It has been ten months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey in a ruling decision for Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022.
Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion, which was leaked in May of 2022, prepared the nation for the far-right Supreme Court to abandon precedent and abolish the constitutional right to an abortion. Despite the two month warning, Americans still held out hope that the Supreme Court would honor the law of the land
Despite the outrage and horror that electrified the nation, Fieldston remained quiet. Many students were scared, angry and confused, but conversations remained between students. The administration sent no communication out to students regarding the potential overturn. Some teachers addressed the topic, but overall, there were no major discussions initiated by the administration. The guidance counselors also did not reach out to students or offer safe spaces for students to discuss their feelings. At Fieldston we talk about everything. Why not this?
The first person to address the school on the matter was me, on May 4, 2022, in a school wide email. I wrote an article for The Fieldston News on the potential overturn and reached out to students seeking their input. “I am writing an article for the Fieldston News about the leaked report and what it means for the future of women and anyone with a uterus. I would love your input. If you feel passionately about Roe v. Wade, please respond to this email with your reactions and thoughts, so that I may include everyone’s voice in my article,” I wrote.
Aidan Goldsmith (VI) was the only other person to address the school after the draft opinion leaked. In a school wide email from May 13, 2022, she informed the Fieldston community about an abortion rights rally and encouraged the community to join. “The overturning of Roe vs. Wade may also directly affect under-resourced communities and women of color. This Saturday (May 14) there will be a march and rally to protest this decision and fight for safe and legal abortions. The march will begin at 12pm at Camden Plaza,” she wrote.
One month after POLITICO obtained the draft opinion, the Supreme Court neglected precedent and overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. While the court did not institute a national ban or criminalization of abortions, their decision allowed for states to start a crusade against abortions.
In ten months, fourteen states have enacted full bans on abortions: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisanna, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin. Of those fourteen states, nine do not permit exceptions in cases of rape or incest, and one state permits an abortion in case of rape but not incest. In Idaho and Oklahoma, private citizens can sue abortion providers. Oklahoma has taken the ban a step further for it also permits private citizens to sue anyone that helps patients receive an abortion.
Georgia, Arizona, Florida, Utah, and North Carolina have been severely limiting access to abortions. These five states have gestational limits for abortions ranging from as early as 6 weeks (before most people realize they are pregnant) to 22 weeks. Bans have been blocked in the following states: Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Ohio, and Wyoming.
Abortion in New York state remains legal and protected. If needed, Fieldston students can receive an abortion without concern for its legality. With the overrule and statewide bans, the college process at Fieldston, and nationally, has become more complicated. From 1973 to 2022, high school students did not need to consider whether their college was in a state where abortion is legal, but now they do.
Ana Kolevzon (VI) reflected that during her college process abortion “was definitely in the back of my mind during the college process, because I was interested in and ultimately applied to a few schools in the midwest and in the South that had banned abortions.”
Ultimately, Kolevzon will be attending college in California where abortion is protected and her New York state residence is an added protection. “I still feel a sense of dread whenever thinking about the overturn and my heart aches for the women who had their rights stripped away for them,” she comments.
Francesca Grossberg (VI) had a similar experience. Like Kolevzon, she applied to colleges in states where abortion is no longer legal. “It was definitely on my mind and the fact that I even had to think about it was appalling. It felt so ridiculous that it was hard to fully grasp what I was thinking about,” she explained.
With that said, Grossberg told me that she applied to schools in states with abortion bans because she knew that if she needed that healthcare, that she “would be privileged enough to have the means and support to get to New York and receive an abortion.” She pointed out, however, that “not everyone has that kind of privilege and it is a severe factor in many individuals’ choices.”
Grossberg remains shocked by the Supreme Court’s decision. “Ten months later, I still can’t believe that this is the state of the country. It truly feels dystopian,” she reflected.
Talia Gold (V) has just begun her college research. When asked whether abortion rights were a factor in her decision making, she replied “Oh absolutely. It’s a huge factor in my decision.”
Akosua Yeboah, Associate Director of College Counseling at Fieldston, confirmed that the recent bans have begun interfering with the college process. “We absolutely observed an uptick in the frequency of students naming the political climate (inclusive of abortion bans) as a reason to avoid applying to college in certain states and/or regions of the country,” she wrote.
Yeboah pointed out that location has always been a factor for students. “Students have always been upfront about their preferences in the college application process. While this specific reasoning came up more often, excluding or including certain schools due to the political reality of their location is not new,” she reiterated.
Yeboah acknowledged that while she cannot speak for all college offices nationwide, “I think it is important to note that we have a limited scope from which to weigh-in at Fieldston,” she does recognize a change that is not specific to Fieldston, “what is happening politically across the nation will always spur reactions, and the college admissions process is not immune to that.”
When asked about whether the college office held a meeting after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, Yeboah reminded me that there are multiple Supreme Court cases that affect the college process. “The decisions span race, gender, financial inequities, etc. and we have occasion to not only discuss them constantly but to also be responsive to how these decisions ultimately land and impact the support we aim to provide our students every day,” she wrote.
The college office cannot change the law of the land, but Yeboah wants to remind the Fieldston community that your college counselors are here to support you. “We are here to help students consider the broad range of colleges and universities that exist here and abroad, and there are usually multiple places where you could be a happy, healthy and well-supported student.”
Lastly, she said that “The best advice we can offer to any student engaging in the college search process is the advice we always recommend: as you consider your future, and think through what you need and want out of college experience, communicate with your college counselor.”
There are multiple ways to obtain an abortion; an in person procedure is not always necessary. Republican lawmakers are well aware of this and have begun fighting against medicated abortions through the use of pills such as mifepristone and misoprostol. In January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) loosened its regulations and announced that it would permit retail pharmacies to be certified in order to dispense mifepristone. CVS and Walgreens said that they would seek the certification and provide mifepristone while complying with state laws that restrict or ban abortions.
After the FDA’s announcement, retail pharmacy chains such as Walgreens and CVS received letters from Republican attorney generals threatening legal action if the companies were to distribute mifepristone. In response, Walgreens announced in March that it would not distribute the abortion pill in 21 states. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that it would not renew the state’s contract with Walgreens after the company sadly succumbed to Republican pressure.
“California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Newsom said in a press release.
With the outrage and outcry from Fieldston students regarding the overturn of Roe v. Wade, one has to wonder why Fieldston did not address its students over the matter. Fieldston is a widely progressive institution, so why would it not offer its students support on such an important matter, or at least acknowledge that a majority of its students are now at risk.
