While officials at Dartmouth and many other colleges have made the decision not to carry RU-486 on campus for medical reasons, this decision has been taken out of the hands of health care providers at the University of Pennsylvania.
Physicians at Penn Student Health Services were recently informed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health that the state's Abortion Control Act prohibits distribution of RU-486 at any site not already registered to provide surgical abortions.
The enforcement of this law does not, however, appear to have created an uproar at Penn Student Health Services.
"I am less enthusiastic about [RU-486] for a Penn population ... because we have excellent access to competent surgical-abortion providers. We don't have the facilities to provide for the complications," Janice Asher, medical director of Women's Health Services, told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Although Penn's forced deference to state law is unusual, the FDA's stringent requirements for the dispensing of the drug have helped convince many schools to exlude the option in their health programs.
The approval of RU-486 for a US market in late September sparked a flurry of debates -- both moral and health-related in nature -- at college campuses across the country.
In the months since the FDA's approval, Yale University has been the only college to publicly state that it will provide the drug.
A major reason why no other colleges have yet followed Yale's lead is that most college health centers provide only primary care facilities.
Dartmouth's Director of Health Services Jack Turco explained that while a primary care facility such as Dick's House can provide initial evaluations and treatment for common illnesses, these health centers, "wouldn't do much more on-site than clip an ingrown toenail."
Since one out of every 100 women who receive RU-486 experience bleeding on such a level that the abortion must be surgically completed, the FDA requires that facilities dispensing the drug either be prepared to perform such procedures or provide quick access to a center which does.
That prerequisite prevents many rural college from applying for permission to carry the drug. This is the case at Cornell University, whose medical school is located hours away in New York City. Cornell currently responds to students requesting RU-486 by referring them to other facilities and conducting follow-ups.
Dartmouth's close proximity to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center means that Dartmouth could potentially obtain clearance from the FDA to carry the drug. However, according to FDA requirements, to do this Dick's House would also have to be able to diagnose tubular pregnancies and date the time since conception because RU-486 cannot be administered after the seventh week.
Turco stated that officials at Dick's House have decided against applying for such approval, as they are not comfortable with their ability to speedily treat complications.
Students who come to Dick's House requesting RU-486 -- or a surgical abortion -- are referred to DHMC, where the drug can be dispensed.
Program Manager for Women's Health Dr. Jan Sundnas previously told The Dartmouth that an estimated 20 to 25 students seek surgical abortions each year.
Other health centers around the Ivy League have cited similar reasoning against offering RU-486.
"If we did it, we'd want to be able to do it right," Edward Wheeler, Co-Director of Health Services at Brown University, said.
Wheeler added that he would feel more comfortable considering RU-486 if Brown's equipment included an ultrasound, "since this is really a medical miscarriage."
"We're perfectly willing to send people out and inform them of what's available," Wheeler stated.
Colleges that do decide to go ahead and offer RU-486 face fierce controversy. The announcement at Yale prompted an outcry from the school's Pro-Life League and a plethora of letters in the student paper.
