The weight of tomorrow is heavy today
I have spent my entire life waiting to go to college, a place where I will have more freedom than ever before. As a junior, I have about a year left to decide where I want to apply. I never understood how someone was able to narrow 6,000 colleges to only 10, from 50 states to just one. In the next year, I have to figure it out, figure out how to decide where I not only want to study for four years, but also where I want to live.
At the beginning of the school year, I sat, staring at a list of thousands of colleges, and I had no idea where to start. How big do I want the school to be? Do I want to stay close or do I want to move far away? There are so many factors to consider: price, campus life, academics, safety. And as a woman living in today’s world, I must also consider the states’ abortion rights.
My mother handed me a blank map and pulled up the United States’ abortion laws. At first I stood there confused, and then I realized this is the new reality of many women around the world. With a green and red marker, I colored the map according to the states that will allow me to make my own decisions with my body.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, nearly half the states in America have completely eliminated or placed severe restrictions on obtaining an abortion, even if it is to protect one’s own health and safety. Women now have less rights than they did in 1973, when the Supreme Court recognized the right for a woman to terminate a pregnancy. How is it that we live in such a progressive country, yet women now have fewer reproduction rights than their mothers and grandmothers?
Living in California, I am fortunate to have resources and options when it comes to reproduction. I know many people who would like to stay in California for college, however, I also know that college is a time for me to explore the world, and I have always wanted to move out-of-state. Now that there are restrictions on abortion rights, my options have become severely limited.
I know that I want to have kids in my future. However, I also know that I want to have a college experience and get through my educational career before I go into that part of my life. I believe many women can agree with me when I say that I only want to have children when I am ready and able to take proper care of them. But I also spend my days thinking about the world that my future children will come into. I worry that if I have a daughter, she will face the same challenges that we are facing today, and the options may become even more limited.
So for all women currently choosing a college, I would highly advise you to look into the reproduction rights of each state. Everyone should have the option when it comes to having an abortion, no matter the reason. I hope that no future generation will ever have to worry about the options they have about their own body.
