Colleges Could Provide Abortion Pill If GOP Health Care Cuts Planned Parenthood

A bill introduced in California would make the abortion pill available on college campuses.

It was created as Republicans announced a health care plan that will take away federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year.

This lack of federal funding would lead to thousands of births, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

And so, Senator Connie Leyva, a Democrat, introduced legislation to put abortion pills on campuses.

There are a few specific things you should be aware of regarding Senator Leyva's proposed law.

First of all, it's only in California.

Moreover, it would only be at public colleges in California. This includes the schools of the University of California, California State University and California Community College.

Those schools receiving state funding for their student health centers would be required to have the abortion pill available.

To be clear about it all, federal funding for Planned Parenthood does not go to abortions. The Hyde Amendment ensures federal funding does not fund abortions.

But, federal funding for Planned Parenthood does go to things like sex education and contraceptives. Presumably, this law was introduced to make up for the lack of options, which would lead to thousands more pregnancies.

The abortion pill basically causes a woman to have a miscarriage.

It is different from the surgical abortion, which involves a woman getting a procedure done at a clinic.

The medication abortion is done through two pills — mifepristone and misoprostol — which are taken over two days. It can be used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy.

It's a very safe medication with extremely low complication rates.

And to be clear about all this, it is not Plan B. Plan B is basically a giant birth control pill. Plan B just stops a pregnancy from happening; it doesn't end a pregnancy.

Senator Leyva introduced this bill to make up for services lost if the Republican American Health Care Act actually gets through Congress and undoes Obamacare.

Leyva said,

I think that it's incredibly important because women of all ages, especially young women, need to make sure they have control over their future — that they have a choice of when they want to incorporate a family into their lives. Women in 2017 shouldn't be fighting for access to their bodies

The senator is unaware of any campuses currently offering abortion care.

Although it is not abortion, the availability of emergency contraceptives on college campuses has been a touchy topic — especially with religious schools — across the country.

In some states, students are introducing bills of rights for reproductive health, asking their colleges to provide vital health products from Plan B to tampons and gender-neutral bathrooms.

Citations: Bill would make abortion pill available at state college campuses (SF Gate), Senate bill requires publicly funded colleges to provide abortion pills to students Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article139038008.html#storylink=cpy (Sacramento Bee)