A new bill might allow students at California's public universities and colleges to receive medical abortion pills at student health centers, NBC4's media partner KPCC reports.
The bill — currently in the California legislature — would require all public universities and community colleges in the state to provide the pregnancy-ending pills.
A medical abortion ends pregnancy in the early stages and requires taking two pills: mifepristone and misoprostol. The first pill stops the pregnancy from developing and the second causes bleeding that empties the uterus. Both drugs are included on the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines.
The bill introduced by Sen. Connie Leyva (D- Chino) would require the 10 University of California campuses, 23 Cal State University schools and around 70 community colleges that have student health centers to provide the pills. Leyva said increasing accessibility to the medication is an important step.
"If you have to travel off campus in order to receive this medication it’s going to be too costly, sometimes it’s too far to go, and it’s already a stressful situation," she told KPCC.
