SHC Begins Stocking Abortion Medication Following Student Criticism
After facing backlash from students, NYU’s Student Health Center is stocking mifepristone, a common abortion medication.
(Nina Schifano via Washington Square News)
New York City, NY — by Quinn Sental
This story was originally published on New York University’s Washington Square News.
The NYU Student Health Center began stocking mifepristone, a common abortion medication, in September following criticism from on-campus student groups last spring.
In a written statement to WSN, SHC executive director Carlo Ciotoli said the university signed an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration in April to expand abortion access on campus, allowing it to dispense mifepristone to students with outside prescriptions at the SHC pharmacy.
“The SHC refers students to health care providers who are experts in providing abortion services,” Ciotoli wrote. “If a provider prescribes mifepristone to a student, we do carry it at the SHC pharmacy, and the student can come to our pharmacy and have the prescription filled here.”
The center began planning to dispense mifepristone in the spring, when it first considered pursuing FDA certification. Students were originally only able to access the medication through referrals to outside abortion providers, and also had to be covered by Wellfleet, the university’s sponsored health insurance program. In response, students on campus held demonstrations calling for expanded and equal abortion access for the entire student body.
Read the rest of the story at Washington Square News.