The University of California and California State University campuses are working to provide medication abortion pills on all campuses by January 1.
Reportedly, offering abortion pills on campus will put less pressure on abortion clinics in the state after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (via Newsweek):
Currently, none of the Cal State campuses offer medication abortions and access within the UC system varies by campus.
The university systems said they will implement a 2019 law that requires student health centers to provide abortion pills.
According to Advancing New Standard in Reproductive Health, up to 6,228 students could seek medication abortions on UC and Cal State campuses each year.
Between 322 and 519 students at Cal State or UC schools seek medication abortion, according to a 2018 report. About two-thirds of those students travel at least 30 minutes to reach the closest off-campus clinic.
Offering abortion pills on college campuses will put less of a strain on abortion clinics across California. Those clinics will have more appointments for people seeking care in areas where abortion access is limited and for people coming from states where abortion is illegal.
As Townhall has covered, California lawmakers, led by pro-abortion Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), are working to make the Golden State an abortion safe haven for women living in states with laws protecting the unborn. The Los Angeles Times described it as “abortion infrastructure” in a report in November.
In May, a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court showed that the justices were poised to overturn Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In response, pro-abortion college students have staged walkouts and other protests on their campuses. The final ruling was released in late June.
Over on the east coast, University of Massachusetts Amherst will offer students medication abortion pills on campus beginning in the fall, which Townhall covered. A spokesperson for the school told reporters that the decision was driven by "student demand." Reportedly, the school already offered “some” abortion services, such as clinic referrals and transportation to and from the clinic. Additionally, the school’s health center conducted abortion procedure follow-up exams.
