Student Health Services emphasized its commitment to providing gender-affirming care, sexual and reproductive health services and mental health services in response to recent executive orders by President Donald Trump.
Trump signed an executive order Jan. 20, which bans promoting “gender ideology,” defines “female” and “male” as a person belonging to their sex at conception and redefines sex as strictly binary.
On Jan. 25, Trump also signed an executive order banning foreign aid workers from offering information about abortion and strengthening an existing domestic policy that bans federal funding for abortion.
“We recognize that the recent signing of Executive Orders are deeply distressing for many BU students,” SHS wrote in an Instagram post Jan. 23. “We reiterate our continued commitment to providing high-quality health services that are inclusive and culturally sensitive to the identities, needs, and experiences of all BU students, including transgender and non-binary students.”
Behavioral Health Referral Coordinator and Co-chair for SHS’s Gender Affirming Healthcare Committee Jill Nuding wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that SHS will continue to provide students the care and support they need.
“For many queer, trans and nonbinary students (and communities in general), these past few weeks have been traumatic,” Nuding wrote. “Our role in the GAH Committee now more than ever is to make sure our staff are able to provide trauma-informed care, create more safe, empowered spaces for students, and make sure we are addressing students’ immediate needs as well as their ongoing healthcare.”
Nuding wrote that all SHS departments, including the GAH committee, will work with student healthcare providers and other departments on campus to ensure students have the resources needed to support students.
Oluwatofe Akinyanmi, a member of BU’s Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism, said they are feeling “helpless” seeing Trump’s recent executive orders, especially considering BU is “largely funded by federal funding.”
“I want the school to continue providing gender-affirming care and health services, but I also know that if the school is at risk of losing its funding because of doing that, I really doubt that the choice they’re going to make is to continue providing those services,” Akinyanmi said. “I’m glad they made that statement, and I hope they stay true to it, but I’m wary that we might not have these [health care services].”
Freshman Afia Asamoah, a senior co-editing intern at Her Campus BU, said she hopes BU will continue to provide reproductive healthcare services despite Trump’s executive orders.
“Even though our president is not dedicated to safeguarding reproductive rights for people all across this country, I think it’s extremely important the [BU] administration comes together to work out solutions to provide these essential health care services to members of our community,” Asamoah said.
While the impacts of the Trump administration’s policies on BU are unclear, Nuding reiterated SHS’s commitment to inclusive healthcare.
“Although there are many unknowns of what specific impact the Trump administration’s policies will have on BU, SHS stands firm on its commitment to providing healthcare that is inclusive to the identities, needs, and experiences of all BU students, including transgender and non-binary students,” Nuding wrote. “SHS believes gender-affirming care is needed, lifesaving care.”
