Resolution on Defending Reproductive Rights as It Relates to the Negative Impact of Indiana Senate Bill 1 (2022) on Ball State Students, Staff, and Faculty

/ Resolution / By

TO: Faculty Council

FROM: Ball State University Chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

RE: Resolution on Defending Reproductive Rights as It Relates to the Negative Impact of Indiana Senate Bill 1 on Ball State Students, Staff, and Faculty

Date: April 7, 2023

RATIONALE: After the Supreme Court issued their decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022 overturning Roe v Wade, the Indiana Legislature called a special session in June and July and passed SB-1 [1], eliminating almost all abortion care provided in the State of Indiana. SB-1 endangers the health, safety, and lives of women in Indiana, residents who can gestate and give birth, as well as their families and wider communities. Indiana currently has the 10th highest maternal mortality rate in the nation [2], and research indicates that states with more abortion restrictions experience increases in the total maternal mortality rate [3]. The World Health Organization argues that being able to obtain a safe abortion is a crucial part of health care [4].

Nearly 40% of people who seek an abortion do so in part because having a child could derail their education. In 2014, 60% of women who had abortions were in their 20s and 24% were attending school [5]. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, an undergraduate student is on average under the age of 25. More than 65% of students at Ball State University are female. College women ages 18-24 are three times more likely to experience sexual assault than women in general [6]. An astounding 26.4% of female undergraduate students experience rape or sexual assault. Sexual violence is more prevalent at college compared to other crimes [6]. Access to Plan B and abortion care for those students who would choose it are critical in supporting victims of rape.

University students also experience significant barriers to healthcare more broadly due to gender (especially gender nonconforming students), sexuality (perceived stigmas associated with nondominant sexualities), income (lack of ability to pay), confidentiality (fear that family members may become privy to information), and dependence on distant healthcare networks (for example, in their hometowns). As such, university students need access to contraception, including emergency contraception and abortion care for those students who would choose it.

The impacts of restricted abortion on higher education resulting from Dobbs will have at least five major consequences for Ball State: 1) reduced college enrollment, particularly for Black women; 2) disruption of training in medical schools; 3) changes in on-campus student health services; 4) reductions in out-of-state enrollment in anti-abortion states; and 5) shifts in faculty location decisions away from anti- abortion states [7]. Access to high quality contraception, including abortion, is critical in attracting and retaining students, faculty, and staff at Ball State and thus to fulfill the goals of our strategic plan.

While there is currently an injunction against SB1, which suspended its implementation, it is unlikely that the legislature will not attempt to ban abortion again. We stand together, irrespective of how we personally feel about abortion, to push back on the increased healthcare costs that our community members face and that the entire Ball State community bear because of bills like SB1, and to protect the academic freedom of our students, staff, and faculty, which has currently come under attack in states such as Idaho [8].

WHEREAS a majority of Hoosiers (63%) support abortion access [9],

WHEREAS the nearest abortion provider in Indiana is more than an hour away in Indianapolis, which is a significant barrier for low-income students and those without a private vehicle.

WHEREAS gender-based inequity and injustice, including sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, results in students not having adequate knowledge about reproductive rights and services that have contributed to societal and educational inequities, and in line with its strategic mission of inclusive excellence and graduate and undergraduate education, Ball State University has a responsibility and opportunity to help build equity and justice for women and those who can gestate and give birth.

WHEREAS the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Right has reminded us [10] that Title IX prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, and other related conditions and colleges and universities cannot exclude students from educational access because they are pregnant, had a child, or had an abortion,

WHEREAS financial and logistical hurdles are the largest barriers to accessing abortion care [11],

WHEREAS, in 2023, the House passed HB 1608, banning educators and third-party vendors from teaching human sexuality in the classroom, which threatens to further limit access to knowledge about sex and sexuality for incoming college students from Indiana [12],

WHEREAS the embrace of judicial activism by the political majority in the state of Indiana means that legal efforts to safeguard the rights of academic freedom, will likely need to be renewed in the coming years [8],

WHEREAS universities as uniquely positioned to reduce perceived barriers to accessing reproductive health services by making use of media and technology, promoting health and wellness centers, and providing/adding sexual and reproductive information to incoming students and general education classes,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Council resolutely rejects any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to reproductive health and justice, including abortion, and will stand firm against encroachment on faculty authority by the state legislature.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Council calls on the administration to thoroughly assess the health risks for students, faculty, and staff at Ball State in terms of access to contraception and healthcare and to make a public statement in support of faculty, staff, and students’ access to reproductive health.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University allocate dedicated and sustainable ways to increase access to free contraception, including emergency contraception, for faculty, staff, and students.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University will provide confidential and comprehensive information about all options available to them, including information about abortion services and providers.

Sources

  1. Indiana Senate Bill 1: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022ss1/bills/senate/1
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Vital Statistics System, “Maternal deaths and mortality rates: Each state, the District of Columbia, United States, 2018‐2020
  3. Dovile Vilda, Maeve E. Wallace, Clare Daniel, Melissa Goldin Evans, Charles Stoecker, Katherine P. Theall, “State Abortion Policies and Maternal Death in the United States, 2015‒2018”, American Journal of Public Health 111, no. 9 (September 1, 2021): pp. 1696-1704. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306396
  4. Caron R Kim, Antonella Lavelanet, Bela Ganatra. Enabling access to quality abortion care: WHO’s Abortion Care guideline. The Lancet Global Health, Volume 10, Issue 4, 2022, Pages e467-e468, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00552-0.
  5. Jerman, Jenna, Rachel K. Jones, and Tsuyoshi Onda. 2014. Characteristics of U.S. abortion patients in 2014 and changes since 2008. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/characteristics-us-abortion–patients–2014, accessed January 27, 2023.
  6. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). 2022. Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence, accessed January 27, 2023.
  7. Lundberg, Shelly, and Dick Startz. 2022. The end of Roe creates new challenges in higher education. Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/08/09/the-end-of-roe-creates-new-challenges-in-higher-education/, August 9. Accessed January 27, 2023.
  8. Bauer-Wolf, Jeremy. 2022. Employees who discuss abortion could face prosecution under state law. Higher Ed Dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/university-of-idaho-warning-employees-who-discuss-abortion-could-face-pros/632701/
  9. Muñiz, Leslie Bonilla. 2022. Abortion: GPO poll shows little Hoosier support for total ban. Indiana Capital Chronicle. July 19. https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2022/07/19/abortion-gop-poll-shows-little-hoosier-support-for-total- ban/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1587f191-0e3c-4603-bcb4-ca657ad41bb6, accessed January 27, 2023.
  10. U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. 2022. Discrimination Based on Pregnancy and Related Conditions: A Resource for Students and Schools. October. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocr-pregnancy- resource.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=
  11. Nash, Elizabeth and Isabel Guarnieri. 2023. Eight Ways State Policymakers Can Protect and Expand Abortion Rights and Access in 2023. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/2023/01/eight-ways-state-policymakers-can-protect-and-expand-abortion- rights-and-access-2023, accessed January 27, 2023.
  12. Indiana House Bill 1608: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1608#digest-heading 

Further Reading

American Psychological Association’s Abortion Resolutions

Purdue University and Senate Document 22-08, passed on October 17, 2022.