With the 2024 election resulting in another victory for republican candidate Donald Trump, many things will change in the four years of his presidency. For instance, the Trump administration plans to make contraception less accessible for young women and decrease abortion rates in the U.S.
For girls at Costa and around the country, applying to colleges is a major decision that takes a lot of consideration and reflection. As seniors are in the midst of college applications, many girls may be forced to change their mind and have to reconsider applying to schools in states favoring Trump’s ideals.
Several anti-arbotion states in the South are home to many appealing colleges for students at Costa and can no longer be considered in student’s application processes due to the threat of scarce healthcare.
According to Forbes, Project 2025, a blueprint that Trump plans to administer when he is in office, proposes to limit access to abortion. For young women in need of reproductive healthcare, fewer choices will become available and higher risks to their health and autonomy will take place. This limited access to safe, legal abortion services in many southern states could cause students to travel long distances to get the care they need, or worse, not have any healthcare options altogether.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), 1 in 4 undergraduate women experience sexual assault or misconduct at 33 of the nation’s major universities. No girl should ever experience any form of sexual assault or violence. Young women who experience this harm will have to undergo trauma and shame that will never be forgotten. Girls should be focusing on doing well in school and enjoying their college experience, not worrying about their bodies’ autonomy being out of their control and having the inability to have access to proper healthcare.
“After I saw that Donald Trump had won the presidential election, reality really set in for me. I have applied to mostly schools on the west coast, but I am also interested in schools in the South. Not having the ability to access the proper healthcare and help I need is a really scary thing. I am having to reconsider if I want to be in a state where my basic rights are not given,” said a senior at Costa.
For most seniors in high school, choosing which college to attend is the most impactful decision they have made up until this point in their life. And, as daunting as that decision is for all seniors, unfortunately it has far more drastic consequences for female students. A woman’s right to choose is not something that should be taken lightly nor is the stress and trauma of having to conceive a child due to federal laws. This election will have an effect on every woman in this country and it will change the course of our history for decades.
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