Sex: Whether you joke about it, think about it all day, or simply treat it as a fact of life, it probably affects you in ways you may not even realize. This is the third in a three-part series examining the more serious side of sex. This week, the Daily looks at RU-486, commonly known as the abortion pill, and the morning after pill.
Across the country, college students are often faced with difficult decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health. Unfortunately, many of these students are not fully aware of what health care and counseling resources are available.At Tufts, students have the Health Services facility at their disposal, but for some, the University provisions are insufficient.
While Health Services offers free advice and counseling for pregnant students, students must look beyond Health Services to obtain further medical assistance. Health Services professionals, however, say they are prepared to present students with all applicable options.
One option for pregnant students is terminating the pregnancy. And though Health Services employees can answer questions pertaining to the termination option, the facility is neither equipped nor authorized to terminate pregnancies, either medically or surgically.
"[Planned Parenthood] can do a termination, either surgical or medical, but we do provide the rest of the range of regular gynecological care," said Margaret Higham, the Health Services director.
A student seeking to terminate a pregnancy may herself at the Boston chapter of Planned Parenthood, located on Commonwealth Ave. Planned Parenthood offers a number of options for pregnancy termination and, like Health Services, also provides advice for patients who are unsure of how to proceed. Before undergoing any procedure, patients meet with Planned Parenthood advisors to review options and discuss lingering concerns, details of the procedure, and future contraception methods.
Mifepristone, formerly known as RU-486, is one option available at all Planned Parenthood locations. Drugs such as Mifepristone terminate pregnancy through what is known as a medical abortion. The pill is available to women less than seven-weeks pregnant.
Some people call Mifepristone a dangerous addition to the field of reproductive and gynecological procedures, and Planned Parenthood adheres to a strict regiment before prescribing the controversial pill. A woman who chooses to use the drug first receives a guide provided by Danco, the manufacturer of the pill, which details how the pill works as well as possible side effects.
Brooke W., who works at Planned Parenthood of Boston, said Mifepristone is not exceedingly popular with college students, nor has it become more popular than surgical abortions. On a given day, Planned Parenthood performs anywhere from 30 to 70 surgical abortions, but only administers ten to 15 doses of Mifepristone.
College students generally do not seek medical abortions because they lack privacy in their dorms, where the termination of the pregnancy actually takes place.
Surgical and medical terminations, however, are not the only procedures available at Planned Parenthood. Those seeking more permanent forms of birth control - such as a vasectomy or tubal ligation - may obtain counseling and referrals at Health Services, but not the equipment or practitioners to perform the procedures.
For students seeking non-invasive birth-control methods, Health Services provides many birth control options in a convenient and inexpensive manner, offering benefits that more-equipped clinics cannot provide. Students examined at Health Services can schedule follow-ups with the same clinician, whereas Planned Parenthood cannot always offer this option. And Health Services provides birth control pills at an extremely low cost.
"We get them for $5 a pack," Higham said. "That's unheard of."
Planned Parenthood, though generally thought of as an economical provider, provides pills at $15 per month.
Despite the conveniences and discount, some students, worried about the lack of anonymity at Health Services, are more comfortable seeing an off-campus health service provider. Higham assures students that none of the clinicians discuss personal medical information in the waiting room or in front of other students, but some at Tufts complain of feeling self-conscious at the women's health clinic, a required seminar for female students seeking oral contraception.
"We're very careful about confidentiality, but if you don't want someone you know seeing you in the waiting room," then you may be more comfortable at another clinic, Higham said.
Though some students say Health Services lacks privacy, others find Planned Parenthood even more disagreeable. Picketers protesting abortion procedures sometimes surround the building, making students feel unsafe when approaching the clinic, and Health Services has found that most students planning to have abortions go through private specialists rather than Planned Parenthood.
"They're an awesome organization. They provide fabulous services for people. They do a lot of political work too, which is great. They've got all the up-to-date techniques. [But] the picketing thing is a problem," Higham said.
Planned Parenthood of Boston says that picketing is not a significant problem. Picketing generally takes place during morning hours on days when abortions are performed, they claim. Students seeking private care can make afternoon or evening appointments to avoid picketers. There are also volunteers who can escort students through picketers.
But for some young women, the anonymity that Planned Parenthood provides is more important than avoiding picketing. One freshman said her friend in high school turned to Planned Parenthood when she chose to have an abortion.
"She had to do it independently. She felt that if she went to a private doctor, she would have to go through her own doctor and [that] somehow her mom would find out," she explained.
Planned Parenthood of Boston does, however, attract a large number of college students. According to Brooke W., students go to Planned Parenthood for emergency contraception - the "morning after" pill - when college clinics are closed. But Tufts' Health Services is open on Saturdays, when some colleges close their clinics. And Tufts also has an on-call doctor in the evening hours, who is available to students for emergencies at any time during the academic year.
