In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson, which famously overturned the precedent established by the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, students across the United States are expressing their respective views on whether a woman’s right to abortion should be protected.
While liberal-leaning states like California, New York and Massachusetts have moved to protect the right to abortion within the state, thirteen states such as Texas, Alabama and Tennessee have now prohibited most abortions, with some of their politicians even calling for a nationwide ban.
As deadlines approach for the early round of college applications, high school seniors nationwide are finalizing their college lists, and the Dobbs ruling is playing a role in several seniors’ decisions.
According to a July survey published in Forbes, 39 percent of prospective undergraduates stated that the Dobbs decision will affect their decision of whether to attend college in a given state.
Additionally, over 50 percent of current and prospective students reported that the Dobbs decision will significantly influence their vote in the November 2022 midterm elections. Only a third of students expressed their faith and confidence in the Supreme Court as an institution.
As prospective undergraduates themselves, Poly seniors are facing a barrage of complex decisions as they navigate their final year of high school and decide on where to attend college.
Recently, an anonymous poll was sent out to the senior class, inquiring whether the Dobbs ruling has influenced their college choices. Thirty percent of the class (28 out of the 93 seniors) responded. Two-thirds of the respondents identified as female, and one-third identified as male. Eleven out of 27 seniors said they plan to apply only to colleges in states that protect the legal right to abortion, eight said the decision has not affected where they intend to apply but may impact their ultimate decision of where to attend, and the remaining eight said the decision has not impacted which colleges they intend to apply to.
Approximately 56 percent of the female respondents said they only felt safe applying to colleges in states that allow abortion.
“It is important to me, not only that I have the right to safe and legal abortion, but that all women around me also have that right. Even if I were only to live in a state with an abortion ban for my four years of college, I cannot live there with a clean conscious knowing that millions of women around me cannot get a safe and legal abortion,” one respondent shared
A male respondent added, “I don’t have to worry about access to abortions, so it has not changed my college process – but for the sake of clarity, I would never apply to a college where that right would be in question as it’s indicative of other ethical and political positions I do not find legitimate.”
Most seniors began compiling their lists of prospective colleges in the spring, before the Dobbs decision was leaked in May. Senior Clemmie Anzalone shared that she has since reevaluated her search for colleges in Ohio, which recently enacted several limitations on abortion rights.
“If I became pregnant, I would be able to deal with it and fly home if needed, but I shouldn’t have to do that. I’ve really only been looking in places where I know I will be protected,” she said.
