Student Assembly votes to subsidize Plan B

The College of William and Mary’s (W&M) Student Assembly recently voted to subsidize the cost of Plan B.

The Subsidizing Sexual Health Resources Act will provide 75 free pregnancy tests and subsidize 200 doses of Plan B. It will lower the cost of each dose from $20 to $5.

Class President Mia Tilman sponsored the bill, which will allocate a total of up to $3,375 from the Student Assembly reserves. 

Tilman, who has worked for Democrat Senator Mark Warner, is “passionate about how policymaking and activism can impact economic inequality in the United States as a means to seeking racial justice and equity,” according to the school’s Washington Center website.

W&M is located in Williamsburg, Virginia.

[Related: Campus Profile: College of William & Mary]

The decision drew criticism from the college’s pro-life group, Tribe for Life. Skylar Culbertson, club president, attended the meeting and objected to the act’s passing. 

“Every human is deserving of a right to life, and as a college, we should not be providing Plan B to students…which can potentially take a human life,” Culbertson said, according to student newspaper The Flat Hat.

She also commented on a Student Assembly Instagram post that Plan B prevents “attachment of a fertilized egg to the uterus,” which she claims qualifies the pill as an abortifacient.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that Plan B can function in this way if fertilization has already occurred. 

“If fertilization does occur, Plan B may prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb (implantation),” its website reads. “If a fertilized egg is implanted prior to taking Plan B, Plan B will not work.”

[UPDATE: Student who threw urine on pro-life chapter arrested]

The Student Assembly also detailed several of its other initiatives on the school’s website, including “The Plan to Tackle Systemic Racial Injustice at W&M.” 

Some of the components of this program  include a “Reparations Committee” and a “Student’s Rights Initiative.” The latter educates students to have “an expanded cultural, racial, LGBTQ+, and neurodiverse consciousness of rights issues.”

The College of William and Mary, its Student Assembly, Mia Tilman, and Skylar Culbertson have all been contacted for comment. This article will be contacted accordingly.

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