Barnard, Columbia Students Take Action Amid On-Campus Abortion Care Delays

Even in areas like New York, where abortion is legal, college students' access to abortion remains dubious more than two years after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. Students at Columbia University and Barnard College are responding by volunteering to help their peers obtain reproductive treatment, therefore bridging the void.

From before Roe was reversed, the student-led Reproductive Justice Collective (RJC) has been pushing for Barnard College to offer medication abortion on campus. Two years later, the procedure is still not accessible even though the college revealed plans in 2022 to train doctors and deliver medication abortion by fall 2023.

Though New York is a refuge for abortion rights, this delay leaves students negotiating outside healthcare systems. Emphasizing that institutional degrees of restrictions to abortion access exist even in progressive states, the RJC keeps advocating for change.

Rising national restrictions and mounting concerns about a federal abortion ban under the incoming government give their efforts fresh urgency. RJC members are confident that private colleges like Barnard and Columbia will follow suit since public universities in New York are now legally mandated to enable abortion access.

Barnard and Columbia students ensure their peers get the reproductive healthcare they need by taking up where institutional action lags.

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