Adolescence and young adulthood is a time of identity formation, when young people figure out who they are and who they want to be. One of the ways they do this is by considering the world around them, paying attention to social issues and starting to understand their society and their place in it. Laws and policies signal to young people what society thinks of their value, their role in society and their opportunities for the future.
Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision, more than half of
U.S. adolescents, ages 13-19, now live in a state with severely restricted or no legal abortion access. As a result, today’s young people are coming of age in what one expert in health law and bioethics has termed an “era of rights retractions.”
I am a developmental psychologist and population health scientist who studies adolescent development and sexual and reproductive health, and it is clear to me from a variety of indicators that, following Dobbs, the experience of adolescence and young adulthood in America has fundamentally changed.
Abortion bans are not only affecting those who need an abortion – they are shaping an entire generation.
How young people view the Dobbs decision
In 2022, my colleagues and I conducted a national survey of young people between the ages of 14 to 24, beginning shortly after the leak of the Supreme Court’s opinion in the case.
We asked them about their knowledge of the Dobbs decision, how they felt about it and how they believed it was impacting the lives of young people in their state. Our research showed that the majority of young people are aware of and alarmed by the Dobbs decision and its implications.
Our own research and other emerging data make it clear that abortion restrictions not only affect young people who become pregnant or seek an abortion. These restrictions are affecting how young people think about voting, where they should choose to live, study and work, and how to control their fertility. Abortion restrictions may also have serious impacts on young people’s mental health.
Adolescence and young adulthood is a time of identity formation, when young people figure out who they are and who they want to be. One of the ways they do this is by considering the world around them, paying attention to social issues and starting to understand their society and their place in it. Laws and policies signal to young people what society thinks of their value, their role in society and their opportunities for the future.
Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision, more than half of
U.S. adolescents, ages 13-19, now live in a state with severely restricted or no legal abortion access. As a result, today’s young people are coming of age in what one expert in health law and bioethics has termed an “era of rights retractions.”
I am a developmental psychologist and population health scientist who studies adolescent development and sexual and reproductive health, and it is clear to me from a variety of indicators that, following Dobbs, the experience of adolescence and young adulthood in America has fundamentally changed.
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