ERIC Number: ED672813
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 53
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Higher Education: College Student Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care. Report to the Ranking Member Committee on Education and Workforce House of Representatives. GAO-25-107151
John E. Dicken; Melissa Emrey-Arras
US Government Accountability Office
About 19 million students were enrolled in nearly 3,900 degree-granting colleges across the U.S. during the fall 2022 semester. Many colleges have student health centers that provide health care to the students on their campuses. Among other things, student health centers may offer sexual and reproductive health care, which includes things such as sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and prevention; contraception; emergency contraception; pregnancy testing; abortion; and menstrual products. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded in "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization" that the U.S. Constitution does not confer the right to abortion. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review college students' access to sexual and reproductive health care. This report describes: (1) the availability of on-campus sexual and reproductive health care at selected colleges; (2) challenges students faced in seeking sexual and reproductive health care at selected colleges and efforts those colleges took to address them; and (3) how the availability of sexual and reproductive health care at selected colleges changed since the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. GAO interviewed officials from a nongeneralizable sample of 15 colleges, selected on the basis of program length, location, religious affiliation, size, and other factors. GAO also interviewed three professional organizations and four colleges' health educators. GAO also analyzed data from the American College Health Association's Sexual Health Services Survey for calendar year 2022, the most recent available.
Descriptors: Higher Education, Public Agencies, Sexuality, Pregnancy, School Health Services, Access to Health Care, Campuses, Court Litigation, Federal Legislation, Barriers, Contraception, Prevention, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Screening Tests, Physiology, College Students, Health Services, Administrator Attitudes, Institutional Characteristics, School Location, School Size, Religious Factors, Professional Associations, Health Education, Teacher Attitudes, School Surveys, School Policy
US Government Accountability Office. 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20548. Tel: 202-512-6000; Web site: http://www.gao.gov
Publication Type: Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: US Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A