Sep. 5-By Jan. 1, 2023, Cal Poly Humboldt students will have access to abortion pills via the student health center.
The pills - which terminate pregnancies up to 10 weeks along - will be made available as part of a state law mandating that California's public universities, which includes all University of California and California State University campuses, provide them to students. Cal Poly Humboldt students may request the pills by contacting the Student Health & Wellbeing Center at health@humboldt.edu or by calling 707-826-3146.
The medications are expected to cost $50 to $60, said Grant Scott-Goforth, a university spokesperson.
"I think it's going to be very helpful for the students to not have to drive long ways to be able to obtain something that perhaps they really need and really want to get," said Rosa Granados, a graduate student pursuing a social work degree at Cal Poly Humboldt. "I think it really just comes down to personal choice, and what that person desires to do with their body."
Granados added that Humboldt County's impacted medical system, which often features long wait times, presents a limitation to the quality of health care residents receive, and the university offering abortion pills will take some stress off of other healthcare providers in the area, such as the Planned Parenthood in Eureka.
Humboldt County's health care waitlists are especially relevant to the abortion pill, which only terminates pregnancies up to 10 weeks along, meaning in the wait to see a health care professional, residents can progress out of that 10-week window.
Granados added that in addition to offering the pills, the university should also provide education regarding the pill's usage and the breadth of healthcare options available regarding pregnancy.
Melinda Myers, a former psychology professor at Cal Poly Humboldt, noted that students rarely become intentionally pregnant with the goal of having children in college, and that the pills will provide more options to students in an area with an impacted health care system
"Even somebody who has top flight medical insurance can't get into their general practitioner without a considerable wait, and all of us have experienced that and know what that's like," Myers said. "Having better access to health care and ... reducing the impact on local health care providers by the university being able to provide that service is going to help everybody else in the community as well as maintaining their own access to appropriate care."
Cal Poly Humboldt is aiming to double the student body within seven years, meaning there will be an increased demand from students for health care.
Granados, who also works with the university's office of the president, said the school is evaluating how to double the student body without further overburdening local health care systems.
"I really think that there is a chance to make every organization better by increasing the funding," Granados said, "and I think that is going to naturally come about with the money coming in from being a Cal Poly."
Jackson Guilfoil can be reached at 707-441-0506.
(c)2022 Times-Standard, Eureka, Calif. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.