NEW YORK--The New York Civil Liberties Union today called upon New York University to change its student health insurance to provide full reproductive health care for women students.

NYU's student health insurance policy currently excludes coverage of prescription contraceptives, emergency contraception and abortion, except in very limited circumstances.

In a letter sent today to NYU President Jay Oliva on behalf of the student group INSURE (Informed Students United for Reproductive Equity), the NYCLU urged the university to change its insurance policy so that women's health needs are treated fairly and equitably.

"Throughout the state and nation, there is growing recognition that insurance policies which exclude reproductive health care services unfairly discriminate against women," said Donna Lieberman, Interim Executive Director of the NYCLU.

Mallory Curran, a student at New York University School of Law and a coordinator of INSURE, noted that more than 500 students have signed a petition calling for a change in policy. "NYU students are mobilizing to gain full access to women's health services," she said. "We hope that NYU will choose to treat women in a fair manner, particularly because studies have shown that the costs of adding reproductive health care to insurance plans are minimal."