Two hundred thirty abortions for women in Portage County were published by the Ohio Department of Health in September 2017.

Of the 230, 158 were women 18-29 years old and eight were adolescents 17 years old and younger. Ninety of those were women who resided in the city of Kent.

Over two million college-aged women become pregnant each year. Every four out of 10 unintended pregnancies are terminated through abortion.

Deaths of eight women were reported in a 1980 issue of the Kent Stater, from suffering complications after Medicaid abortion funds were cut off. This led them to getting abortions illegally or unsafely.

The article stated that death was a common consequence when women could not afford to get treatment after they experienced complications from an unsafe abortion method, but also stated that some women decided to have their babies after finding out funds had been cut.

“If you want to pursue it (an abortion), there should be funding to pursue it. It’s an option that should be available,” Courtney Tate said. Tate is a graduate student studying health education and promotion.

In 2017 a 17-year-old immigrant discovered she was pregnant and immediately asked for services to get an abortion. The Office of Refugee Resettlement kept the teenager in custody and told her she could not receive care until she got an American citizen sponsor and got parental permission to have the abortion.

After six weeks, she couldn’t find a family member in the States to sponsor her and she was approved for a judicial bypass. A three-judge panel then voted on whether or not she could receive the care she had requested.

Among those voters was Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who voted for delaying the abortion request. Trump told voters that whoever he appointed as a Supreme Court Justice would be pro-life during his 2016 election.

The president nominated Judge Kavanaugh to be an associate Supreme Court Justice this July but vowed to not question any of the nominees’ personal beliefs, including abortion.

The U.S. Court of Appeals granted the teenager’s request after a month of her being pregnant, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, what does that mean for those who are for abortion-rights?

Kavanaugh has not said clearly if he is in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, leaving voters wondering if President Trump has kept his promise, and if the nominee will make similar decisions on future cases.

Caleb Broadous, a junior exercise physiology major, has views on abortion but said they are faith-based. He believes abortion should not be the first option but also believes college makes it easier for pregnancies to occur because of distance from family and church.

“I do think that any situation that I’m not directly apart of includes so many factors … but it boils down to the question, ‘Do I end the growth of life in me or allow him or her to experience life?’” Broadous said.

Sierra Campbell is the women’s and gender issues reporter. Contact her at [email protected].