HRL Clarifies UHS Abortion PolicyTo the editors:
In a recent staff editorial (April 13), The Crimson urged University Health Services (UHS) to "terminate its abortion refund option immediately." Citing the objections of various religious denominations, The Crimson claimed that the UHS abortion policy is irresponsible. Unfortunately, this editorial has provoked a wave of misinformation that must be addressed.
UHS offers refunds of a portion of the cost of elective abortions. These rebates do not include money from abortions that UHS deems medically necessary. In fact abortion is the only elective surgical procedure that the UHS fee covers. In this way, elective abortions are qualitatively different from anything like blood transfusions, which occur only in cases of medical necessity.
UHS arrived at this policy through careful consideration of all the students it serves, not by caving "into the demands of one particular subset of moral beliefs." In the process, the University has cultivated a policy on abortion and elective surgery that is both just and consistent.
Robert J. Ortiz '00
April 18, 2000
The writer is the vice-president of Harvard Right to Life.
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