Almost two-thirds of current college students say they desire to live and work in a state where access to abortion is legal, and more than half of prospective college students feel the same way.
Those are some of the results from a recent survey of current and prospective college students about their college and career plans in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The study was conducted by BestColleges, which surveyed 1,000 current and prospective undergraduate and graduate students between July 7-13, 2022. Respondents were 16-65 years of age and were either currently pursuing a degree or planning to pursue an associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, or professional degree in the next 12 months.
The respondents were asked a series of questions about their views on abortion, how the Dobbs decision impacted their choices about college attendance, their opinions of the Supreme Court, their views on the reproductive health services that colleges should provide and various aspects of their post-college career planning.
An earlier story about this survey focused on how prospective and current students felt about the Supreme Court’s Dobbs’ decision and its impact on their college decision-making. For example, more than half of current and prospective students (59%) said they opposed the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and more than 40% of both current undergraduate and graduate students said that the decision would impact their decision to remain in the state where they currently attend college.
MORE FOR YOU Kentucky State University Is In Financial Peril Legal Experts On Pearson V. Chegg And Why It Could Be A Huge Deal How To Land A Spot At One Of These Tuition-Free Medical Schools
The most recent reporting on the survey concentrates on question about students’ post-college planning. Students were asked two similar questions - if they desire to live in a state that legally protects abortion and if they desire to work in a state that legally protects abortion.
62% of current students and 55% of prospective students said they wanted to live in a state that protected the legal right to abortion.
64% of current students and 59% of prospective students said they wanted to work in a state that protected the legal right to abortion.
Even among current students who said they supported the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, 54% still said they desired to work in a state that legally protects the right to abortion. Of those who opposed the decision, 75% desired to work in a state where abortion is legally protected.
Women were significantly more likely than men to say they desire to live (69% vs. 53%) and work (69% vs. 56%) in a state with legal abortion access.
Overall, most current and prospective students were aware of the abortion laws and regulations in their current (68%) and intended (62%) state of residence. More than half of current students (52%) and just under half of prospective students (47%) said the Court’s recent ruling will impact the state they choose to live in post-graduation.
The majority of current and prospective college students (59%) said they will consider a potential employer’s support for employees having access to abortion when making their post-college career decisions. A quarter (25%) said they will not.
Men were significantly more likely than women to say they will not consider a potential employer’s support for employees obtaining access to abortion when making their career decisions (31% vs. 21%).
First-generation students were significantly more likely than those with at least one parent having a college degree to say they will consider potential employers’ support for employees obtaining abortion access when making post-graduation career decisions (63% vs. 52%).
The question remains as to whether students’ self-reports about their views on abortion and the Supreme Court’s ruling will affect their ultimate college attendance decisions, career choices and voting behavior. But the responses leave no doubt that current and prospective students hold strong feelings about the abortion issue. It’s beginning to look like the downstream impact of those feelings may turn out to be more substantial than many anticipated.
Repost : FORBES
Michael T. Nietzel Senior Contributor
I am a former university president who writes about higher education.