Editorial: How GHC can help those affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade decision
A Bartow Family Resources Medical bus outside the BFR Medical building in Cartersville. BFR Medical offers early pregnancy care, including testing and education on options to those who are pregnant.
October 10, 2022
The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 after almost 50 years of groundbreaking legal protection felt like a slap in the face to those affected. This has given individual states the right to ban or restrict abortions, making it difficult for people to gain access to healthcare resources.
Georgia Highlands should have resources in place for students directly impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
GHC can do so by plastering signs of abortion access in bathrooms and by sending mass emails to those students who are not frequently on campus. It is important that these posters and signs are not biased and do not appear to be conveying a political message. The information has to be concise for this reason.
Counseling and psychiatry evaluations are available for free for GHC students at the Student Support Center. Any students that need help processing any emotions or working through a hard time caused by the Supreme Court ruling can seek information and support there. While these services are available, there needs to be more direct and open access to resources for students seeking an abortion.
For students that are not seeking an abortion, there needs to be better resources implemented so students don’t feel as though they have to choose between school or child-rearing. Students should feel supported to do both.
One way students can be supported from an educational standpoint is for early childhood classes to be offered. Unless a student is majoring in nursing, this class is not included in the curriculum and it would be very beneficial to expectant and new parents.
A long-run goal that GHC would greatly benefit from is having daycare centers set up across the larger campuses. Childcare is expensive and parents would not have to be concerned with finding childcare while attending classes. Students could also intern and gain experience by working in these daycares.
It is understood that funding would be needed for them to be established, but for the cause, it would not be impossible to accomplish.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, students need to know that they can get support from their educational institutions. Students want to feel like school is a safe haven for them away from this wounded country.
