The undersigned editorial board and staff of The Monitor believes abortion, and all reproductive health care, is a fundamental human right. Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is part of a decades long assault on bodily autonomy and a broader anti-democratic and fascistic movement sweeping the United States. Despite what the anti-bodily autonomy right and some of the left may say, there is nothing to be ashamed about when having an abortion. Abortions should be as frequent as there is desire to have them. You are worthy of care.
Now is the time to fight back, share resources, and support those doing the work. Please be mindful that some states have and will attempt to criminalize the act of seeking out abortions and aiding others in doing so, and that your data may be tracked. To learn how to protect your digital identity, take steps in this notice from the NY State Attorney General and search for other ways to protect your identity.
This guide was compiled by The Monitor’s editorial team and staff with assistance from Arielle Swernoff, author of “How to Give Yourself an Abortion with pills.”
Donate
Abortions and other reproductive health care can cost thousands of dollars, not to mention the expenses of travel, lodging, and food for those who must travel long distances to access care. Abortion funds help to cover these expenses for those seeking care. Several of the organizations listed here serve different roles, as described below their title.
Your donation will be split between dozens of different local funds to support care across the country. If you would like to donate to a specific area of the country, see NNAF’s list of abortion funds by state.
IWR is an organization run by and for Indigenous people to honor their “inherent right to equitable and culturally safe health options through accessible health education, resources, and advocacy.” The first link is for all of IWR’s activities, and the second is for their abortion fund specifically dedicated to Indigenous and undocumented people.
Did you know a majority of US abortions are performed at independent, small clinics? Keep Our Clinics, a project of the Abortion Care Network, provides desperately-needed funding to these small clinics. If you want to support abortion providers directly please consider donating to Keep Our Clinics instead of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has an annual budget over a billion dollars and provides a minority of abortions in the US, yet receives the bulk of donations. While they do good work, local independent clinics have much greater need for funding.
A project of If/When/How, a legal group fighting for reproductive justice, the Reproductive Legal Defense Fund “covers bail and funds strong defenses for people who are investigated, arrested, or prosecuted for self-managed abortion.” Legal defense for those seeking reproductive health care will become increasingly important as some states attempt to persecute them.
Self-Managed Abortion
With clinics closing across states that have made abortion illegal, it is important to know how you can give yourself an abortion and where you can go to get the tools to do so.
By Arielle Swernoff, Illustrations by Mattie Lubchansky
This article provides an affirming step-by-step guide on how to give yourself a safe abortion without needing to go to a clinic.
AidAccess can help you find abortion pills, has helpful guides on performing self-managed abortion, and provides useful updates on the state of abortion access in the US.
PlanC can help you find abortion pills online. They do not sell pills themselves, but direct you to resources where you can make purchases.
At Hamilton
While Hamilton College is in NY, a state that at present faces little risk of losing the right to abortion, that does not mean we are immune from the need for resources.
There are five locations 50 miles or less from Hamilton where pregnant people may seek abortions. The closest is in Utica. This website, Abortion Finder, can also help you identify locations near you.
Hamilton College Policy and Resources
President David Wippman released a statement today, 6/24, addressing the SCOTUS decision. He stated that, “At Hamilton, we will continue to offer STI testing, birth control and feminine care products, and pregnancy option counseling. We will also continue to provide free transportation to reproductive healthcare facilities in our area, including Planned Parenthood, to meet student needs that are beyond the scope of our Health Center practice. In addition, the Health Center is exploring the possibility of making Plan B available and should have a policy in place this fall.”
The addition of Plan B is partially in response to a Student Assembly resolution passed at the end of the spring semester calling for a variety of measures to support student reproductive health. While incredibly important, as the resolution notes, Plan B does not work for everyone because it has a weight limit of 155 pounds.
Students, and The Monitor as a campus newspaper, may wish to ask Hamilton College:
Will other abortion pills accessible to all people be made available as well?
Will Hamilton allow students, faculty, staff, and the general public to stay at Hamilton during breaks to receive abortion care if they reside in a state where it is illegal?
Will Hamilton provide financial assistance as necessary for students, and to employees in their contracts, seeking abortions?
Will Hamilton take action to explicitly confront bad-faith, hateful actors hellbent on restricting our access to health care, and protect us from potential internal and external targeting for seeking such services?
Our campus deserves answers. Our campus deserves safety and security. Our campus—our country—deserves bodily autonomy.
Yours in solidarity,
Madison Lazenby ‘23, Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Eric Santomauro-Stenzel ‘24, Managing Editor & Public Relations Chair (he/him)
Hannah Jablons ‘24, Staff Writer (they/them))
Corey Bravo Sloan ‘25, Staff Writer (he/they)
Arianna Robertson ‘23, Staff Contributor (they/them)
Gabriel Bit-Babik ‘25, Staff Photographer (he/him)
Shraddha Datta ‘25, Staff Writer (she/her)
Daren Hua ‘25, Web Developer (he/him)
Matthew Buneta ‘25, Staff Writer (they/them)