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Whether it came from a flood of social media posts or her distraught mother, who came into her room crying last Friday, Blythe Reis couldn’t escape the news that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“In the span of 10 minutes, I was getting (news of the decision) from every single direction that I possibly could have been hearing about it from,” said Reis, an incoming junior at Syracuse University.

The Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which upheld the constitutional right to an abortion for nearly 50 years, sparked protests and demonstrations across the country. SU and SUNY-ESF students residing in various states, some where abortion is set to be banned, told The Daily Orange they felt distress and disappointment following the ruling.

Evelina Torres, an incoming SU sophomore, lives in Houston, Texas, one of 13 states with “trigger” laws that will restrict or ban abortion rights, and works as an employee for the city. Torres, a dual major in political science and citizenship and civic engagement, said the decision to reverse Roe v. Wade dominated the conversation at work Friday.

“I am really scared for my fellow community members who are able to become pregnant, but also personally as someone who knows family members who have experienced miscarriages in the past,” Torres said.

Under Texas’ trigger law, abortions would only be made legal for situations where a pregnant person risks “substantial impairment of major bodily function.”

Lauren Spiezia, a New Jersey native who graduated from SU in May and is an incoming first-year student at the College of Law, shared similar concerns.

“It was like, I didn’t expect to wake up this morning and have my rights taken away,” she said.

Some students said the university should make an effort to support students, especially those in states with legislation that restricts or bans abortions.

Torres said she hopes SU will help students from states with similar restrictions to Texas understand their options and protections across different state lines.

Catherine Li, an incoming second-year architecture student, also said SU should be more vocal about sexual assault and reproductive rights on social media to better raise awareness among students about those topics.

“It feels like we have no power or autonomy over our own bodies,” she said.

Though scared, Torres said she recognizes the privilege she has of attending school in a state where abortion rights are legally protected.

“So many people around me don’t have access to the reproductive health care access that I do,” she said. “It definitely makes me consider in the future after I graduate, where am I gonna live?”

New York state codified Roe v. Wade in 2019 as a part of the Reproductive Health Act. Only three other states and the District of Columbia have codified the decision to protect reproductive rights, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Spiezia said she was in disbelief when she found out about the decision on social media.

“(The potential for Roe to be overturned) was always in the back of my mind,” Spiezia said. “Regardless, no matter how much anyone expected this I feel like it was still a shock.”

Emily, a rising sophomore from rural Pennsylvania who asked The D.O. to not use her last name for safety reasons, said attending SU was “refreshing.” Living in the area was the first time she’d been surrounded by so many people with similar political views, she said.

Pennsylvania allows abortions up to 24 weeks, but they are not protected by the state legislature. Emily, who is in the College of Arts and Sciences, has a strong support system of close friends at SU that she said she can lean on if her home state were to crack down further on abortion laws.

Andre Cheu, a rising senior at SUNY-ESF, who lived in Tennessee for two years during high school, said the ruling shows the cultural divide within the U.S.

“Personally, I’ve lived in both extremes, so I have personal accounts of what I’ve heard in Tennessee and what I’ve heard in New York,” Cheu said.

Young, cisgender males should support abortion rights considering their role in preventing unwanted pregnancies, Cheu added.

The best way students can make their voice heard is by voting in their home states in November, Emily said.

“We don’t have a right to be angry if we’re not doing our part,” she said.

Arjun Menon, a rising senior from Texas studying broadcast and digital journalism and political science, expressed his surprise at the decision’s cross-cultural impact.
Menon’s grandparents, who are currently visiting the United States from India, have expressed concerns about the repercussions of overturning Roe v. Wade.

“It just tells you that this reaches beyond the United States,” he said.

Lilian Zhao and Halie Lestrér are both rising fourth-year architecture students from Sugarland and Katie, Texas, respectively. They said that growing up in a Southern community has taught them the importance of questioning the root of one’s beliefs.

Both students are in favor of abortion access. They emphasized the importance of discussing difficult topics and creating a community for students that may be hesitant to open up about their beliefs.

“Hold firm to your beliefs,” Lestrér said. “I know it’s hard to have conversations with people that disagree, and sometimes it’s hard to speak up on what you believe.”

Correction: In a previous version of this article, Evalina Torres’ major was misstated. The Daily Orange regrets this error

Published on June 30, 2022 at 12:43 am