Some students fear going to college in red states after Roe

After the overturning of Roe, millions of college students found themselves attending institutions where they would no longer have access to certain types of reproductive healthcare. Now, students who had committed to attending colleges or universities in majority conservative states are rethinking their decisions. Meanwhile, rising high school seniors say they now have something new to consider when compiling their lists of prospective schools: the access and right to an abortion.

Twenty-six states are set to ban or severely limit abortion protections and services. Half of them—Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming—have “trigger” laws that will ban abortion in the days and weeks following the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Allie Schachtel, an independent college admissions counselor based in Florida, said she’s seen a growing number of clients start to make the geography of abortion rights a primary criteria. “I’ve had parents and students say we aren’t looking at any schools in Texas or any schools in Tennessee and Ohio,” she said.