Yes Please: Gen Z Students Threatening to Leave Country Over Roe Reversal

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is impacting some Gen Z students’ decision to attend college or remain in institutions located in certain states, survey data shows.

A July survey conducted by BestColleges found that 39% of students planning to enroll in an undergraduate program within the next 12 months said the court’s ruling will impact their decision, with 37% of current students claiming that they would have opted to attend school in a different state if the decision had been made earlier.

Others say that the Supreme Court’s decision has had a more extreme impact. 

“I want to leave the country [after graduating],” University of South Dakota junior Lexi McKee-Hemenway said, according to CNBC.

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS OVERTURNING ROE V. WADE PUTS US IN COMPANY OF AFGHANISTAN, SUDAN

Pro-choice demonstrators rally outside the State House during a Pro-Choice Mother’s Day Rally in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 8, 2022.
(Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

The outlet, reporting on the data Monday, brought McKee-Hemenway’s efforts to fight for abortion access to light, citing “horror stories” about lack of access in her community.

“I have a lot of mixed feelings: rage, fear, disappointment. . . . Most of all, though, I have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that this is the United States now. . . . It’s a really scary time to live here,” she said, according to the piece. 

South Dakota is among the number of states with restrictive abortion laws, entering the crosshairs of Planned Parenthood, who slammed the state’s legislators for doing “everything in their power to attack access to safe and legal abortions at or after 20 weeks.”

The state, along with others, enacted a trigger ban after the court’s decision. 

SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE IN LANDMARK ABORTION DECISION

Activists hold up a “SHUT DOWN SCOTUS” sign near the Supreme Court during a protest in June.
(Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)

Forty-three percent of undergraduate students surveyed in BestCollege’s study – a majority of whom identified as students of color – claimed the court’s Roe v. Wade decision could impact their willingness to stay in the state where their current institution is located.

The data echoed another percentage indicating that approximately 59% of all surveyed – both current and prospective – oppose the Roe v. Wade reversal.

Another glaring data piece brings millennials into the equation, indicating students who belong to the age group are more likely than Generation Z to base their decision on the Roe reversal in one key area.

MORE THAN 2 DOZEN STATES TO RESTRICT ABORTIONS AFTER ROE V WADE OVERTURNED IN DOBBS DECISION

Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York, from left, Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat from Minnesota, and Representative Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, march toward the U.S. Supreme Court during a protest of the court overturning Roe v. Wade in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
(Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Current undergraduates who are millennials (ages 26 to 41) are significantly more likely than those who are part of Generation Z (ages 16 to 25) to say the Court’s decision will impact their choice to remain in the state where they currently attend college (58% vs. 37%),” the survey rundown reads. 

The data implies a number of students would like to transfer to an institution in a state that grants abortion access.

Survey data from BestColleges also found that 75% of students claim institutions should support those who seek reproductive health care, including abortions, but one data point indicated the extent of that support.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Even those who support the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade agree that colleges should support students in obtaining access to abortion (70%),” the data read.

Students surveyed supported abortion-related care that encompasses several key areas, including mental health services, legal support, free contraception, travel allowances and more.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases