Abortion access is on the ballot in four states this Election Day. Voters in Idaho, Nevada and Virginia are considering measures to protect access, while Missouri voters are deciding whether to overturn a reproductive freedom amendment approved in 2024. The outcomes could shape available health care and bring difficult questions into focus for couples dating across state lines.
A partner’s position on abortion is already decisive for many singles. The Kinsey Institute’s 2025 Singles in America study found that 52 percent would not date someone who did not support abortion rights. But shared beliefs may not be enough when state laws determine what care local providers can offer.
People in long-distance relationships may need to account for those laws when considering a move or starting a family. A 2024 Institute for Women’s Policy Research poll found that nearly 60 percent of parents and people planning to have children in the following decade were concerned about access to abortion, OB-GYN services and prenatal care. Half of adults in states with total abortion bans were concerned about access to fertility treatment. In a 2024 Redfin survey, about three-quarters of Democratic voters said they wanted to live somewhere abortion is legal.
The effects can extend to the availability of medical professionals. After Idaho’s near-total abortion ban took effect, the state lost more than a third of its practicing obstetricians, according to the report. In Sandpoint, all four OB-GYNs at the local hospital left, and its labor and delivery unit closed. Pregnant patients were left with a nearest alternative more than 40 miles away. The same KFF Health News report said more than 1.7 million women of reproductive age nationwide live in areas with neither abortion access nor nearby maternity care.
The future supply of doctors may also be affected. The Association of American Medical Colleges found that applications to OB-GYN residency programs in states with complete abortion bans fell 10.5 percent in the first application cycle after Dobbs. Many doctors go on to practice in the places where they trained.
Fertility treatment has also faced uncertainty. In 2024, after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos counted as children, at least three IVF providers in the state paused treatment. Lawmakers passed a measure addressing the issue weeks later, but the debate has continued beyond Alabama.
For couples dating across state lines, deciding where to live together can involve more than jobs, rent or travel time. They may also need to consider whether care would be available in the event of a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or other complication, and whether a doctor would be there to provide it. Election results will not settle every question, but they could influence the care available in the states where couples make their homes.
Sources: Cosmopolitan.