Washington state senators drafted a bill that would force state colleges to provide abortion pills, or “information and referral services” for abortion pills, to students.
Senate Bill 5321, introduced on Jan. 17, opens with the claim that “access to abortion is a human right, an integral part of essential health care, and vital for promoting public health,” and refers to women as “pregnancy capable students” and “pregnant persons.”
Nineteen Senators–18 Democrats and one Republican–co-sponsored the bill, which mandates that “each student health center [on a public campus] must offer access to medication abortion.”
State colleges and universities that do not have such centers would be obligated to “provide information and referral services” for students who want an abortion.
The bill claims that the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade resulted in a surge of patients seeking abortions at local Washington abortion clinics, leading to increased overcrowding.
The bill sponsors allege that this development has led to “financial and time burdens [that] negatively impact academic performance, mental health, and physical health.”
“Because medication abortion is recognized as a safe and effective treatment for pregnancy termination and a health service every pregnant person in the state has the legal right to choose, it is the intent of the legislature that public institutions of higher education make medication abortion as accessible and cost-effective for students as possible,” the bill text states.
Additionally, the legislation would require “public institutions of higher education to maintain a website on reproductive health,” according to a state senate summary.
The sites must provide information on “prenatal care and options for pregnancy termination,” along with guidance on obtaining excused absence passes and “academic accommodations” for students “due to pregnancy, recovery from medical treatment, or related conditions.”
[RELATED: Barnard College students demand medication abortion on campus]
This legislative proposal aligns with a nationwide trend of certain colleges and universities providing abortion resources, including abortion pills.
Columbia University, for example, started offering abortion pills to students in cases that are deemed “clinically appropriate” as of March 18, 2024.
“The added offering enhances access to care and reaffirms our commitment to supporting students’ reproductive rights,” Columbia University said at the time.
Campus Reform has contacted co-sponsors of the bill for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
