How younger Americans are reacting to end of Roe

“Growing up, I was told that was the way things used to be and now things are better,” she said. “So being told that things are worse and they’re going to get worse is a pretty scary thing.”

Women of color will be most impacted by the end of Roe, experts say

Before Friday, younger people in America were decades removed from a time when abortion wasn’t constitutionally protected in their country. But with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the new reality — in which states will decide — became immediate. Many younger people took to social media, where they generally make up the largest share of users, to express both despair and elation.

Those younger than 30 are also arguably the most immediately affected by the decision. According the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2019, those between 20 and 29 accounted for 57 percent of all abortions. The average age that a woman has her first child is 26. And according to RAINN, 54 percent of victims of sexual violence are between the ages of 18 and 34.

Earlier this year, a Gallup poll found that Americans 18 to 29 were more likely than older Americans to say they believe abortion should be legal under any circumstances, at 53 percent. Thirty-five percent said they believe it should be legal in some cases, and 11 percent said they believe abortion should be illegal.

Kara Zupkus, a spokeswoman for the conservative youth organization Young America’s Foundation, said she cried when she heard about the ruling. “It was such a relief hearing the decision, but one I never thought I would see in my lifetime,” Zupkus, 25, said.

She’s part of an active group of young antiabortion activists who have dubbed themselves “the post-Roe generation.” And along with others, she went to the Supreme Court on Friday to celebrate the decision: “I am feeling pumped up and ready to go win in the court of public opinion, educating people and lawmakers on the realities of abortion,” she said.

Others are feeling the opposite of relief and excitement. Dominique Webb, 30, had an abortion at 17.

“I wasn’t in the position financially or mentally to bring a child into the world,” the Nashville business owner said.

She added that she doesn’t regret the decision — she didn’t feel she was ready to be a parent in high school. “I was very active in high school and knew I wanted to go to college and having a child at that age would impact that,” Webb said.

Because of the Supreme Court decision, she said she’s going to be vigilant about using condoms — and maybe even refrain from having sex for a while. She is particularly concerned about other young Black women, who stand to be among those most affected by the ruling.

“It’s already a health issue when we do give birth,” Webb said, referring to the disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality for Black women.

Steven Anderson, 20, said he has been against abortion since he learned what it was in the 10th grade. He has been following the Supreme Court opinion page online this month, and he turned news alerts on to ensure he would find out when the decision was announced.

“I hope this decision means the country will be moving in a pro-life direction,” Anderson wrote in a message to The Post.

The Massachusetts resident plans on moving to a state that has outlawed abortion, or a “pro-life state” as he refers to it, and believes that more antiabortion laws are imminent.

“I’m glad that babies will be able to have a life and the Supreme Court sent it back to the states,” Anderson continued, adding that he’s “a little concerned about potential unrest.”

Other younger Americans have complicated views on the issue. Malek Karim, 28, is a hospital IT technician who has always voted Republican. He is against abortion, he said, but he also believes the health-care system needs to be improved to support those who give birth.

“I think until women are treated equally when it comes to health-care decisions, you shouldn’t have a total ban on abortions,” Karim said.

This Texas teen wanted an abortion. She now has twins.

Others are being moved to action in case abortion is banned where they live. Tanner Ewalt, a 20-year-old living in Wyoming, said he is considering a vasectomy.

“It’s the only thing I can think of that they aren’t going to restrict that will help,” he said.

Ewalt’s partner, Arthur, is a trans man who can get pregnant, Ewalt said. While the couple takes precautions to prevent pregnancy, they’re still afraid of the risks. “My partner is going to be under even more stress than he was before,” Ewalt said.

The couple has been considering moving out of Wyoming because of issues surrounding rights for trans people, but the Supreme Court decision has accelerated that timeline, Ewalt added.

The decision is also difficult to process for some survivors of sexual violence, who now worry about what this will mean for future survivors. Danielle Germain, 23, was sexually assaulted in her sophomore and junior years of college, she said: “If I had gotten pregnant when that happened, I would’ve absolutely needed and have gotten an abortion.”

After her assaults, Germain became a more ardent supporter of abortion rights, she said. “For women who experience sexual assault, I absolutely believe they have the right to choose what happens to them after those circumstances,” Germain said. (In many states with “trigger bans,” laws do not make exceptions for rape or incest.)

Living in South Carolina, which will probably ban abortion, Germain now worries about what would happen if she were assaulted again: “The idea that I won’t have a choice scares me.”