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Written: 7/16/2022

A Breakdown of the Resolution Recognizing and Supporting Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources and Opportunities

A new legislation has been passed by the Student Senate regarding reproductive health care resources at UF. Here’s a line by line breakdown of the bill with everything you need to know and links to resources you can use.

The bill starts off with several whereas clauses, here's a deep dive into the first 5.

Clause 1: WHEREAS, on Friday, June 24th, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs

v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization [1]; and,

The breakdown: The overturning of Roe v. Wade means that abortion rights are no longer protected at the federal level and that it is up to individual states to decide whether or not abortion is legal in their boundaries.

Clause 2: WHEREAS, on May 11th, 2022, the Women's Health Protection Act failed in the U.S. Senate,

demonstrating a failure to codify Roe v. Wade [2]; and,

The breakdown: Prior to Roe V. Wade being overturned, the Women’s Health Protection Act which would give a person the choice to choose if they wanted an abortion failed.

Clauses 3 and 4: WHEREAS, on April 14th, 2022, Florida Legislature passed HB 5, the Reducing Fetal and

Infant Mortality Act, which bans all abortions after 15 weeks of gestation [3]; and,

WHEREAS, Judge John C. Cooper of Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit has publicly claimed

intentions to issue a temporary statewide injunction, as he cites Section 23 of the Florida State

Constitution: “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental

intrusion into the person's private life except as otherwise provided herein.” [4]; and,

The breakdown: Earlier on in 2022, Judge John C Cooper had announced intentions to issue a temporary rule that would allow people to have the choice to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Despite this HB5 was passed soon after, which bans all abortions after the 15 week mark of a pregnancy.

Clause 5: WHEREAS, the future is uncertain for rights to sexual and reproductive health and resources in

Florida; and,

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The next 7 clauses go into the statistics of why it is so important for this bill to be passed.

Clause 6: / WHEREAS, in the 1950s and 1960s, estimates of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2

million and most legal abortions required the approval of a standing hospital committee, taking

up unnecessary time [5]; and,

The breakdown: In the 1950s and 1960s, before the Supreme Court had issued a decision in favor of Roe, which allowed a person to choose whether they wanted an abortion. The number of illegal abortions was very large and the approval for a legal abortion took far too much time. Now that Roe V. Wade has been overturned, unfortunately, the same issues may arise once again.

Clauses 7,8,9 and 10:

WHEREAS, each year, about 7.9% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortions, and the most affected are women and girls either living in poverty or belonging to marginalized

groups, or both [6]; and,

WHEREAS, research shows that 75% of women that seek abortions come from low-income

backgrounds, and 59% of women that seek abortions are already mothers [7]; and,

WHEREAS, transgender and gender non-binary individuals are often left out of the abortion

conversation, with 462 to 530 trans or nonbinary patients obtaining abortions in 2017 alone [8];

and,

WHEREAS, in 2019, women in their 20s accounted for more than 50% of abortions [9]; and,

The breakdown: The above facts give important information related to the issues resulting from the lack of access to safe and affordable abortions.

Clauses 11 and 12: / WHEREAS, as displayed in a Duke Scientific Study based in Zambia, “The Psycho-Social Benefits of Access to Contraception: Experimental Evidence from Zambia”, when given access

to contraception, women and girls are given more control over their sexual and reproductive

health which may reduce anxiety and stress levels and overall less risk for development of

generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or depression [10]; and,

WHEREAS, as demonstrated in previous mentioned study, access to guaranteed and free

contraception leads to “immediate effects on a woman’s psycho-social health” and a “0.070 point

increase on the mental health index (95% CI [0.006, 0.133] p=0.031)”, which is statistically

significant [10]; and, /

The breakdown: Based on studies conducted by Duke in Zambia, women and girls may feel less stressed and have lower levels of anxiety when having access to contraception. The availability of free and guaranteed contraception leads to a significant increase in the psycho-social health of pregnancy-capable individuals. These statements magnify the positive effects to a person’s mental health and well being when always having access to contraception.

Clause 13: / WHEREAS, historically, the fight for accessible contraceptives on campus has been alive and

present at the University of Florida, for example, the National Women’s Liberation pushed for a

24-hour contraceptive vending machine on campus in 2018 [11]; then, /

The breakdown: This clause states that students at UF have always strived to make contraceptives available on campus.

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Now let's move on to the resolutions.

THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the University of Florida Student Senate

recognizes that although the estimated cost of emergency contraception, or plan b, in the state of

Florida is between $10 and $70 [12], the University of Florida provides emergency

contraception (plan b) for a reduced cost; and,

The breakdown: The University of Florida will provide Plan B at a reduced cost. You can get Plan B at the Student Health Care Clinic, where there is a Women’s Health Care Clinic.

RESOURCES:

Location and other information about the Women's Health Clinic

***Note: We recognize that the issue of reproductive health care access is not exclusive to cisgender women, and that the resources provided by services such as the Women’s Health Clinic is and should be accessible to as well as use more inclusive language for all people with the capacity for pregnancy, regardless of gender identity.

Emergency contraception that UF provides and the locations you can get emergency contraception.

THEREFORE, LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the University of Florida Student

Senate recognizes that the University of Florida offers, through GatorWell, the following sexual

and reproductive health-related resources and services to enrolled students: free condoms, free

lubricants, free dental dams, free confidential HIV testing, one-on-one education-based

consultations regarding general sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, and contraceptive

options counseling [13]; and,

The breakdown: GatorWell at UF will provide free condoms,lubricants, dental dams and confidential HIV testing. They will also be providing one-on-one education-based consultations regarding sexual health topics.

RESOURCES:

Find the GatorWell location that works best for you

Information on GatorWell and the sexual health services it provides.

THEREFORE, LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the University of Florida Student

Senate recognizes that the University of Florida offers, through the Student Health Care Center,

the following sexual and reproductive health resources and opportunities without appointments:

free condoms, free menstrual products, sexual health brochures [14]; and,

The breakdown: The Student Health Care Center at UF will provide free condoms, menstrual products and sexual health brochures without an appointment.

RESOURCES:

Location and other information about the Women's Health Clinic

Information on birth control and family planning services provided by UFHealth

Your birth control choices

THEREFORE, LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the University of Florida Student

Senate recognizes that the University of Florida provides, through the Student Health Care

Center, the following sexual health services available via teams and appointments: counseling

on anything related to sex, including sexuality, information on all birth control options, sexually

transmitted infection prevention, testing, and treatment, medically vetted literature on sexual

health, potential problems, and more [14]; and,

The breakdown: The Student Health Care Center at UF will provide the various health care services listed above both via teams and appointments.

RESOURCES:

Location and other information about the Women's Health Clinic

THEREFORE, LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the University of Florida Student

Senate supports a person’s right to sexual and reproductive health; and,

THEREFORE, LET IT FINALLY BE RESOLVED that the University of Florida Student

Senate advocates for the continuation of resources and information regarding sexual and reproductive health.

The breakdown: The final two resolutions of the bill ensure that the University of Florida will support a persons right to sexual and reproductive health and will continue to advocate for resources and information related to sexual and reproductive health.

You can find the legislative bill along with the sexual and reproductive health resources mentioned in this article linked below.

***Note: We recognize that the issue of reproductive health care access is not exclusive to cisgender women, and that the resources provided by the Women’s Health Clinic is and should be accessible to as well as use more inclusive language for all people with the capacity for pregnancy, regardless of gender identity.