A majority of young Americans won’t live in states that ban abortions

Abortion rights have become one of the most important issues in the 2024 Presidential Election but they are also shaping the future of the nation according to new polling that discovered something very interesting. 

It turns out most young workers aren’t willing to live in a state with a restrictive abortion policy based on recent polling from CNBC and Generation Lab Youth Poll on younger attitudes in the country. 

Pollsters looked at a sample of 1,033 individuals aged 18 to 35 and discovered that the overwhelming majority would not live in a state with restrictive abortion rights while a near-majority would not accept an employment offer from an employer in a state that banned abortion. 

When asked if they would live in a state that banned abortions, 30% of the respondents said “no definitely not” while 32% replied “no probably not”. This put the total number of people who said they wouldn’t at 62% 

Only 21% of respondents said they would probably live in a state that banned abortions while 17% said that they definitely would. However, young people seemed more willing to live in a state that banned abortion or offered a job there. 

When asked if they would accept an employment offer from a potential employer whose state banned abortion, 20% said they would definitely not reject the offer while 33% said they probably wouldn’t reject the offer. 

Only 14% of people responded that they would definitely reject the employment offer if it came from an employer in a state that banned abortions and 31% of respondents noted they would probably reject the job offer. 

While employment could shift worker opinions on whether or not to make the move to a more conservative state, 45% of respondents still indicated that a job offer would not be enough for them to live in a state that banned abortions. 

“These numbers on abortion have gigantic implications for just about every large company in America,” explained Cyrus Beschloss, the Chief Executive Officer of The Generation Lab, according to a CNBC report on the new polling. 

“Companies must know they’ll be freezing out or at least scaring a large part of the young talent they’re trying to hire when they’re based in one of these states,” Beschloss added, and he isn’t wrong. 

Truth Out’s Chris Walker reported on the poll’s interesting revelations and explained that it showcased how workers across the United States are choosing to leave conservative states because of abortion and other restrictive policies. 

Walker cited bans on transgender healthcare as well as teaching about race sexuality in schools as two other reasons why workers were leaving conservative states and noted only Texas was bringing in more college graduates than it was losing 

CNBC reported that the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade set off " a cascade of legal challenges and legislative efforts at the state level” that has resulted in more than 20 states banning or restricting abortion access. 

“Yet findings like these suggest that state abortion bans could have a profound effect on how and where the next generation of American workers will live. And by extension, on the companies that will hire them,” wrote CNBC’s Jason Gerwitz. 

According to Truth Out, as of May 7th, a total of fourteen states in the U.S. have “near-total” bans on abortions with most making limited exceptions only when the life of the person who is pregnant is at risk.  

Three more states have banned abortion at six weeks after pregnancy, according to the American news outlet, and another two ban the procedure after 12 weeks, both of which effectively ban abortions in those states altogether. 

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