Supreme Court Overturns Roe vs. Wade

In California, the constitutional right to abortion may protect its residents, but questions remain around what effect the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will have on protecting students coming in from out-of-state as well.

Young people looking for a place to finish their education outside of California who may seek pro-abortion laws will now be faced with making the decision of having to travel outside their state and find a new health care system.

As for the young Californians who leave the state to attend college in the 26 states expected to ban or severely restrict abortion, what rights do they have when they go there?

Ages 18-24 years old people are the largest age group that has the most unplanned pregnancies which are the ages of most college students. College students seeking abortions face high costs, transportation, and wait time. This is part of the reasoning behind a law from 2019 that requires student healthcare services clinics on California State Universities and University of California (UC) campuses to provide abortion by medication. It goes into effect in 2023, however, it does not include the state’s community colleges or private universities. 

Many university campuses say it’s still too early to examine the decision’s effect on out-of-state students, but a UC system spokesperson said their system is consistently monitoring the situation. 

In Orange, California 21-year-old nursing student Josie Strahan, a nursing student at Chapman University has been reaching out to her friends from her hometown in Montgomery, Alabama to check in on how they’re feeling given that the ruling paves the way for the state’s abortion bill to go into effect.

“I don’t understand how the Supreme Court was able to make this decision, even though so many people are against it,” says Strahan, who does not plan on returning home if the supreme court does not overturn their decision. 

She made the decision to attend California University and has ​​witnessed the drastic difference between her growing access to sex education versus that of her friends back home. Students like Josie may be frightened to leave their homes or be eager to leave based on their state’s abortion laws.