Dobbs hasn’t just restricted reproductive rights; it’s impacted the classroom. Simply talking about abortion is not illegal, but Dobbs has created a climate in which it feels that way.
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Like most of Gen Z, my students get information from TikTok and other social media. It’s accessible, they’re accustomed to it, and, importantly, the democratic nature of social media allows for the spread of information that might be more stigmatized in the mainstream—like this reel explaining abortion pill access. Unfortunately, the main drawback of social media is similar: Anyone can say anything, regardless of factuality. So, when the hashtag “camping” trended on TikTok after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, it wasn’t that surprising.
“Camping,” in this context, means that one could say “I’m going camping” instead of proclaiming intentions to have an abortion and travel from, say, Texas to California to have that abortion. And, people who were interested in hosting other folks who needed to “camp” could proclaim that they were open to visiting campers on their social media accounts.
Supporting abortion access and the desire to legally protect oneself during a confusing time are both causes near to my heart. But, there’s one problem with the “camping” phenomenon: Interstate travel for abortion is still legal. Yet, the “camping” myth persists—and my students largely bought into it.
But, there’s one problem with the ‘camping’ phenomenon: Interstate travel for abortion is still legal.
Recently, I designed a Kahoot—an online group trivia game currently popular with teachers and students—about abortion myths for my introductory women’s studies students. One of the most missed answers was a question asking whether it was permissible to travel out of Georgia, where we live, for an abortion. Many students revealed in further discussion that they thought interstate travel was illegal post-Dobbs v. Jackson. Another commonly missed question was about whether abortion is legal in Georgia. It is, albeit highly restricted, with a six-week ban, but many students thought it was banned completely.
Dobbs hasn’t just restricted reproductive rights; it’s impacted the classroom. In some ways, this impact has been very direct. In 2022, the University of Idaho released a memo warning all faculty and staff to avoid counseling or referring anyone to abortion services while on the job to comply with a broad, unclear law preventing any state resources going toward abortion access. The memo also banned staff from dispensing birth control, reflecting an exceedingly broad interpretation of the law.
At my own institution, local Republican lawmakers have attempted to stop a research project documenting anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) These “centers” are fake health clinics, often employing untrained staff and providing faulty medical information, yet lawmakers misrepresented this project as being a means to provide “sensitive information to extremist organizations,” that would supposedly lead to abuse directed at the centers from pro-abortion groups. The goals of the project are, in the researchers’ own words, simply to help individuals in need of healthcare realize which clinics are CPCs and to facilitate further research.
How Unclear Laws Impact Research, Students and Learning
The pervasive lack of clarity in new abortion restrictions and laws can result in these overly cautious legal interpretations and challenges to completely lawful research. But, other impacts of Dobbs on educational institutions are more insidious. These impacts remind me of bans on critical race theory and gender theory in some states have had a chilling effect nationally. In our state of Georgia, nothing (yet) has prevented us from doing our jobs, but the threat of such legislation leads to instructors increasingly walking on eggshells regarding teaching about so-called controversial topics.
Simply talking about abortion is not illegal, but Dobbs has created a climate in which it feels that way.
Dobbs has had a similar effect, and it’s time we took notice. Students and instructors are unsure whether they can talk about abortion in the classroom. University support staff have mentioned to me how they feel talking with students about abortion is risky. Simply talking about abortion is not illegal, but Dobbs has created a climate in which it feels that way.
This lack of clarity impedes feminist theorizing in women’s studies classrooms, especially, since women’s studies departments often serve as a locus for discussions of gender-based oppression on campuses. Women’s studies instructors have an obligation to get accurate information about abortion legality and access to students.
Spending so much time debunking abortion myths, means we miss out on in-depth explorations of topics like feminist arguments in favor of abortion, histories of pro-abortion organizing, and the limits of a singular focus on abortion when we think about reproductive injustice.
I love seeing my students’ relief at gaining a better understanding of their current reproductive rights. Yet, I also lament that we’re spending much of our time in our class focusing on these concerns. Spending so much time debunking abortion myths, means we miss out on in-depth explorations of topics like feminist arguments in favor of abortion, histories of pro-abortion organizing, and the limits of a singular focus on abortion when we think about reproductive injustice.
Just like bills more directly attacking education, Dobbs prevents learners from reaching their full potential and deeply engaging in critical thought. Bodily autonomy is the foremost reason to work toward a pro-abortion future, but it need not be the only one. To work toward theorizing patriarchy, feminists must be able to think and write critically about abortion. Dobbs and the confusing climate it creates limits our students and jeopardizes the future of education.
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