ECP redistribution needs reconsideration

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

As an alumna of JMU, I am very disappointed to hear that the Board of Visitors has decided to allow the sale of the emergency contraceptive pill in the University Health Center. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the board made the decision because the board said it was not its place to make decisions concerning student health care.

However, when the university is providing student health care, the board certainly should be involved in the decisions.

Whether you call it an ECP or an abortion pill, the purpose of the medication is to prevent implantation of an embryo. If it does not prevent implantation of an embryo, then you are pregnant. By dispensing a medication that kills an embryo, JMU is saying that an embryo is not a human being.

The only way to avoid taking a stand on abortion issues is to avoid dispensing the ECP. By dispensing the ECP, JMU clearly is taking a stand in favor of abortion.

The Health Center is not obligated to provide for every conceivable condition a student may need. I was referred off campus to other specialists while I was a student.

Instead of simply dispensing medication, a student in a crisis pregnancy situation should be offered counseling and perhaps assistance with finding an obstetrician/gynecologist or other doctor in Harrisonburg. Given the Health Center's proximity to Rockingham Memorial Hospital, this would not be an inconvenience for many students.

I am proud to have graduated from such a fine university as JMU. However, this decision tarnishes my opinion of its leadership and will affect my decisions about future giving and support of the university.

Cynthia Hancher Diehl
JMU alumna ('96)