[Wondergirl]

Some U.S. students re-think college plans in states with abortion bans

Sharon Bernstein and Rose Horowitch
Mon, July 11, 2022 at 5:14 AM

By Sharon Bernstein and Rose Horowitch

(Reuters) - With its excellent academic and music programs, Oberlin College in Ohio seemed like a perfect fit for Nina Huang, a California high school student who plays flute and piano and hopes to eventually study medicine or law.

But Huang, 16, said she crossed the college off her application list after Ohio enacted a near-total ban on abortion last month. She now plans to cast a wider net for schools in states with less restrictive laws.

"I don't want to go to school in a state where there is an abortion ban," she said.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide has some students rethinking their higher education plans as states rush to ban or curtail abortion, according to interviews with 20 students and college advisers across the country.

While it has long been the case that some students hesitated to attend schools in places with different political leanings than their own, recent moves by conservative states on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights have deepened the country's polarization.

For some students, the restrictions raise fears that they won't be able to get an abortion if they need one or that they will face discrimination for gender differences.
Others said they worried about facing racial prejudice or being politically ostracized.

"I'm only in high school right now, and I'm still finding out who I am," said Samira Murad, 17, who will be a senior this fall at Stuyvesant High School in New York. "I don't want to move somewhere I can't be myself because of laws put in place."

It is too soon to determine whether such concerns will affect admissions in a measurable way, and evidence from other recent divisive state laws suggests there may be little overall impact.

But in the wake of Roe's overturn, college counselors said abortion has figured prominently in many conversations with clients, with some going as far as nixing their dream schools.

"Some of our students have explicitly stated that they will not apply to colleges and universities in states which may infringe on their access to reproductive rights," said Daniel Santos, chief executive of the Florida college counseling company Prepory.

'TOPIC OF CONCERN'

Kristen Willmott, a counselor with Top Tier Admissions in Massachusetts, said students she works with have told her they are taking some top schools in Texas, Florida and Tennessee off their application lists due to their restrictive abortion laws.
Alexis Prisco, who is entering her senior year at Eastern Technical High School in Maryland, had planned to apply to her parents' alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

She feels wary, however, after the state enacted a law effectively banning abortion.
"Now my mom has warned me that I need to be very careful when applying to schools in states with trigger laws," said Prisco, 17, referring to bans designed to take effect once the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

Washington University declined to comment but shared a June 24 statement in which university leaders acknowledged the fears and frustration felt by some after the court ruling. Oberlin College did not respond to requests for comment.

Several students raised similar concerns about attending college in North Carolina after the state in 2016 passed a law restricting which bathrooms transgender people could use, said counselor Jayson Weingarten of New York-based Ivy Coach.

But he said many still chose to attend Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Admissions statistics from UNC show the number of applicants increased by 14% between 2016 and 2017 despite individual students' unease.

Abortion is "a topic of concern for most of the students but not something that’s going to dissuade them from going to one of the most highly selective schools in the country," Weingarten said.

Shahreen Abedin, a spokesperson for the University of Texas' medical school, said the school had not seen a drop in applications that it could reasonably attribute to a state ban on abortions after six weeks that took effect in September.

For Maryland high school student Sabrina Thaler, however, the prospect of attending college in a state that bans abortion is unsettling.

Thaler, 16, recalled the question she posed to her high school class during a discussion in May after the decision that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade was leaked.

"What if I go to a college in a state where abortion is banned and I get raped and then
I don’t have the option to have an abortion?"

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California and Rose Horowitch in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis)

[jlisenbe]

"What if I go to a college in a state where abortion is banned and I get raped and then I don’t have the option to have an abortion?"

She might be too ignorant and uninformed to go to college. Most states have some allowance for rape which is, in any event, extremely unlikely. She is much more likely to be killed in a car wreck. And even at that, she could drive to a more liberal state. Better yet, she could decide not to kill her unborn child which was not responsible for her rape. Making a college decision on that basis is about on the level of choosing a college because of its football team.

