Liberal Colleges Provide Students with Mental Health Counseling To Cope With Roe V. Wade Overturn

Many colleges and universities offer mental health counseling to students who are having trouble coping with the fact that abortion has been abolished as a constitutional right.

In a historic 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative majority overturned 1973 Roe V. Wade, effectively handing back the issue of abortion access to the individual states. Schools were able to offer support and comfort for students who had been devastated by the decision.

“We know that today’s news may trigger difficult feelings,” John Carmichael, president of Evergreen State College in Washington, said in a campus-wide message on June 24. The message listed a number of campus services including a police department, mental health services and urgent care clinics.

University of Wisconsin Madison interim Chancellor John Karl Scholz sent an identical message, encouraging faculty and students to “seek out support and community in the ways that feel right for you.” During “a time of uncertainty” as “the new legal status in Wisconsin regarding abortion access is interpreted .”

Wisconsin has pre-Roe abortion bans that are technically still part of state law. It is being debated in the state Legislature whether the end of Roe means the return of an abortion ban dating back to the 1840s. Gov. Tony Evers (a Democrat) is up for reelection and has pledged to repeal that pre-Civil War law.

In California where Roe will not be overturned, students are encouraged to seek out mental health counseling to help them deal with their stress levels and validate their emotions.

” “We are deeply disturbed by the long-term ramifications of reproductive rights after the U.S. Supreme Court opinion,” UC San Diego wrote via a thread on Twitter. Counseling and Psychological Services is a resource for students who need immediate support and mental health.

“For some, today marks a day that struck them with heavy news and a look into serious potential future struggles,” UC Irvine wrote on Twitter following the Roe overturn. A picture was included with the message, which listed actions students could take to feel better. This image includes a list of donations to abortion clinics and funds.

” Allow yourself to feel and express your emotions. Another image says: You can create safe places to express your emotions and stress with other people .”

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On June 27, California’s Democrat-dominated state Legislature passed a bill that allows voters to decide in November’s general election whether the right to abortion and contraception should be added to the state constitution. Similar questions were also put to the ballot in Kentucky, Montana and Vermont.

Conservative and moderate institutions react differently. Washington’s Catholic University of America celebrated the decision for rejecting the “unholy notion that there is a Constitution right to kill unborn babies” and returning the question back to the voters and their elected representatives.

” Our national abortion debates aren’t over,” John Garvey, president of Catholic University said in a statement. They have moved to another forum. We will now all be able to have our say on how we care for children and mothers. This is both a huge honor and a tremendous challenge

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