When Kelci Hodgkinson heard that the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a territorial-era law outlawing nearly all abortions, the first thing she felt was "absolute rage."
Hodgkinson, a senior at the University of Arizona, is president of the Women in Medicine and Science club on campus. The club is for women interested in entering the medical field.
Facing a new ban on abortions except to save the life of the mother, however, some women in the club who were once interested in becoming OBGYNs are now having second thoughts, she said. Under the ban, doctors who provide abortion services face up to five years in prison.
"There are a lot of girls who are interested in being midwives and OBGYNs who feel nervous," Hodgkinson said the day after the state's abortion ruling this week. "We want to support the patient and it's hard when that's called into question, and you could be legally prosecuted."
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Hodgkinson is not alone in her rage. Hannah Lichtenwalter, a sophomore at the UA and an intern at the Feminists Organized to Resist, Create and Empower (FORCE) program through the university's women and gender resource center, said she was "very angry" about the court's decision.
Though, Lichtenwalter added, she wasn't surprised."
"Abortion already is hard to access in Tucson," she said. "More than half of Americans don't have $1,000 saved to cover medical emergencies and abortion in Tucson is around $800."
In her internship, Lichtenwalter works with the women and gender resource center's feminist pharmacy, which offers birth control and free Plan B, a morning after pill.
"We've started to consider how we can further support reproductive autonomy after the ruling," she said. "We're going to continue to provide from the feminist pharmacy and support mutual aid networks that provide important services."
The feminist pharmacy, in the women and gender resource center in the Student Union Memorial Center, provides free resources and medication and guarantees anonymity for student customers, Lichtenwalter said.
Despite the impending abortion restrictions, the pharmacy will continue to supply Plan B pills.
Grace Harrington, a junior at the UA who is co-director of FORCE, said she immediately felt "fear and anxiety" that the feminist pharmacy would be forced to shut down amid the ban. But they plan to continue operating for the campus population, she said.
"We will still be giving out contraceptives as long as we can," she said. "We're making sure people stay informed and have a place to go to if they have any questions or need to feel safe and comfortable."
The services provided by the feminist pharmacy, Harrington said, are essential to the university.
"It's beyond crucial that on a university campus, in order to succeed academically, students have their basic needs provided," she said. Those basic needs include birth control and feminine hygiene products, she said.
"Things are looking very grim and dark," Harrington said, pausing. "But I'm trying to stay optimistic since our generation seems to be more proactive in voting and raising our voices on social justice issues."