Topline
Nearly three-quarters of college students say state reproductive rights laws affect their decision of staying enrolled at their school, a new study from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup finds, marking the latest consequence of state abortion bans.
Harvard University freshmen rally in favor of abortion rights in Harvard Yard on May 4, 2022 in in ... [+]
Key Facts
The study found 72% of enrolled college students say reproductive health laws in their state at least somewhat affect their decision to stay enrolled, including 80% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans.
Of those who say the abortion laws would at least somewhat affect their thinking, an overwhelming 81% of current students say they would be more likely to enroll or stay enrolled at a school in a state “that allowed greater access to reproductive health services.”
That includes 65% of Republicans who said the laws impacted their decisions (as compared with 86% of Democrats and 85% of Independents), suggesting students on both sides of the aisle are affected by state-level abortion bans.
The study was conducted October 26 - November 17, 2022, among 6,008 current students earning associates or bachelors degrees or in certificate or certification programs, and 6,007 unenrolled adults.
Surprising Fact
Men were only slightly less likely than women to say the laws impacted their thinking, with 68% of male students saying reproductive rights laws in their state were at least somewhat important to their decision to enroll or stay enrolled. That’s versus 76% of female students who said the same. Among men who said abortion laws were important to their decision, a 74% majority of male students said they favored attending school in a state with less restrictive laws.
Tangent
The study also found students and unenrolled adults had a negative view on policies that restrict university discussions about “divisive” topics like race, racism and gender, such as Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” which has been blocked in court. Gallup notes such policies were being considered in 20 states as of 2022. A 74% majority of students say enacting those policies would at least somewhat impact their decision on whether to stay enrolled at a school, and 64% of those without a degree say it would be at least somewhat important to their decision on whether to enroll. Of those, 77% of students and 78% of unenrolled adults say they favor policies that allow divisive topics to be taught—again including a 66% and 65% majority of Republicans, respectively.
Key Background
Approximately a dozen states have abortion bans in place, and some have additional policies that have affected universities directly, such as Idaho restrictions on state employees that led the University of Idaho to warn employees that promoting abortion while on the job could be viewed as a felony offense. The study is in line with other polling that shows abortion rights are broadly popular with Americans and abortion bans are broadly unpopular, particularly among young people. College students and prospective students’ negative views of attending schools in more restrictives states threatens to worsen what’s already been a crisis for college enrollment amid the Covid-19 pandemic for schools in states where abortion is banned. Undergraduate college enrollment dropped by 8% from 2019 to 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics noted has been the sharpest decline on record. A further exodus of college students from states with abortion bans could join a string of other consequences that abortion bans have brought, amid reports the laws have also driven physicians out of states where they face the threat of felony charges for providing care, impacted recruitment and training at medical schools and caused employees to seek transfers to different states.
Further Reading
Reproductive Health Laws Factor Into Many College Decisions (Gallup)
