62 percent of young adults wouldn’t live in state with abortion ban: Survey

A majority of young adults say they would not live in a state that has banned abortion, according to a survey released Tuesday.

In the CNBC/Generation Lab poll of 1,033 adults ages 18-34, a total of 62 percent said they would “probably not” (32 percent) or “definitely not” (30 percent) live in a state that bans abortion.

Only slightly more than a third of respondents, 38 percent, said either they “definitely” (17 percent) or “probably” (21 percent) would live in a state that bans abortion, when asked the same question.

The findings similarly indicate this prevailing sentiment could influence future employment decisions, though perhaps to a lesser extent than decisions on where respondents would live.

Just more than half, 55 percent, indicated they would not be dissuaded from accepting a job offer from an employer whose state bans abortion, including 35 percent who said they would “probably not” reject the offer and 20 percent who would “definitely not” reject it.

Just under half, 45 percent, said they would either “definitely” (14 percent) or “probably” (31 percent) reject the job offer if the potential employer’s state banned abortions.

The survey did not ask whether respondents would apply to jobs in those states to begin with.

Since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, states have taken steps to pass their own laws to either protect or further restrict access to abortion.

In 21 states, new restrictions have taken effect that either ban abortion completely or limit access earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v. Wade.

The survey was conducted April 26 to May 2 and has a margin of error 3.1 percentage points.