Poll: Abortion bans reshape where young Americans choose to live
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More than 6 in 10 young women — and 5 in 10 young men — say states' individual abortion laws will at least "somewhat" influence where they choose to live, according to a new Generation Lab/Axios poll.
Why it matters: Several states are banning or heavily restricting abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The survey's findings suggest that may significantly influence where Americans ages 18-29 are willing to attend college, move for work or build families.
What they're saying: "The fact that people are going to change where they live based on something like this tells you how important they think it is," said Generation Lab's Cyrus Beschloss.
By the numbers: 58% of young men and women combined said a state's abortion laws would affect their decision on where to live "somewhat" or "a lot."
- Democrats (67%) were nearly twice as likely as Republicans (36%) to say so.
- Some survey respondents also suggested these restrictions could make them more selective about their sexual partners (29% of young women vs. 24% of young men); how often they have sex (32% vs. 23%) and increase their use of various birth control measures.
- Half of male respondents said they'd be "very" or "somewhat" likely to take oral contraceptives if they become available and are approved by the FDA.
Methodology: This study was conducted July 6-11 from a representative sample of 843 young people, ages 18-29 (472 female and 371 male). The margin of error is +/- 3.4 percentage points.
- Generation Lab conducts polling using a demographically representative sample frame of young people around the country, across educational, racial, political, geographic, gender and economic backgrounds.
