Editor’s Note: This article uses the experience of the writer’s mother, Johanna Fistler. 

While other students were worried about turning in their projects on time and who they were crushing on in class, 18-year-old Johanna Fistler was worried about how she was going to take care of a baby. 

It was October of 1999, and the campus was covered in an orange blanket of fallen leaves that reflected the change of the season. Little did Johanna know that her first semester of college would also include her first trimester of pregnancy.

On that day in October, Johanna left the campus health clinic with a positive pregnancy test and a single pamphlet of her options: abortion or motherhood. 

Over the past two decades, the landscape of what options are available to pregnant students has changed. Now, if a student found themselves with a positive pregnancy test at the Women’s Clinic on campus, the options look different. 

As of May 2023, abortion is still legal up to 22 weeks from the last menstruation cycle in Ohio, but accessibility is a different issue, said Dr. Tamika Odum, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati, at a reproductive justice teach-in at Kent State in April. 

In the year 2000, there were 35 verified abortion providers in Ohio, but today that number has dropped to nine. While Kent does have an operating Planned Parenthood, the closest verified abortion clinic is in Cuyahoga Falls with the second closest being in Bedford Heights. 

“Some of the centers cannot provide abortions for particular gestational limits. You have some abortion clinics or facilities that only provide medication for abortion,” Odum said. “Even though abortion is still legal up until 22 weeks, you have some that cannot provide abortion after 16 weeks.” 

As of 2011, Ohio also requires a 24 hour waiting period meaning there must be two appointments scheduled 24 hours apart from each other. For those seeking an abortion, it becomes a two-day process with two separate visits, Odum said. 

“These are all things that make it really difficult for people not just to actually get to the clinic,” she said, “because it’s more than just getting to the clinic. You have to be able to afford the clinic. You have to be able to have the resources so that you can have the procedure done.”

Affordability of the procedure depends on a variety of factors. According to the Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio’s website, the abortion pill without insurance is $650, and the procedure required after an 11-week pregnancy could cost the patient between $650 and $1,400 depending on how far along they are.

Ohio also prohibits the use of state funds for abortion access, said Danielle Bessett, a professor from the University of Cincinnati and co-principle investigator of OPEN. Kent State, being a public university, is not permitted to offer financial assistance to its students, but on-campus resources like the Women’s Center are able to point students in the right direction. 

Numerous off-campus resources offer financial or emotional assistance, including abortion funds. 

When Johanna was confronted with her options, she chose to carry the pregnancy to term and be a parent. She continued to go to school and live on campus throughout the fall and spring semesters. 

Johanna did not explore the resources that were available to parenting or pregnant students through the university. Instead, she made arrangements with her professors on her own, and luckily they were accommodating to her needs. 

Today, students who are unsure of how to advocate for themselves and what they are entitled to can connect with the recently identified Office of Gender Equity and Title IX on campus. 

The office is responsible for ensuring that the university complies with the law, said Richantae Johnson, Kent State’s Title IX coordinator. Pregnancy falls under Title IX’s protection. 

“What they’re legally entitled to under Title IX is to have the opportunity to make up any missed classwork,” Johnson said. “Let’s say they have to go to a doctor’s appointment or something, and that professor takes attendance. They have the opportunity to either have that attendance excused, or given the opportunity to get points back if they get points for attendance.” 

Students are entitled to lactation stations, extended breaks and classroom accommodations based on their doctor’s recommendations, Johnson said. The Title IX offices are there to ensure those needs are being met.

Students must submit accommodation requests to the Title IX offices, where they get reviewed. Then, Johnson meets with the students’ professors to get all parties involved on the same page. 

“We want to make sure that their pregnancies aren’t creating a hardship for them, where they’re dropping out of classes and dropping out of school,” she said.

After pregnancy, parenting students have access to the Child Development Center (CDC), which is the on-campus daycare and laboratory school. 

CDC School Director Pam Hutchins said the school prioritizes children of Kent State faculty and students for enrollment. As for tuition payments, students have different options. 

“Our undergraduate student families are typically eligible for subsidies through the county,” Hutchins said. “So they would apply through the county in which they live for childcare subsidies, and then they indicate where they’re attending school, and then those fees are paid through that avenue.”

The subsidies vary on the student’s financial situation; they could either have their enrollment fees reduced or managed through monthly copayments, Hutchins said. 

Access to the CDC is not available until the child reaches 18 months of age. Until then, students have to make their own arrangements for childcare if they have in-person classes. 

As for other on-campus resources, the university offers a wide range of assistance covering financial and food insecurity to mental health and crisis counseling services. 

With the help of government and campus assistance, Johanna was able to graduate from Kent State with bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and psychology in December of 2004. 

As a four-year-old, I attended graduation with her.

Faith Fistler is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].