NYU’s Student Government Association has followed Barnard College and are offering mifepristone, an abortion pill, in student health centers following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Aarna Dixit and Sneha Sridhar didn’t look like they were ready to wage war.
Dixit, armed with her laptop covered in stickers, spoke with Sridhar before addressing the diverse group of students at NYU’s Kimmel Center on Feb. 21. With bright smiles, they outlined their demands for NYU administrators via a proposal: improve students’ access to abortion.
Together they formed a fierce duo of women of color and opened the floor to anything students had on their minds or wanted to be included in the proposal. During the forum, they created an atmosphere of acceptance, vulnerability, and hope — something that they hope to mirror in the student health center for those in need of abortions.
NYU’s Student Government Association, which Dixit and Sridhar are a part of, hoped to follow Barnard College’s lead and offer mifepristone, an abortion pill, at student health centers following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. They also wanted the university to establish a task force of students, leaders and professors to make the process as smooth as possible.
“Because Barnard [College] has already done this, and there's legislation heading forward at a state level, there’s no reason why NYU shouldn’t take this step,” Dixit says. “We want it available on campus so students with different nationalities and different insurance backgrounds are able to access it.”
However, the administration is hesitant to implement any abortion access because of the availability already offered within Manhattan.
New York is one of 25 states where abortion is legal, prompting people from other states where the procedure is illegal to seek care. The process is still dangerous for people seeking abortions in legal states.
The National Abortion Federation’s 2021 statistics on violence against abortion providers reported a 600% increase in stalking, a 450% increase in blockades, and a 128% increase in assault, all since 2020.
“The clinics are super overloaded with out-of-state residents, and [are] harassed by alt-right groups,” Dixit says. “We want to make sure NYU students have the opportunity available to access [abortions] safely.”
The administration has not commented on the proposal, Sridhar says. Barnard College is the precedent for this resolution, having passed a similar policy in October 2022.
NYU spokesperson John Beckman told Washington Square News that the university “is going to look at the issue.”
While many school-affiliated groups like the Young Democratic Socialists of America support this resolution, NYU College Republicans have not shied away from their pro-abortion stance.
President of NYU College Republicans Gianna Guzzo supports “the idea that the court is finally going to protect life in the law.”
She has organized “a list of life-affirming resources” to offer to those seeking guidance and plans to use it in defense of people who claim she and the group don’t care about women.
However, Dixit and Sridhar are undeterred by the opposition that faces them, and rightfully so.
On March 31, the Student Health Center announced that they are pursuing official certification to dispense the pills. Starting next year, all abortions performed in-network with NYU’s Wellfleet insurance will be fully covered.
Dixit plans to speak to the Senate about their resolution and implement their task force, as well as help the SHC gain this certification.
“This work is not done,” Sridhar says. “There are so many more gaps and we just don’t know where the political landscape of New York or even America will be. Which is why it’s all the more important that steps are being taken.”
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