Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the RU-486 abortion pill Friday, students will not find it at the University's Student Health Center.
But David Nova, president and CEO of Blue Ridge Planned Parenthood, said its Pantops facility will provide the pill to the public, including students, within the next 60 days.
The pill, which will be sold under the brand name Mifeprex, will allow American women to abort pregnancies within the first seven weeks of conception. Within a month, it is expected to be widely available in the United States.
Since July 1, Planned Parenthood has offered a different drug, Methotraxate, that has been approved for other purposes, but that is sometimes an effective abortion drug, Nova said. The FDA has not approved Methotraxate for abortions.
Both surgical abortions and medical abortions - abortions induced by medication - cost about $350 at Planned Parenthood. The cost for the medical abortion includes three clinical visits.
Nova said the Arlington Road facility also offers alternatives to abortion, such as on-site adoption services.
Student Health Gynecologist Christine Peterson said Student Health does not offer surgical abortions now because it is a "very complex process" and it does not have adequate equipment, resources or personnel for the procedure.
"The kind of work that we do is considered primary care gynecology," Peterson said.
Although the pill does not require as much equipment as a surgical abortion, Peterson said 5 to 10 percent of women who take the pill still require surgical completion of the abortion.
She added that RU-486 only is effective for the beginning of a pregnancy and Student Health does not have the technology to definitely determine the date of conception.
Peterson said if a student requests that Student Health terminate her pregnancy, she usually will be referred to Planned Parenthood, but some needy patients without insurance are referred to the University Hospital.
Lisa Scavo, president of First Right, a pro-life University organization, said she thinks it is appropriate that Student Health not offer abortions, since it does not offer prenatal care for students who want to continue their pregnancy.
Students pay a required student health fee and some may morally object to their required payment covering abortion-related costs, Scavo said.
But University Democrats Treasurer Jon Lange said he thinks "denying students the option of utilizing the privacy and non-invasiveness that the new pill affords is not right."
"To force them to secure another health care provider to dispense the new pill is an undue burden," Lange said.
But Scavo said some women still may use the pill as an easy solution. "You can just pop a pill and avoid the reality of your pregnancy, but it doesn't change what it is you're getting rid of," she said.
Read More
Aggravated assault incidents reported in several locations
By Thomas Baxter | 11 hours agoThe suspects are described as four to five males wearing ski masks, driving a small dark sedan.
MLK III to focus on youth participation in politics as professor of practice
By Ford McCracken | YesterdayRestrictive voting laws are only one problem with voting today, according to King — the other is voter apathy. King even called the level of voter participation in U.S. elections “abysmal.”
New School of Data Science building opens with remarks and ceremony
By Cecilia Mould | 2 days agoThe four-story, 61,000 square-foot building includes four classrooms and two seminar rooms, as well as a two-story central hub for hosting events.
