Greater Boston – a region famous for its sheer number of colleges – is also home to an underground network that helps women receive abortion pills. Every week, a group including many Boston-area college and medical students meets to put together abortion pill care packages to send to women who need them. While the founders call them “pill packing parties” the work is not without risk. Women in Texas, Mississippi and other states where abortion is illegal or restricted can be prosecuted for aborting a fetus.

College students have long been active in the abortion movement, but the activism looks very different today than it did in the 1960’s. College Uncovered takes you to a “pill packing party” at an undisclosed location in Greater Boston and talks with college students mobilizing to help women get abortion medication wherever they live. We also look at the re-energized anti-abortion movement in the wake of the Dobbs ruling two years ago and hear from a leader of the “Post-Roe Generation.” 

GBH’s Andrea Asuaje, senior producer for “Under the Radar with Callie Crossley” hosts this week’s episode, taking a deep dive into the sweeping ways medication abortion and the Internet have changed college activism.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

Correction: A prior version of this episode misinterpreted Kristan Hawkins’ comments at Harvard Law School and erroneously said she had an abortion. In fact, Hawkins’ comments were referring to what other women have told her about having an abortion. We have updated the episode and GBH News regrets the error. 

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Credits:

Guest Host: Andrea Asuaje

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.