Abortion Pill Availability Expected to Cause Few Changes in Counseling

When RU-486 was approved by the Food and Drug Adminisration (FDA) this past fall, the national media hailed the new drug as a revolutionary alternative to surgical abortions.

And now, through University Health Services (UHS), Harvard students can opt to have an RU-486 abortion at several Boston-area clinics.

But many campus groups who do pregnancy and crisis counseling for students say they do not expect the new abortion option to significantly alter their counseling methods.

And RU-486 has arrived at Harvard with little fanfare from pro-choice groups and minimal protest from pro-life organizations.

Instead, leaders of groups like Room 13 and Peer Contraceptive Counselors (PCC) say they foresee the need to educate their members about RU-486 and incorporate the new option into their counseling services.

"We expect a lot of questions about RU-486," says Room 13 Chair Neil R. Brown '01. "So as a peer group we'll need to educate ourselves about it, as well as deal with the normal frustrations that accompany these decisions [surrounding student pregnancies]."

Ashley E. Tessier '02, chair of PCC, says the group will work to educate students about how RU-486 works in a woman's body and the necessary medical care surrounding a RU-486 abortion--which includes at least three doctor visits, heavy bleeding and cramping, and in 5 percent of cases, a possible surgical procedure to complete the abortion.

"The process will become a topic we are trained on, and educate about in outreaches," she says.

Most peer groups say they do not want to get involved with the politics surrounding RU-486, but will make students aware of the option, now that the drug has been approved by the FDA.

"We support anything that UHS does to make the aftermath of sexual assault easier for survivors. This includes easier or more available abortions," says Jennifer K. Price '02, co-chair of the Coalition Against Sexual Violence.

But PCC has been public in their support.

"Women should have as many contraception options as are possible, and just as many options for when that contraception fails," Tessier says. "This is just another way to increase options."

Though the new drug frees most women opting to have a RU-486 abortion from having to undergo a surgical procedure, Melissa R. Moschella '02, president of Harvard Right to Life, a pro-life student group, says that her organization still opposes the drug because it is used for abortions.

Moschella, who also wrote an editorial in Tuesday's Crimson criticizing the lack of resources available for pregnant women at Harvard, says she worries about the logistics of a RU-486 abortion.

"After taking the drug a student will naturally miscarry at any time and a college dorm or campus is not a suitable place for this to happen," she said Tuesday. "It has the potential to be more disruptive if widely used than to just the person involved."

UHS officials have said they will not offer RU-486 at their Holyoke Center clinic because they do not offer abortion services, and do not plan to in the future.

And Tessier, of PCC, says she thinks this is the right choice.

"It is very appropriate that all referrals are to places other than UHS, places that can offer the best medical safety for students," she says.

But leaders from Students for Choice (SFC), a pro-choice group, say they are dissappointed that UHS has chosen not to dispense RU-486 on-site.

"One of the great advantages of RU-486 is its potential to grant women far greater flexibility and privacy when making such a personal decision," Elizabeth A. Thornberry '02, chair of SFC, writes in an e-mail.

Thornberry says that students seeking an RU-486 abortion will have to commute to Planned Parenthood or Beth Israel Hospital, and may even have to face abortion protestors.

The Catholic Students Association (CSA), a traditionally pro-life organization, has no official stance on the availability of RU-486.

"For us, students having children wouldn't be an issue. Pre-marital sex is not a Catholic thing," says CSA president Geoffrey A. Preidis '03, but he says he would like to encourage students who don't agree with abortion to ask for their $1 reimbursement from the Student Health Services fee.

Students may request a refund from UHS for the portion of their health services fee that goes towards funding abortions.

Representatives from campus peer counseling and women's advocacy group attended a forum Wednesday in the Quincy House JCR aimed at discussing pregnancy resources for students at Harvard.

The meeting focused on efforts to consolidate pregnancy resources in one place on campus, making them more accessible.

"Pregnancy resources are very decentralized," Karen E. Avery '87, assistant dean of the College said Wednesday evening.

For example, the Office of Work and Family, used mostly by Faculty and staff, offers parenting classes, day care and housing information to students.

"It would be great if we could have this information compiled for us. Students turn to us with these questions, and we should have the answers," Christine Zimmerman '01, co-chair of Room 13, said to the gathering.

--Staff writer Arianne R. Cohen can be reached at cohen7@fas.harvard.edu.