In June 2022, Governor Baker signed "An act expanding protections for reproductive rights and gender affirming care" into law, which codifies that all public Massachusetts universities must implement a plan to provide medical abortion on their campuses by November 2023. While Northeastern is a private university, we are asking the Northeastern Administration to meet this standard as well and make this essential healthcare available at UHCS. 

In October 2022, Northeastern University Sexual Health Advocacy, Resources, and Education (NU SHARE) in collaboration with UHCS launched the Wellness Vending Machine in Marino Recreation Center, containing $7 emergency contraceptive pills and free safer sex supplies. This resource has expanded access to healthcare for Northeastern students and the wider community, which is a necessity as UHCS reports that they receive 1-2 students per week seeking care for pregnancy or pregnancy termination. Medication abortion is a safe, prescribed, oral medication, similar to other medications prescribed by UHCS. There is no reason why our administration shouldn’t be able to meet this need.

"Medication abortion is the process of ending a pregnancy through medication. There are two medications that are taken successively. The first, mifepristone, stops the pregnancy, and the second, misoprostol, induces uterine contractions, which allows the body to expel the pregnancy tissue." - According to AAMC

UHCS has started educating their providers about medication abortion to provide referrals within our community. This is not enough. We, the students of Northeastern, are calling on the administration to provide a concrete plan to bring medical abortion access and resources to Northeastern. 

Contact: northeasternshare@gmail.com or iwh@northeastern.com