New partnership to make contraception accessible on campus

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Courtesy of Chloe Rotonda

Sophomore Chloe Rotonda (pictured) first reached out to President Eighmy with information about PRJKTRUBY.

Jessica Mclaren, Assistant News Editor

Four months ago, UTSA Wellbeing Services partnered up with Project Ruby to make contraceptive services more convenient and accessible for students at UTSA. Project Ruby (PRJKTRUBY) is an online platform where individuals can obtain affordable contraceptive services without sacrificing their rights to privacy and confidentiality. 

Through PRJKTRUBY’s easy-to-use website, users can schedule a same-day telehealth consultation with a doctor and receive a three-month supply of birth control in just a few days. Regardless of your insurance status, their service offers three months of birth control for $20 per month and emergency contraception for $50, shipped in discreet packaging directly to your house for no extra cost. Users can also use the promo code “MYCHOICE2022” to get $10 off of their first purchase.

“I read an article [this past summer] about how some women were choosing which colleges to attend based on whether abortion is prohibited in that state,” Chloe Rotonda, a 10th-grade student in New York who reached out to UTSA regarding PRJKTRUBY’s services, explained. “I started in states that have the strictest abortion laws, and I identified [UTSA] as a campus with at least 30,000 students, so I wrote [to] the president, Dr. Taylor Eighmy, and he connected me with [UTSA Wellbeing Services].”

Working alongside Wellbeing Education Coordinator Jamie Singh, Chloe was able to spread the word about PRJKTRUBY to students at UTSA, providing at least 85 students with monthly contraceptive packages thus far. 

“I truly believe that women should not feel limited when applying to colleges, and I really appreciate how private PRJKTRUBY is; you can have [contraceptives] mailed directly to your dorm room,” Rotonda said. “I want [women] to feel that their education matters, and … to realize that it’s their choice.”

Furthermore, PRJKTRUBY has committed to improving access to contraception in the United States and developing countries. The service takes 25 cents from every order and uses it to help spread birth control and emergency contraceptives worldwide.

In developing countries, PRJKTRUBY accomplishes this by working with Population Services International (PSI), a nonprofit global health organization dedicated to addressing health challenges impacting people around the world, including sexual and reproductive health. In the United States, PRJKTRUBY utilizes a 501c3 organization called Power to Decide, whose mission is to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

You can schedule your free consultation for contraceptive services or learn more about PRJKTRUBY and its impact at http://www.prjktruby.com