Pro-abortion rights group H*yas for Choice announced the Condom Fairy Delivery Service on Jan. 29, a new service designed to provide students with greater access to condoms and other forms of contraception.
The new program allows students living in on-campus housing to request up to 10 condoms or dental dams to be delivered to their door on any Friday. Students may choose whether or not to include their name on the form.
Though only launched on the HFC Facebook page this week, the Condom Fairy Delivery Service has already seen at least 45 requests for condom deliveries. The first batch of deliveries is scheduled to go out today.
H*yas for Choice, which is unrecognized by the university, is currently the only provider of contraception on campus, primarily through daily tabling in both Red Square and Sellinger Lounge. Because they receive no funding from the university, all condoms are delivered by volunteer members of the HFC general body.
The idea for the delivery service came from H*yas for Choice leadership team member Mika Skibinksky (COL ’19) when she noticed the difficulty some students have approaching the HFC table and asking for contraception.
“I was tabling for HFC one day and this awkward, yet brave freshman came up to the table and asked if they could take some condoms. I could tell that they really worked up the courage to approach the table, especially after seeing them accidentally dropping condoms as they left,” Skibinsky wrote in an email to The Hoya. “So shout out to that freshman and all those shy people out there. This program was made for you.”
HFC President Emily Stephens (SFS ’17) said while the group is invested in making contraception more accessible, the group also wants to destigmatize the usage of contraception.
“We recognize some students require anonymity to feel comfortable accessing our condoms, and in the short-term we want to reduce those barriers as much as possible,” Stephens wrote in an email to The Hoya. “However, part of our programming around sexual health also attempts to destigmatize sex, sexual health, and healthy relationships, so that ultimately members of the Georgetown community won’t feel any awkwardness acquiring or discussing sex and contraception.”
Some student groups oppose the service, saying it has the potential to undermine certain values Georgetown is responsible for upholding as a Jesuit institution. According to Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Hunter Estes (SFS ’19), who is also a member of anti-abortion rights group GU Right to Life, Georgetown has a duty to maintain a culture of life, which invariably necessitates promoting an anti-abortion message.
“I find this new program to be yet another link in the chain of destructive actions that devalue the culture of life that Georgetown is meant to uphold,” Estes wrote in an email to The Hoya.
Estes also said he sees the potential for abuse with this program, stating that he has already heard of instances in which individuals have ordered condoms to be sent to members of the anti-abortion community, as a form of harassment.
“This new program gives people the ability to anonymously harass and abuse the pro-life minority of students,” Estes wrote. “To me, the program serves to further undermine the Catholic values on which Georgetown was founded, and promote a reckless culture that disregards the consequences of one’s actions.”
Despite this backlash, members of H*yas for Choice are optimistic about the future of the service. Skibinksky said she is hopeful about the program’s success.
“I’d say that the response has been good so far,” Skibinsky wrote in. “We just started, but hopefully things will run smoothly.”