[Wondergirl]

You apparently haven't been a female college student lately. We women college students had to be super careful even back in the '60s.

[tomder55]

Kids are going to pick a college based on abortion availability ? No wonder why this country is so screwed up

[Wondergirl]

You haven't been a woman college student either, have you...

[jlisenbe]

You apparently haven't been a female college student lately. We women college students had to be super careful even back in the '60s.

Just how "super careful" do you have to be to simply not have sex? Is there no end to the excuse-making? And you've never been a man, but that hasn't stopped you from continuously handing out ideas about how men should behave.

[Wondergirl]

Rape was/is always a concern.

[tomder55]

You haven't been a woman college student either, have you...

I don't have to be to realize some anecdotal examples does not prove that a significant number of prospective college applicants will make their decision based on abortion availability

[jlisenbe]

Rapes account for about 1/2 of 1% of abortions and are allowed for in most states. Even more, emergency rooms can administer medications that prevent pregnancy, so the rape deal just doesn't get you very far.

I think you really underestimate these incoming women. I doubt they are saying, "Oh my goodness! I must find a state that allows for abortions in case the 10,000 to 1 chance occurs that I end up pregnant from rape."

[Wondergirl]

At freshman orientation, we women were strongly advised to walk around the campus (and beyond it) in pairs or threesomes, especially after dark.

I wonder why.

[jlisenbe]

Is that a true story, or is it another one of your make-believe specialties?

[Wondergirl]

Absolutely true. And probably before you were out of diapers.

[tomder55]

I would've said carry a gun.

[Wondergirl]

Only .22s and BB guns were available.

We were taught verbal skills to avoid or escape.

[tomder55]

Clueless penned an EO to protect "rights" that are not threatened .

This is the press release . The actual wording of the EO has not been released yet.

FACT SHEET: President Biden to Sign Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services | The White House

According to the release Clueless order will ensure pregnant women and those experiencing pregnancy loss have access to emergency medical care.
But that is already the law of the land. Since 1986 the 'Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act' has made those protections guaranteed .

Regarding abortions the WH release says that they must be provided if a mother's life is at risk.
That is not an issue and Clueless and his minions know this . So the only reason for the EO is to imply that Dobbs replaces this law. It does not .

But but what about contraception ? Obamacare mandates access to contraception .

[jlisenbe]

Regarding abortions the WH release says that they must be provided if a mother's life is at risk.

Ah, those pesky little words. Simply being pregnant puts her life at risk, as does getting into a car to drive to the emergency room. Just being alive means you are at risk. Find an unethical doctor and you can have your medical excuse for an abortion.

[tomder55]

Which state does not already give exceptions if the mother's life is at risk ? This is just Clueless gaslighting the issue. I can't speak to your qualifier even though I'm sure the definition of at risk gets stretched .If I were a health professional in the states that have passed restrictive laws I would not attempt to stretch it too far. Will Clueless have an army of pro bono lawyers defending them ?

I question how states will prevent a woman travelling to another state to get an abortion . I don't believe that they can constitutionally prevent it ;and there is also HIPAA rules about privacy.

[jlisenbe]

I know of no state that does not make an exception for the life of the mother being immediately at risk. The Pres is just playing politics.

It is my understanding that any woman who wants to travel to another state to have an abortion will be able to do so. We saw it all the time at the facility in our state. Car tags from other states were very common.

[jlisenbe]

A favorite ploy of the pro-abortionists has been laws which allow exceptions for the health of the mother. Doctors very soon discovered that even suggesting that the mother would undergo issues with anxiety or depression was sufficient to grant access to an abortion. It's why we now view a "life of the mother" exception with some suspicion. We'll see how it pans out.

[tomder55]

Ohio Attorney General: "Not A Whisper" About 10-Year-Old Denied Abortion In State's Centralized Law Enforcement System | Video | RealClearPolitics