Barnard, a private women’s college in New York City, will begin offering abortion pills on campus next year, university officials announced Thursday.
The decision, which will take effect in September, signals that colleges and universities across the country are becoming the new front in the bitter abortion battle following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Barnard President Sian L. Beilock said: operates in partnership with Columbia University and said in his interview:
In an email sent to campus on Thursday, Bernard officials said, “50 years from now, Roe v. Wade’s overthrow will reduce access to colleges, lower graduation rates and derail employment trajectories. It is very likely,” he wrote. The email said that while access to abortion in New York is strong today, it is “prepared if, for whatever reason, there are barriers to access in the future.”
This summer, Massachusetts enacted legislation requiring public colleges and universities in the state to submit plans to provide abortion pills to students by November 2023. This is done through campus health centers or community services easily accessible to students. By January, California’s public universities will be required to provide pills by state law enacted in 2019.
At the same time, colleges and universities in states that ban or severely restrict abortion impose measures that restrict sexual and reproductive health services on campus.
Last month, the University of Idaho General Counsel sent a memo to all employees stating that under Idaho’s near-total abortion ban, which took effect in August, state university employees may not consult patients about abortions or have abortions. I said I can’t refer you to the service. If employees do so, they could be charged with a misdemeanor or felony under the new law, lose their jobs, and be permanently banned from employment by the state, the memo said.
The memo also states that Idaho law prohibits employees from prescribing emergency contraception, except in cases of rape, noting how broadly the law applies to other contraceptive methods. Unknown, “we recommend a conservative approach here. The university itself does not offer standard contraception.”
Condoms can only be offered if they are intended to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the memo said, adding that they were “not for the purpose of contraception.”
In general, universities have carefully approached the question of whether to offer medical abortion. Rachel Mack, spokeswoman for the American College Health Association, which represents more than 700 institutions of higher education, said the issue is being discussed between the college and the association’s Reproductive Rights Task Force. .
“Not all schools have the resources to provide such services and may refer you to local providers,” Mack said. “Campuses vary greatly in the resources available, which can be due to location, the needs of the student population, and many other factors.”
Several universities decided to offer abortion pills long before this year’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe. The University of California, Berkeley has been doing so for several years.
A study published in 2018 found that between 322 and 519 students at public colleges in California seek medical abortions each month, many of them due to costs, travel distances to providers, and long waits for appointments. It is presumed that he was facing a time obstacle.
A 2020 American College Health Association survey found that 2.5% of 122 college health centers said they offered on-campus medical abortion, and 87% said they referred patients seeking abortions. I’m here.
Marina Catallozzi, Ph.D., vice president of health and wellness and chief health officer at Barnard University, said this year that some students had a medical abortion before meeting with medical services personnel and asking schools to provide abortions. Said adding was already on the university’s radar.
“Of course, I think this is a natural step in caring for the population of college students at risk of pregnancy.” Emergency contraception for students who want a more private way to take their morning after pill than going to a wellness center.
“For all reproductive health decisions, especially pregnancy,” she said. if they want to quit.
A Barnard official said the company has decided not to provide the pills immediately to spend the next few months training staff, developing protocols and considering logistics. They said the pills would be covered by the university’s health insurance plan and emergency funds would be provided for students without insurance or those who didn’t want to use their parents’ insurance.
Medical abortion, legalized in the United States in 2000, usually involves mifepristone, which blocks hormones needed for pregnancy to occur, and misoprostol, which 24 to 48 hours later causes contractions that expel the pregnant tissue. one drug is used. The Food and Drug Administration requires that mifepristone be dispensed by specially certified providers, but patients can take the pills themselves at home or at a location of their choice.
Abortion drugs are not prescribed for patients with medical problems, such as bleeding disorders. However, data show that medical abortion is safe and effective for many medically eligible patients, and that only a small percentage of patients require a procedure to completely remove pregnancy tissue, causing serious complications. An even smaller proportion of patients experience serious complications.
Dr Catallozzi and Dr Beilock said few students at Barnard College in recent years have requested an abortion. Those who do are usually referred to a service affiliated with Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the relationship continues. said he expected that he might prefer to go to
Dr. Catallozzi also said the university wanted to offer options in case New York’s abortion services were overwhelmed with patients from states with restrictions. Hey, the landscape is changing across the country.
In the 2023 academic year, Dr. Baylock will become president of Dartmouth College. When asked if he would recommend providing Dartmouth with abortion pills, Dr. Baylock said: Now, I’m Barnard’s president, and I’m working with experts to figure out what’s best for Bernard. “