A law student at Duke University is speaking out after school administrators sent a campus-wide e-mail to all students criticizing North Carolina’s Senate Bill 20, which would protect preborn children from abortion after 12 weeks gestation.
Senate Bill 20, which was enacted after state legislators overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, takes effect on July 1. Yet Duke sent a statement to all students criticizing the bill, which student Paige Brasington called inappropriate in an article written for the Duke Chronicle.
“The May 17 email to students from Duke Student Affairs stated that Duke was concerned about the law banning elective abortion in North Carolina after 12 weeks,” she said. “Second-trimester abortion, euphemistically called ‘reproductive health services’ in the email, is said to be ‘evidence-based, essential healthcare.’ The email leaves out that the law allows abortion without any gestational limitation to save the life of the mother. It also leaves out that the 12-week limit does not apply in cases of fetal anomaly or rape.”
Duke previously released a statement affirming their support of abortion, and said they would continue committing abortions as much as is legally possible. “Reproductive health services are evidence-based, essential healthcare. Health disparity research also shows that more restrictive laws have a disproportionate impact on low-income pregnant people and on communities of color,” the statement said, adding, “The University will continue to offer extensive education, support, and resources related to reproductive healthcare.”
Duke Health, meanwhile, said it “will continue to provide high-quality care for all patients and the support needed for patients to make health care decisions with their physicians. The University will ensure that education, support, and resources related to such care continue.” It likewise released a statement in support of abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision last year.
Brasington argued that Duke’s overt support for abortion is polarizing and serves to send a message to pro-life students that they are not welcome.
“It is perfectly fine for members of the Duke community and administration to hold their own views on abortion, including supporting abortion on demand up until birth,” she said. “However, by sending this email voicing opposition to North Carolina’s new law, Duke signals that many viewpoints are not welcome here. It also signals that the substantial minority (39%) of Americans who identify as pro-life do not have a place on this campus. Universities are supposed to foster communities that share and debate ideas. By taking an extreme position on this issue, Duke shuts down discussion and tells students and faculty who may disagree with the University that they are not welcome and that they must silence themselves if they wish to stay. This does not foster a healthy or safe learning environment.”
