When I decided to attend Boston College, a private Jesuit university, I didn't think to ask whether they provided comprehensive health care for women. But as I soon learned, Boston College's reproductive health services fell far short of those typically offered on secular or some other religiously affiliated college campuses across the country.
While some may see the university's decision as a valid extension of its religious affiliation, it is worth understanding the consequences. Not providing condoms, pregnancy testing, and information about sexually transmitted infections doesn't stop students from having sex. It does, however, prevent them from making informed decisions about their health and lives.
Boston College adheres to an official university policy that is common at Catholic colleges, forbidding the distribution of "materials for the purpose of preventing conception," such as condoms, the morning-after-pill, and other modern birth control methods, as well as counseling that would "encourage abortion." Some Catholic schools do offer testing for pregnancy and various sexually transmitted infections. But the only preventive measure these schools suggest to students is abstinence-until-marriage, a method proven ineffective in numerous independent studies.
The university's decision extends beyond the actual provision of health services. Boston College has a policy for speakers for university-sponsored events that states, "Freedom of inquiry is not absolute and must be balanced by the University's obligation to adhere to the principles and values" inherent in its identity as a Jesuit institution. This policy does not absolutely ban the discussion of reproductive rights but it imposes significant controls on the debate.
For example, Boston College denied official recognition to any student group with an explicit pro-choice stance. While I was on campus, the Women's Health Initiative (a student group with a pro-choice stance) was unable to host or publicize any events and had to go "underground" for its annual condom distribution on Valentine's Day.
Moreover any general student group that gets university funding is required to discuss both sides of the abortion debate if it is carrying out any activity linked to reproductive rights. However, anti-choice groups such as the Pro-life club, which receives full funding from the university, are allowed to have demonstrations on campus, publicize events, and host events without the other side of the debate being aired.
The official policy also seemed to have tentacles that prevented students from accessing information and contraceptives off-campus. For example, at our local, off-campus, convenience store, where items can be purchased with student "Eaglebucks" accounts using student IDs in place of credit cards, the only items that we were not able to purchase with "Eaglebucks" were condoms. And when resident advisers provided condoms, privately, for their residents, they were reprimanded and the condoms were confiscated.
By denying access to contraceptive resources and restricting open discussion of reproductive health, Catholic schools are putting the sexual health of a significant population of sexually active young adults in serious danger. Students have sex, even on Catholic campuses. Many are in monogamous relationships and some engage in casual sexual encounters. Without access to contraception or information about safe sexual practices, students are at serious risk of unintended pregnancies or transmission of sexually transmitted infections.
Even more disturbing is the impact these restrictive policies can have on victims of sexual violence. Statistics from the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) indicate that college-age women are four times as likely to be sexually assaulted as women of other age groups. I knew several women when I was in college who had been raped on campus by their peers.
But the campus health centers would not provide services such as the morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy after rape. Adherence to the principles of the Catholic doctrine by which Jesuit colleges were founded should not go so far as to jeopardize the legally protected rights and general health of its students.
True, students at Catholic colleges can go elsewhere for health services. But students depend on campus health services and many cannot afford to buy extra insurance. And traveling to off-campus health care services may be difficult in emergencies such as sexual assault.
I made a choice to attend Boston College because I was impressed with Jesuit values of a call for service and a dedication to the discovery and transmission of knowledge. These ideals were painfully absent in an area where many college students need serious support: developing their sexuality in an informed and responsible manner. As federal regulations on sexual and reproductive health are changing for the better under the Obama administration, I hope my Alma Mater will follow suit.