This past Tuesday, I walked into the 900 Room ready to attend the panel called “Challenges of the New Era.” This panel was organized by Davidson’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) group, which “is a movement of young people across identities and issues that organize with, by, and for their generation in order to achieve reproductive freedom. To ensure that young people’s lives are at the center of [their] movement, [their] key priorities are: inclusivity, fighting abortion stigma, trans inclusion, elections, and movement and power building. Laney O’Shea, Caroline Roddey, Rosalind Major, and Ashley Frye run the Davidson PPGA group and set up this event. The panel brought in four “distinguished community leaders” to discuss the challenges that Planned Parenthood faces under the Trump administration.
To my surprise, the room was not filled with many Davidson college students; most attendees were older women from the community, many wearing pink hats and jackets adorned with Planned Parenthood pins and stickers. There were a few men, but it was mostly a female-filled space. At the front of the room were four seats for the panelists: Sally G. McMillen, Jill Dinwiddie, Marcie Shealy, and Taylor Pinckney. The moderator, Pam Pearson, stood at the podium ready to welcome us. Pam began by reminding us that this is a “critical time for us as women and for Planned Parenthood.” Sally McMillen, a former professor of history at Davidson, gave a brief history of the Planned Parenthood organization (which was founded over 100 years ago by Margaret Sanger) then passed the microphone to Marcie Shealy. Marcie is the regional director of philanthropy for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. Marcie told us that Planned Parenthood is “Nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality and affordable care for men, women, and teens” and the leading provider of sex-education, two facts which I had never heard before. Planned Parenthood has 650 trusted and reliable health centers across the nation that serve over 3 million people. 1 out of every 5 women have gone to a Planned Parenthood center sometime in their life; those women have not gone to Planned Parenthood to “make a political statement.”
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the local four-state affiliate of Planned Parenthood, has 14 health centers throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. The closest center to campus is in Charlotte and it serves 3,300 patients annually. Many Planned Parenthood patients live in rural areas, rely on Medicaid, or depend on Title X funding.
Most patients go to Planned Parenthood because it is their only option. If Planned Parenthood is defunded (as the Trump administration hopes will happen), patients in need would be the ones who are hurting. As Taylor Pickney, the lead political organizer for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said, Planned Parenthood could make up the lost funds, and money would not be an issue for the organization. The issue would be that 2.5 million people who rely on Planned Parenthood for life-saving cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, family planning services, and birth control would be without the necessary resources. None of the affected services would include abortion services because the Hyde Amendment bars to use of federal funds to pay for abortion.
It would take 51 votes to defend Planned Parenthood (as part of repealing the Affordable Care Act). The house currently has 51 of these votes, but there are still things you can (and should) do to help:
1. Call (or write to) your congressperson! Tell them how you feel about defunding Planned Parenthood, share your story, and share a friend’s story. It’s recommended to call at odd hours, like early in the morning.
Senator Richard Burr – (336) 631-5125 or (800) 685-8916
Senator Thom Tillis – (704) 509-9087 or (202) 224-6342
Congressman Robert Pittenger – (704) 362-1060
Congresswoman Alma Adams – (704) 344-9950
2. Donate to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
3. Use the hashtag #IStandwithPP to post your defiance on social media
4. Visit a Planned Parenthood health center for your next appointment
5. Attend action events on (and off) campus with PPGA
One of the Trump Administration’s goals is to repeal the Affordable Care Act, effectively defunding Planned Parenthood. Fortunately, there is still time to help stop this and you have the power to make an impact. Reach out to PPGA at Davidson or Planned Parenthood South Atlantic to get more involved.
If you are interested in writing an article for Her Campus Davidson, contact us at davidson@hercampus.com or come to our weekly meeting Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Morcott Room.