they need to do to keep it legal is nothing," said Matt Yonke of Aurora, who believes humans are human from conception and deserve human rights. "We have to be vocal to get attention to affect the change we believe is necessary."

Yonke, 29, assistant communication director of the Pro-Life Action League, which advocates nonviolent activism, said he has seen an increase lately in the number of people interested in getting involved. He pointed to President Obama as a "lightning rod" on the issue because of Obama's support for abortion rights.

Meanwhile, NARAL Pro-Choice America, an abortion-rights advocacy group formerly known as the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is working on ways to change previous policies and communicate with the public on the need to protect abortion options, said Ted Miller, communications director.

"Our electoral successes, including the election of a pro-choice president, could lead to some complacency in pro-choice voters. That's our principle concern," he said.

The organization, he said, is paying attention to Millennials. The generational label, which most sources attach to people born from the early '80s to the early 2000s, are poised to be larger than the Baby Boom group, making them a powerful and influential voting bloc, he said.

Tracking opinion

Are attitudes on abortion shifting? Not according to the latest poll done in November by The Washington Post. However, some recent polls have snagged headlines for suggesting the answer is "yes." For example, a Pew Research Center poll in August suggested Americans are becoming more evenly divided on the abortion issue, while Gallup polls from May and July showed more people calling themselves "pro-life" than "pro-choice." (See "Taking the nation's temperature")

Still, polls paint a confusing picture when it comes to how young adults ages 18 to 29 view the abortion issue. A recent Gallup poll showed support for abortion rights slipping from
54 percent "pro-choice" in 2007-08 to 48 percent this year. In the same survey, opposition grew from 42 percent "pro-life" to 46 percent.

But a Pew Research Center poll showed attitudes on the abortion issue stayed steady among young adults from 2007 through this year. That 2009 poll showed 52 percent of people ages
18 to 29 support abortion rights while 44 percent oppose them.

Another indicator: Voters last year rejected ballot measures in South Dakota, Colorado and California. Colorado's measure would have amended the state constitution to define a person as a human being from the moment of fertilization. The measures in California and South Dakota would have restricted abortion.  

A murky issue

Even within each movement, both sides see gray areas, underscoring the complexity of the issue. There are those who think abortion should be legal in all instances, those who think it should be illegal in all instances and many variations on the question of legality in between. Furthermore, some see it as a policy matter, a personal choice or some combination of the two.

"You can be pro-choice and still be pro-life in the sense that a pro-choice person can choose life for them individually but advocate for that right not to be taken away from others," said Brandy Peak, 22, of Logan Square, who believes abortion should be a decision made by a woman and her doctor.

No matter where they stand on the abortion issue, advocates and opponents say, there are times when they are mischaracterized.

There's a misconception that the abortion-rights movement has no space for religious people, and that if you believe in God you should be against abortion, said Binya Bahrami, 24, who believes women should have the right to have an abortion.

"Yes, I am a Muslim," said Bahrami, who lives in Wicker Park and is a program coordinator for a center for torture survivors.

"I wear a hijab and believe in God. And I also believe every single woman should have the right to free health care, and abortion should be free and on demand."

Anya Thetford, 22, of Hyde Park, who opposes abortion in all instances, appreciates discussion on the multifaceted issue, but said engaging in dialogue on her college campus can be difficult.Thetford, a University of Chicago student, said her campus "tends to be left-leaning on social issues."

As such, she said, she feels her anti-abortion view gets stifled in conversations.

"If I will bring up the fact that I'm pro-life and explain my reasoning, I find that a lot of times that will be discredited or discounted simply by the fact that I am a Christian," Thetford said. Her reason for being against abortion, however, has more to do, she said, with what she sees as the arbitrary decision being made on when it's OK for a life to be terminated and by whom.

Abortion opponents say they get unfairly labeled as being blinded by religion, close-minded, pushy and against women's rights. They say that's not who they really are.

"It seems people see pro-lifers as crazy religious people or crazy anti-feminist people," said Joseph Paolelli, 21, a student at Northwestern University who believes abortion is wrong except when a mother's life is threatened. Countering, Bahrami said, "I feel like whether or not you're religious or decide an abortion is right for you, I feel like that being anti-choice is a major attack on women's rights. I don't see how you can advocate women's rights and say they don't have a right to choose."

While they do protest at abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood sites showing graphic pictures, young anti-abortion activists say they're trying to steer away from being portrayed as abrasive, confrontational and badgering.

Instead, abortion opponents point out they hold prayer services and offer what they describe as sidewalk counseling, which involves their attempts to speak with people entering clinics. They hand out information on crisis pregnancy centers and adoption services.

"You do get the ones real upset and [who say] 'You don't know my story, where I came from, what's going on in my life, and who are you to tell me all this stuff.' I tell them: 'I don't know your story or situation, but I'm here and I want to help you,' " said Michael Laughlin, 20, president of Loyola University Chicago's Students for Life.

On the other side of the issue, there are young adults involved in the Illinois Choice Action Team who counter anti-abortion protests. For example, the Pro-Life Action League sang Christmas carols last weekend at centers that provide abortion services. The Illinois Choice Action Team showed up at those centers to show their support for abortion rights.

Whatever happens in the abortion debate, attention to the issue shows no sign of letting up. Said Thetford, who believes the issue won't go away any time soon: "There will be a fight to the end." lvivanco@tribune.com

SENATE UPDATE

The White House and Democrats are predicting Senate passage of President Obama's health overhaul by Christmas after the bill cleared a crucial vote Tuesday.
The Senate measure would still have to be harmonized with the health care bill passed by the House in November before final legislation would go to Obama.

There are significant differences between the two bills, including stricter abortion language in the House bill, a new government-run insurance plan in the House bill that's missing from the Senate version and a tax on high-value insurance plans embraced by the Senate but strongly opposed by many House Democrats.

Senate moderates have served notice they won't support a final deal if government-run insurance comes back. And Democratic abortion opponents in the House say a Senate compromise on the volatile issue is unacceptable. Associated Press