As Pali’s Class of 2025 approaches the deadline to commit to a college, some seniors are considering several critical factor, such as affordability, academic opportunities and college rankings in their decision-making process
Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a new consideration was added to the list: local legislation concerning reproductive rights.
Senior and co-founder of the My Body My Choice club Dylan Weidling explained that the status of abortion rights has become a point of contention for many of her peers.
“As a woman in the United States, this issue feels extremely personal to me,” Weidling said. “I was crushed when I found out about the overturning of Roe v. Wade and it made me really scared for the future of women’s rights in this country. As co-founder of My Body My Choice I have talked to several young women at this school who are terrified about the prospect of going to college, especially when the future of abortion rights is so unclear.”
The issue of a woman’s right to choose gained prominence in 1973 with the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which ruled 7-2 that a woman’s right to abortion is protected under the 9th and 14th Amendments. However, in 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned with the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson. As a result, states now have the authority to regulate their own abortion laws, and 13 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia, have enacted total abortion bans as of November of 2024.
Senior Sofia Mollica remembers her initial reaction upon finding out about the overturning.
“My friends and I were all heartbroken,” Mollica said. “It felt like our country had failed us.”
Mollica added that the states’ decisions in regards to abortion laws have completely changed her outlook during the college application process.
“I used to really want to go to college in Texas,” she said. “However, with the total abortion ban that’s in place, I worry about my reproductive rights being stripped away.”
Senior Kayla Johnson hopes to go to school in New York, where abortion is legal until the 24th week of pregnancy. However, her final decision remains contingent on that legality.
“Theoretically, if the state I want to go to bans the right to abortion, then I am not going,” Johnson explained. “I am not comfortable going to a state where I know I will have limited reproductive rights.”
Abortion rights have been a rising factor in college decisions beyond Pali High. Young women around the world are now basing their college decisions on the differing state laws, with The Institute for Women’s Policy Research finding that 76% of students prefer to go to college in a state where abortion is legal and accessible.
Senior Eden Padawer, who plans to go to a university in Tennessee, echoes these national concerns.
“Obviously abortion rights are something that affects all women, and it is something that really scares me since I want to go to the South,” Padawer said. “Since Nashville is a more liberal city, I feel a little better about maintaining my rights. However, it is still a major factor in where I go to school.”
On the other hand, senior Sasha Tehrani said that reproductive rights didn’t affect her college application process.
“I didn’t initially take abortion rights into consideration because I’m really lucky to have the privilege to come back to California if I ever need to get one,” Tehrani said. “However, applying to colleges in the South definitely has given some perspective into living in a state without this privilege.”
Mollica shares the concerns of her fellow classmates.
“This is an issue that affects everyone,” she said. “Every woman should take it into account when they choose where to spend the next four years of their lives.”
