UHS officials have said they will not offer RU-486 at their Holyoke Center clinic because they do not offer abortion services, and do not plan to in the future.

And Tessier, of PCC, says she thinks this is the right choice.

"It is very appropriate that all referrals are to places other than UHS, places that can offer the best medical safety for students," she says.

But leaders from Students for Choice (SFC), a pro-choice group, say they are dissappointed that UHS has chosen not to dispense RU-486 on-site.

"One of the great advantages of RU-486 is its potential to grant women far greater flexibility and privacy when making such a personal decision," Elizabeth A. Thornberry '02, chair of SFC, writes in an e-mail.

Thornberry says that students seeking an RU-486 abortion will have to commute to Planned Parenthood or Beth Israel Hospital, and may even have to face abortion protestors.

The Catholic Students Association (CSA), a traditionally pro-life organization, has no official stance on the availability of RU-486.

"For us, students having children wouldn't be an issue. Pre-marital sex is not a Catholic thing," says CSA president Geoffrey A. Preidis '03, but he says he would like to encourage students who don't agree with abortion to ask for their $1 reimbursement from the Student Health Services fee.