Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Prescribe Fordham 2!: Fordham’s Off-Campus Birth Control Clinic Night Returns

Attendees must RSVP at this link!


Prescribe Fordham 2!:  Fordham’s Off-Campus Birth Control Clinic Night Returns

On October 24th from 6:00 to 9:30, a coalition of Fordham University student groups and academic departments will hold a birth control clinic and sexual health fair blocks from the school’s Lincoln Center campus, at the John Jay College Conference Center at 524 W. 59th Street.

Fordham University prohibits medical providers at its health centers from prescribing birth control and has an unwritten policy forbidding the distribution of condoms on campus.  Fordham attributes these policies to its Catholic-affiliation. Though Fordham receives New York State funding on the basis of representations that it is non-denominational, medical care at Fordham is governed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.

At Prescribe Fordham 2!, students can consult with uncensored doctors from the Institute for Family Health about reproductive health and disease prevention.  After a medical screening and blood pressure check, the Family Institute doctors can prescribe contraceptives to students or advise them about long-acting contraceptive methods. 

Fordham student insurance covers contraceptives as required by the New York Women’s Health and Wellness Act.  Now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”), students with Fordham insurance can receive a gynecological exam off-campus from a medical provider who is under no religiously-based constraints without paying a co-payment.  While this is a significant improvement for our insured students, access to contraception remains a problem for Fordham students who lack insurance (an estimated 35% according to the administration) or a doctor in New York.  The Fordham health center policies are particularly problematic for students at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus due to the prevalence of “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” in the Bronx, which present themselves as family planning clinics but do not provide contraception or medical care and are known to advertise on campus.  

Fordham administrators and health center staff assert there is a health exception to the prescription ban, but in practice students have been turned away even with records of serious medical conditions. The administration has declined to explain what conditions justify treatment, of what severity, and who makes this determination.  Many students seek health services at Planned Parenthood, taking up resources needed by uninsured and low-income patients.

Prescribe Fordham 2! is a way for members of the Fordham community to work around the expense and inconvenience that result from the University’s policies and make unknowing students aware that the University provides non-standard healthcare.  It is also an opportunity to discuss the significant influence on women’s health of Catholic leaders outside the Catholic mainstream.  

The event is sponsored by the Fordham Chapter of Law Students for Reproductive Justice, Fordham OUTlaws, The Institute for Women and Girls at the Graduate School of Social Service, The Women's Studies Department at Lincoln Center, The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Lincoln Center, and the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, the Women’s Center at John Jay College and the Reproductive Health Access Project.  It is also open to students of John Jay College, the New York Institute of Technology, Seton Hall University, and St. John’s University. Students of other schools who wish to attend should email FordhamLSRJ@gmail.com.

For more information, email FordhamLSRJ@gmail.com or visit fordhamLSRJ.blogspot.com

Attendees must RSVP  here.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Prescribe Fordham II!

UPDATE:  See the new post with current information here.  

Mark your calendars for Prescribe Fordham 2012!  Our second (annual?) birth control clinic and sexual health fair, where students will be able to meet with doctors from the Institute for Family Health, receive birth control prescriptions and condoms, and discuss their health and access to care.

Wednesday, October 24th
6:00-9:30
John Jay College Conference Center
524 West 59th Street

The Fordham health centers will not prescribe birth control.  If you are in need of a prescription,  you can meet with a doctor from the Institute for Family Health who can conduct a medical screening and prescribe contraception.  

Watch this space for updates and information on free transportation from Fordham's Rose Hill campus.  This event is also open to students of John Jay College and the New York Institute of Technology.

You must RSVP here.

Special thanks to the Women's Center at John Jay College and the Reproductive Health Access Project!

Sponsored by Law Students for Reproductive Justice, The Institute for Women and Girls at the Graduate School of Social Services, The Women's Studies Department at Lincoln Center, The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Lincoln Center, and the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law.

Email FordhamLSRJ@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, or to share your story.

You can read about last year's clinic here, herehere, and here.

The Contraceptive Coverage Lawsuits

Fordham LSRJ alum Bridgette Dunlap looks at the thirty lawsuits challenging the HHS contraceptive mandate here.