from States Newsroom
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By Elisha Brown |
A volunteer helps a young person fill out a form on National Voter Registration Day in 2025. For some young voters, abortion remains a defining issue, but for many others it ranks behind more immediate economic concerns. (Photo courtesy of Alliance for Youth Action)
Organizers in Missouri and Idaho, two conservative-leaning states where abortion is on the ballot, are trying to win over Gen Z, a group of voters that includes some young Americans who are more concerned with affordability than abortion rights, according to States Newsroom reporters Kelcie Moseley-Morris and Anna Spoerre.
“It’s not like everybody’s going out and getting abortions 24/7, but everybody is trying to find a home,” said Cade Syvock, a Boise State University senior who opposes abortion and leads his school’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization. Syvock said he is not actively campaigning against Proposition 1, an amendment that could restore abortion access in Idaho, and that he’d rather focus on economic issues.
Most Gen Z adults support abortion rights, according to a September poll from The 19th and YouGov, with women more likely than men to say abortion should be always or mostly legal, 69% to 51%.
Selasi Tagbor Morales, communications manager at the national progressive group Alliance for Youth Action, said reproductive rights should be viewed through the lens of affordability.
“We want abortion and reproductive rights to stop being presented as this women-only issue and more so as an economic issue that affects everyone and is a family issue,” said Tagbor Morales, 25.
THE BEAT
NATIONAL
Trump order sets up new women’s health research initiative at NIH, White House task force: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a women’s health division within the National Institutes of Health. The department will "strengthen research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care” for women and girls, according to the White House. The order does not mention contraception or reproductive rights. — D.C. Bureau
MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi tops US for Medicaid enrollees prescribed birth control shot that some say is linked to brain tumors: Mississippi has the highest rate of Medicaid recipients who take a birth control shot known under the brand name Depo-Provera, according to federal data. Researchers have found that long-term use of the shot is associated with higher risks of meningiomas, a non-cancerous brain tumor with serious side effects. Thousands of women are a part of a class-action lawsuit against Pfizer, the manufacturer of the birth control shot, which agreed to settle with 80% of the plaintiffs this summer. — Mississippi Today
MISSOURI
New Missouri nonprofit pours $2.9 million into campaign to reinstate abortion ban: Her Health Her Future Missouri has donated nearly $3 million to the similarly named political action committee behind Amendment 3, a ballot measure seeking to restore a near-total abortion ban and prohibit gender-affirming care for minors in the state. The PAC has raised a total of $5.3 million so far. Stop the Ban, the campaign seeking to defeat the anti-abortion initiative, has raised more than $25.7 million. — Missouri Independent
IDAHO
PACs for and against Idaho abortion-rights measure raised more than $2.5 million in the past two weeks: Too Extreme for Idaho PAC, a group that opposes a proposed abortion-rights amendment, received nearly $1.5 million since the end of September. Most of the money came from Mormon and Catholic organizations. Idahoans United for Women and Families, the PAC supporting the abortion-rights initiative, collected more than $630,000 during the same time period. — Idaho Capital Sun
THE PULSE
US: The Republican governor candidates walking back some of their abortion stances | The 19th
TX: What a Ken Paxton Senate win could mean for federal anti-abortion efforts | ProPublica
ID: Idaho State University awarded federal grant to improve access to produce for pregnant and postpartum women | Idaho Capital Sun
NH: Northern New Hampshire maternal health organizations receive grants from border commission | New Hampshire Bulletin
ABORTION ACCESS IN THE U.S.
Track state-level developments on reproductive rights anytime at News From The States. Send tips and thoughts to ✉️ [email protected], and follow her on Bluesky @elishabrown.
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