For the entirety of Franklin students’ lifetimes, abortion has been hotly debated in our federal government. In 2021 — the year Roe v. Wade was overturned — 108 restrictions were placed on the ability to obtain an abortion in over 19 states. We have now seen the drastic effects of the overturning of this precedent, reflected in public opinion as well as the numbers: Abortion procedures have dropped heavily in states with total or six week bans, while overall statistics show that abortion levels have increased in the United States (U.S.) after the fall of Roe. These consistent levels show that people are forced to search far and wide for basic health care, and sometimes, the alternative options are not the safest.
As the Franklin senior class approaches the end of their second-to-last semester of high school, students are considering their next steps after graduation. For those applying to college to pursue higher education, many choose to attend an in-state university. Others may cast a wider net, applying to schools around the nation or even beyond U.S. borders.
A significant factor that many out-of-state applicants may not take into account when going through the application process is states’ laws regarding abortion, pregnancy, and women’s health in general. With the federal protection of the right to abortion being overturned, state governments are left to individually decide legislation around the topic. In states with popular colleges for Franklin students, such as Idaho, Texas, Arizona, and most southern states, the right to an abortion is completely unprotected. In addition to the bans, there is an ever increasing prevalence of aiding and abetting laws in states like Texas and Idaho. This means that anyone supporting a person needing an abortion, including giving the abortion seeker rides to medical facilities, or even providing them with relevant information, can be prosecuted.
For Franklin students who have lived in Oregon most of their lives, it can be difficult to empathize with Americans living in states with abortion bans, as Oregon is listed as one of the best states for reproductive rights, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an NGO that advocates for sexual health and reproductive rights. It can be easy to take this for granted, but in other states, abortion care is a luxury rather than a human right. Franklin senior Iris Gray explained how abortion limitations are weighing on her college decision-making. She was interested in universities such as Loyola University New Orleans in Louisiana or the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, but chose not to even apply, based on the heavy abortion restrictions in each state. Gray said simply, “It feels so limiting to have to factor my uterus into decisions about my education.”
In the wake of the fall of Roe, students now have an additional caveat to their college choices: their right to bodily autonomy. It is a question that students must now ask themselves before applying or committing to a university in a non-protective state: Do I want my tuition money going to an institution in a place that prosecutes women and menstruators for choosing to have abortions? “I don’t want to have to discuss my body and what I choose to do with it in the same breath as my common application essays or how much a plane ticket home costs,” Gray stated firmly. “I should be choosing schools based on how much I love their programs or the city, not on whether my reproductive rights will be safe or not.”
In trying to gain more specific data and information about how abortion-ban states’ laws on reproductive rights affect college decisions, I reached out to over 15 health centers at public universities in states with either a total or a six week ban on abortion. Each institution either declined to answer or didn’t respond by the date of publication.
A common thread anecdotally mentioned is that students who go to college out of state can just travel to get abortion care in a state where it’s legalized. However, critics of this viewpoint see this as a privileged outlook, since for many, packing up and traveling for medical procedures is not financially feasible. More broadly, abortion advocates highlight that it can be discouraging for folks to have to leave their place of residence because the state they live in does not protect their autonomy.
Clinical and political abortion expert Grayson Dempsey said her two daughters will not attend college in any state where their right to an abortion is not explicitly protected. Dempsey is the director of public affairs for the Lilith Clinic, a reproductive health center, and has been working in abortion care for over two decades. She shared that in the medical field, abortion access has impacted where residents choose to go to medical school. Dempsey said, “You’ve got people who want to go into obstetrics gynecology, women’s health care, reproductive health care, now being afraid to go into states where they could not only lack access to the training that they need, but potentially be criminalized, should they practice.” Dempsey continued, explaining how this creates even greater health care deserts for maternity and abortion care.
Dempsey warned of the future impacts that these abortion bans could have on generations to come. “I think in 20 years we’re gonna see decreasing levels of, frankly, people going to college in general and especially in states where abortion is banned.” She continued, saying, “I think we’re also going to see higher levels of poverty in families and children.” Her predictions are based on the little support teen mothers receive in helping them finish their education. She referenced the lack of widespread relief for families with unplanned pregnancies who do not have the financial means to raise a child or children. Some families have little to no access to paid medical leave, sufficient childcare, or support to ensure that their kids don’t go hungry. She believes that the lack of these resources, on top of the abortion bans, sends the message that women’s education and control over their own bodies does not matter.
Though many feel the fall of Roe v. Wade devastated the progress women have worked towards for generations, others highlight the continuation of the conversation around bodily autonomy, and the activation of the youth that brings about hope for the future.
“If enrollment, especially in young women, is down in states where there are abortion bans because people don’t want to be in states where they feel unsafe, maybe that’s something that starts to move the needle a little bit,” said Dempsey. She continued, emphasizing the crucial involvement of young people, and how the choices we make as Franklin students matter.
As Oregonians, we have the privilege of choice and autonomy over our bodies, but this is not always the case across state lines. Whether a menstruator or not, for those choosing where to live in the next chapter of their lives, considering abortion legislature has entered the decision-making process.
