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On-campus abortion drugs should be freely handed out at the University of Oregon, according to the Young Democratic Socialists of America and other campus clubs.
The group will reportedly host a “Medication Abortion Action Fair” today to further push for its proposal. It is currently circulating a survey to students, asking them if they have ever gone to Planned Parenthood and would be interested in accessing drugs to kill their preborn child on campus.
The socialist group, along with other clubs including Students for Choice, have reportedly garnered 1,100 signatures on their petition, according to The Daily Emerald.
However, the effort has hit a roadblock due to safety concerns – and those fears are justified, according to Oregon Right to Life.
“Students for Choice President Karlie Windle said administrators have had concerns in the past due to the controversial nature of the campaign, and the inability to financially support the service at [University Health Services],” the student newspaper reported. “Specifically, UHS noted they did not have a full-time staff member on call 24/7 to aid students undergoing side effects.”
The concerns about side effects are valid, according to Oregon Right to Life.
“It is deeply irresponsible for pro-abortion agitators to attempt to push the University of Oregon to distribute abortion pills on campus,” Communications Director Ashley Sadler told The College Fix via email. “Chemical abortion is lethal for unborn babies and very dangerous for women, as recent research has shown.”
Sadler noted a study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center found “more than one out of every ten women (10.93%) experiences a severe adverse event after taking Mifepristone, with an abortion pill-related emergency room visit rate of nearly one in 20 (4.7%).”
The spokeswoman for the pro-life group said there are better paths the school could take:
Instead of supplying pregnant students with dangerous abortion pills, student organizations should be focused – as Oregon Right to Life and our local pro-life partners already are – on ensuring that young women have access to resources that will empower them, not push them toward dangerous drugs that could severely harm them in addition to ending the lives of their unborn sons and daughters.
She said the university should hand out Oregon Right to Life’s resource guides instead of promoting abortion.
The Young Democratic Socialists club on campus, as well as Students for Choice, did not respond to requests for comment. The Fix attempted to reach the groups via email and phone call.
The university also did not respond to similar requests for comment in the past week about the proposal.
Abortion drugs have grown in use since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022. They currently account for about 63 percent of all abortions.
Some states mandate public universities hand out the abortion drugs to any student that wants them.
California first passed such a law in 2019. New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts have followed with their own laws.
MORE: ‘Abortion care’ still covered by Catholic Loyola University Chicago
