Posted on Dec 13, 2023
Red state colleges face an abortion headache
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A growing number of female college applicants may seek to avoid going to school in states where abortion is banned or severely restricted.
While the long-term impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on college enrolment around the U.S. remain to be seen, research, polls and reports are already showing that an increasing number of young women are factoring in abortion laws when making decisions about where to apply to college.
It was a consideration for some female applicants even before Roe's demise, according to research recently published in the journal Economic Letters.
While the long-term impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on college enrolment around the U.S. remain to be seen, research, polls and reports are already showing that an increasing number of young women are factoring in abortion laws when making decisions about where to apply to college.
It was a consideration for some female applicants even before Roe's demise, according to research recently published in the journal Economic Letters.
Red state colleges face an abortion headache
Posted from newsweek.com
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Posted 5 mo ago
Responses: 3
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I understand their concern. The threat of being raped and being forced to remain pregnant against their will is a real threat in red states
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The Washington Post last year noted that Rice University in Texas had a quarter of incoming freshmen in 2020 come from states where abortion remains legal, such as New York and California, while 40 percent are from Texas. The university has been contacted for comment via email.
Polls have also shown that current and prospective students are factoring in laws governing reproductive rights when making decisions about college.
A survey by Intelligent.com shortly after Roe was overturned found 26 percent of prospective students would only consider attending a college in a state where abortion is legal. Meanwhile, research from the Gallup and the Lumina Foundation earlier this year found that a majority of college students (72 percent) said reproductive health laws in the state where their college is located was at least somewhat important to their decision of whether to stay enrolled or leave.
But such decisions will likely be limited to students who have the privilege of choosing the state where they attend college, Sharma noted.
"Students whose choice is limited to colleges within their home states (for financial or other reasons) will likely be less sensitive to state abortion policies when making their college decisions," he said.
Those disproportionately affected by abortion bans, such as women of color and those from lower-income households, are less likely to have the luxury of moving out of state for college, noted Mary Ruth Ziegler a law professor at the University of California, Davis, legal historian and author of Roe: The History of a National Obsession.
"I do think we'll see a movement of college students away from red states, but I think that's disproportionately going to be people who can afford to make that decision, both in terms of educational options and money," Ziegler told Newsweek.
"The same people who've already been disproportionately affected by bans are going to be the ones disproportionately affected as college students as well, because they won't have the ability to just go somewhere else."...
..."The Washington Post last year noted that Rice University in Texas had a quarter of incoming freshmen in 2020 come from states where abortion remains legal, such as New York and California, while 40 percent are from Texas. The university has been contacted for comment via email.
Polls have also shown that current and prospective students are factoring in laws governing reproductive rights when making decisions about college.
A survey by Intelligent.com shortly after Roe was overturned found 26 percent of prospective students would only consider attending a college in a state where abortion is legal. Meanwhile, research from the Gallup and the Lumina Foundation earlier this year found that a majority of college students (72 percent) said reproductive health laws in the state where their college is located was at least somewhat important to their decision of whether to stay enrolled or leave.
But such decisions will likely be limited to students who have the privilege of choosing the state where they attend college, Sharma noted.
"Students whose choice is limited to colleges within their home states (for financial or other reasons) will likely be less sensitive to state abortion policies when making their college decisions," he said.
Those disproportionately affected by abortion bans, such as women of color and those from lower-income households, are less likely to have the luxury of moving out of state for college, noted Mary Ruth Ziegler a law professor at the University of California, Davis, legal historian and author of Roe: The History of a National Obsession.
"I do think we'll see a movement of college students away from red states, but I think that's disproportionately going to be people who can afford to make that decision, both in terms of educational options and money," Ziegler told Newsweek.
"The same people who've already been disproportionately affected by bans are going to be the ones disproportionately affected as college students as well, because they won't have the ability to just go somewhere else."...
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Education priorities are skewed if that's on a students checklist for schools
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