Abortion Bans & Student Athletes: Some Questions from a Former Coach
Given the news cycle, it is SO tempting to write about the extreme. It’s what garners the most eyes, clicks, engagement, etc. But I think it’s just as, if not more important, to focus on the mundane, the boring, the everyday. So while I could write a few hundred words about my days as a Women’s NCAA D3 Coach and working through occurrences of sexual assault, and how that might look in a state with an abortion ban today, I’d instead like to spend a few minutes writing about the normal, and the questions I have that stem from the normal. First, a few qualifiers -
I coached in Massachusetts, and for the most part the student-athletes on my teams had some level of financial security. Both of those facts are to say that if a situation arose where someone wanted or needed abortion care, she could probably obtain one. It’s also worth noting that at the D3 level, there are no athletic scholarships available. I’d also like to point out that while I did coach women who were sexually assaulted, I do not have first hand knowledge of anyone needing an abortion. And finally, while I had an open door policy for ANY situation that lots of players used, I obviously have no way of knowing the extent of either the # of sexual assaults or potential abortions women on my teams had.
Sexual assault on college campuses is a brutal, and huge problem. I don't want to downplay it by any means. But it’s still not as common as a couple of college kids having sex. It happens. A lot. And you know what else happens, unplanned pregnancies (there are so many reasons this could happen outside of the typical conservative “they were just irresponsible” response I’m not going to waste my word count on them). Some questions that are constantly running through my head these days:
What happens to a female student-athlete if she gets pregnant in a state with an abortion ban? If she is in season and has to travel any sort of distance to obtain an abortion is she at risk of losing her spot on the team? If she is at the D1 or D2 level could she lose a scholarship? If she is in a position where she can’t get an abortion and thus can’t play her sport will the school honor her scholarship or will she be forced to drop out of school? Would the school tell her parents? If she travels out of state for an abortion and the school finds out would they be legally obligated to report her to the authorities? If so, would they report her to the authorities?
That’s just the start, it’s certainly not an exhaustive list. And none of those questions apply to men, because while they are responsible for 100% of pregnancies, they won’t actually be faced with any of the questions related to pregnancy.
~Jeremy Howard