What Florida’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Means

Rachel M. Cohen at Vox reports that earlier this week the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a 15-week ban passed in 2022 is constitutional,paving the way for the more recent six-week ban signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to take effect in May. The court also ruled that a ballot measure to protect abortion access, which will need 60% of voter support to pass, can proceed. According to PRRI, 64% of Americans support access to abortion in all or most cases. The Guttmacher Institute found there were 8,940 more abortions in Florida in 2023 than in 2020 as it was one of the only Southern states that allowed abortion beyond six weeks.

​​Anti-LGBTQ Bills in Alabama’s Legislature Threaten the State’s Youth and Undermine One Gay Teenager’s Legacy, Critics Say

For CNN, Shirin Faqiri, Devon M. Sayers, and Isabel Rosales report on a series of anti-LGBTQ bills advancing through the Alabama legislature, including one limiting LGBTQ discussions in classrooms. Camika Shelby, an Alabama resident whose son Nigel died by suicide after being bullied by his classmates for being gay, questioned who these bills protect. After Nigel’s death, Shelby won a settlement in which theHuntsville City Board of Education agreed to update its policies on anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment, which she fears these bills would undo. According to PRRI’s 2023American Values Atlas, the majority of Alabamans support LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws, although Alabamans are split when it comes to allowing businesses to refuse service for LGBTQ customers and same-sex marriage.

Why Jonathan Haidt Is ‘Wildly Optimistic’ About Gen Z

Benjamin P. Russell of The New York Times interviews social psychologist Jonathan Haidt about the rise of mental health crises among young people in the 21st century. Haidt attributes this increase to what he calls “the Great Rewiring” – the period of drastic technological change that altered teenagers’ lives across the globe from 2010 to 2015. As the first generation to experience puberty while on social media and increasingly isolated from their peers, Haidt argues that Gen Z received the brunt of the negative effects of social media while millennials generally skirted it. PRRI research finds that Gen Z adults (52%) are more likely than older generations to say that social media is important for making meaningful connections.

Why Americans Go to Church — on Easter and Throughout the Year

At Deseret News, Kelsey Dallaswrites that PRRI’s new survey on American religion finds that the social and spiritual aspects of worship services motivate people to go to church. Among the 45% of U.S. adults who attend church at least a few times per year, nearly 8 in 10 cite “experiencing religion in a community” as a very or somewhat important reason for their attendance. Community, along with the desire to feel closer to God (90%) and instilling religious values in young people (79%), is a top motivator for church attenders across age groups, partisan affiliations, and faith traditions. PRRI’s survey also found that Americans who are 65 or older are more likely than younger adults to attend religious services weekly; 33% of seniors attend at least weekly, compared to 25% of Americans ages 50-64, 22% of Americans ages 30-49, and 18% of Americans under 30.