PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS FEAR TEXAS LAW: One measure of particular concern to the counselors' clients is Texas' Senate Bill 8, which prohibits pregnant women from getting an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. College-age women account for a significant share of all abortions performed in the U.S. — With Roe v. Wade now on shaky ground, Texas is far from the only state seeking to restrict women's access to abortion. So far this year, 29 states have introduced bills banning the procedure, and three states — Idaho, Oklahoma and Wyoming — have signed such bills into law. College counselors said they expect those states to see a dip in out-of-state applicants as a result. — "This generation of teens is politically engaged," said Lindsay Fried, a certified educational planner with Simply Admissions who is based in Georgia. "They're thinking: How much is politics going to impact my experience at college?" — Even as states rush to restrict women's access to abortion, data shows a growing number of campus student health centers refer people who seek abortions to other providers. In a 2010 survey by the American College Health Association, 65 percent of centers that responded reported offering referrals for the procedure, whereas 87 percent did in 2020. — Starting next year, all University of California and California State University campuses will go even further and start providing mediation abortion services at campus student health centers. Legislation requiring state schools in Massachusetts to do the same is pending. — "By ensuring that abortion care is available on campus, college students will not have to choose between delaying important medical care or having to travel long distances or miss classes or work," said California state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), who authored the bill expanding access in that state. — Another high-profile piece of recent legislation on college applicants' minds is a Florida law limiting how sexual orientation and gender identity are addressed in K-12 schools. Counselors say it is worrisome for prospective LGBTQ students, even though the measure doesn't directly affect college coursework. — "I've seen a much greater number of students who say they don't want to go to publics in Florida," said Venkates Swaminathan, founder and CEO of LifeLaunchr, a college consulting company. "Students will say they don't want to support that state and don't feel safe there." — Ellen Kahn, the senior director of programs and partnerships at the Human Rights Commission, said she regularly counsels parents of LGBTQ teens about what colleges to consider, and they all have the same question: Where will my child be safe? Legislation in several states seeking to ban transgender people's access to health care has alarmed many families she works with. — "These proposals have implications no matter where you live," Kahn said. "You feel it. Just like a wildfire whose ash and smoke hits you thousands of miles away."
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