As chemical abortions gain popularity with mail-order pills, the dangerous procedure is traveling to college campuses.
Institutions across the country already cover abortion within student health plans, however, they are now providing the procedure on campus. The University of Massachusetts Amherst announced plans to distribute abortion pills to any student mother wishing to abort her child in her dormitory restroom.
To elicit a chemical abortion, a pregnant woman takes pills containing RU-486. As ALN previously reported, “After taking the drugs, the pregnant woman experiences severe cramping, contractions and bleeding to expel her dead child, which she disposes of by flushing down the toilet. Symptoms, including bleeding, abdominal pain and nausea may continue for weeks. The procedure may lead to maternal death.”
The pro-life advocacy organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA), is working to stop abortion access on college campuses.
After California passed a bill requiring the state's public universities to provide on-demand abortion, other states followed. Massachusetts lawmakers are proposing legislation similar to the new UMass Amherst program.
Live Action President Lila Rose suggested the program “turns universities into abortion centers.” The California bill will go into effect in the spring semester of 2023.
However, conservative states are pushing back against these extreme abortion laws. In Oklahoma, lawmakers are seeking to ban abortion pills on college campuses. Similarly, Texas' “Protecting Life on College Campuses Act” will prohibit universities from receiving federal funding if they provide abortions in any form.
Abortion is also on the national political stage, as Democratic lawmakers attempt to federally mandate abortion as Roe v. Wade is under threat.
