In July of 2022, days after the Dobbs V. Jackson Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe V. Wade, Wesleyan Reproductive Advocacy & Legislation’s Instagram was hit with a flurry of messages. What resources could college students access? Could Wesleyan provide housing for people looking to get abortions? And most excitingly for us, students from Wesleyan expressed their solidarity and interest in advocating for reproductive freedom in general. 

Noticeably, there was silence from the administration. While WesWell made a brief statement, there were no messages of solidarity (besides the wonderful article that Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Victoria Pitts-Taylor published in the Wesleyan Connection). The response we received could be characterized not by outright hostility, but rather by a lack of prioritization and support. 

On June 25th, as a response to the Supreme Court asserting that the Constitution does not affirm the right to abortion, President Michael Roth ’78 wrote this on his blog: 

“We must counter this arrogance with historical research and political organizing. We can recognize the complexities of the debates around abortion and still support a woman’s right to choose her own medical care. We can recognize traditions of gun ownership while also showing the deep history of gun regulation. We are fortunate in Connecticut to have government officials who support common sense legislation about gun safety and who defend a woman’s right to choose the kind of medical care, and the kind of life, she wants for herself.”

While the right to abortion may be codified in law in the state of Connecticut, there are still many barriers that limit Wesleyan students from access to care. One is transportation. The closest abortion provider to Wesleyan is in Meriden: a Planned Parenthood nine miles from campus, approximately a three-hour walk. Plus, it only provides abortions via medication. For surgical abortions, one would have to commute 30 minutes to Hartford GYN (or a mere nine hours by foot). Massachusetts public universities are legally required to provide medication abortions on campus. Wesleyan, of course, is not.

Transportation is only one part of the puzzle. Another is cost. Abortions cost money. According to Planned Parenthood, abortion pills often cost $400-850, a prohibitive cost for many college students working on a campus where beginning wages are still $14.10 an hour. Medication abortions tend to be much cheaper than surgical abortions, and of course, that cost does not include any possible complications. Beyond abortion though, contraceptives also cost money. At Davison Health Center, they cost between $22 and $35 out of pocket, which is, again, not an insubstantial cost for students. A concept that seems a bit more reasonable for students is the Plan B Vending Machine, which has been installed at Boston University and charges people $7.25. 

Publicly, Wesleyan’s support for the right to choose is murky. There’s practically no information on the website about how one can get an abortion or even a pregnancy test on campus. Wesleyan is proud of the fact that it welcomes students from across the United States and the greater world – all the more reason to make it as easy as possible for the student population to access abortion. 

I could go on about things related to reproductive freedom which I wish could change. Last spring I had a conversation with an administrator about galvanizing support and new energy for reproductive organizing; I was met with the refrain, “We’re encouraging people to get abortions too much.” STI testing too is an uphill battle – when I asked to get tested, I was told by a nurse at Davison Health Center that if I didn’t have symptoms, I wouldn’t need to get tested. (According to the UK’s NHS, this is false, especially for people with vaginas.)

Wesleyan prides itself on being at the forefront of nearly all social justice issues. One of the founders of the prolific Sunrise Movement, Evan Weber ’13, attended Wesleyan. As early as 2013, students were attempting expand access to campus gender-neutral bathrooms. Students choose to attend Wesleyan because they believe it will be an opportunity to learn how to make a change in the world. 

Now Wesleyan needs to commit to actively supporting the values it uses as marketing points. Supporting the reproductive freedom and choices of at least half its student body will not go unnoticed or unappreciated by students. Rather, choosing to prioritize abortion access signifies an administration that radically cares for its students and wants to help them make choices about their bodies confidently and with avenues of aid for every outcome. More than anything else, I know Wesleyan University is capable of protecting students and improving reproductive freedom, and I feel confident that changes to these issues could take place. I don’t care so much about what exactly we do – rather I care that something, anything, is done.

Annika Shiffer-Delegard can be reached at ashifferdele@wesleyan.edu.