Vanderbilt launches abortion-focused Task Force
The Task Force will study 'the impact of a statewide abortion ban…on clinical care, [and] student and employee health and educational instruction.'
The Task Force is coordinating with the school’s leadership at the Law School, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and the Medical Center.
Responding to the Supreme Court’s anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade in early June, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee established a Task Force to study “the impact of a statewide abortion ban…on clinical care, [and] student and employee health and educational instruction.”
The Task Force is coordinating with the school’s leadership at the Law School, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and the Medical Center.
Velma McBride Murry, Chair of the Task Force, told Campus Reform that “the overturning of Roe v. Wade has a profound impact for so many of us and are working to make informed decisions to address impacts on and solutions for student and employee health, clinical care, and educational instruction.”
She went on to say that the Task Force is recommending “concrete ways the university can support the health, safety, and well-being of all members of the Vanderbilt community.”
In an official statement on the Task Force, released the day the Supreme Court officially overturned Roe, Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier wrote, “At Vanderbilt we remain steadfast in our commitment to support women’s health and the safety and well-being of our community and to create a supportive and inclusive environment for all members of our community.”
The Chancellor concludes by recommending Vanderbilt students use campus resources to cope with the decision, including the University Counseling Center, Center for Wellbeing, Margaret Cunningham Women’s Center, and the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life.
[RELATED: ‘WATCH: Pro-abortion and pro-life protestors gather outside the Supreme Court’]
In the aftermath of Roe’s fall, Vanderbilt students voiced their concerns to the student newspaper Vanderbilt Hustler.
Shane Mumma, president of Vanderbilt’s College Republicans, supported the Court’s decision.
“We’re incredibly elated with the Supreme Court’s decision to send the issue of abortion back to the states, as this issue had been for nearly two centuries prior to Roe v. Wade,” Mumma told Vanderbilt Hustler.
He went on to say that “[w]e look forward to supporting our Pro-Life, Republican politicians this November in what is likely to be a massive Red Wave in the midterm elections. We’re also excited for states across the country to enact laws protecting life, such as Vanderbilt’s own great state of Tennessee.”
Campus Reform reached out to Vanderbilt University and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. This article will be updated accordingly.
