ASUCD Student Health and Wellness brought together students and experts in the field to discuss reproductive health topics
By MEGAN PUSL — campus@theaggie.org
In response to the current political climate, the ASUCD Student Health and Wellness unit (SHAW) organized a reproductive rights panel to advocate for student health and share resources.
On Feb. 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., SHAW hosted three guest speakers and highlighted various campus resources for reproductive justice. The first 100 students to attend received free Plan B, an emergency contraceptive.
Four different campus organizations tabled at the event to provide resources, including SHAW, Love Lab, Gender and Sexuality Commision (GASC) and Sexual Assault Awareness Advocacy Comittee (SAAAC).
Adeena Rahman, a third-year molecular and medical microbiology major and the director of SHAW, had a large role in planning the event. Rahman, along with the other SHAW coordinators, organized this event to provide resources for students and highlight notable guest speakers.
“Because of the current political climate, I really wanted to have an event that could help inform the student body about what is accessible to us in regards to reproductive rights and health,” Rahman said. “I brought in three speakers hoping that they could all address reproductive rights [and] reproductive injustice through different lenses.”
The first guest speaker was Rachel Cradit Henry, the sexual health promotion specialist at Health Education and Promotion (HEP) at UC Davis. The second guest speaker was Mitchell D. Creinin, the director of the Complex Family Planning Fellowship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UC Davis.
Creinin covered many topics in the scope of reproductive healthcare during his talk. He taught the audience about the process of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), types of emergency contraceptives, such as Plan B and Ella, and the process of getting a male birth control approved for the public.
Creinin stressed the importance of legislation as it pertains to reproductive rights.
“It’s all about who you vote for and who you put into power, that’s really the issue,” Creinin said. “The short term is to make sure you’re protected, make sure your friends are protected [and] have emergency contraceptive around. But the long game is always gonna be voting.”
The third and final guest speaker of the day was Essential Access Health’s Public Affairs Coordinator Melody Yan. Essential Access Health is a non-profit based in Berkeley and Los Angeles that works to advance reproductive equity for all.
Yan shared her experience working in public policy, speaking about reproductive health laws in California with a focus on minor confidentiality and teen rights laws. She emphasized the importance of youth having access to trusted adults with whom they can discuss topics like birth control, sexuality and sex, noting that many minors lack this support.
“That is the reality for a lot of young people and teens,” Yan said. “They don’t have that openness and safety with adults. That is why minor consent laws play a huge critical role in empowering young people to make decisions about their healthcare.”
Next, Yan highlighted past California legislative victories within her non-profit that contributed to protecting and expanding contraceptive and abortion care in recent years. She mentioned grant programs that Essential Access Health administers for California such as Los Angeles Abortion Safe Haven, Uncompensated Care and Practical Support.
Yan explained the importance of maintaining funding for these grants to protect reproductive rights.
“We cannot forget the importance of maintaining this infrastructure we’ve created in California ensuring that people in the state and people who really need to come here can get the care,” Yan said.
For anyone who wishes to find out more about SHAW, you can visit their Instagram account, @asucd.shaw. To keep up with events hosted by the other student health resources featured at the panel, you can follow their accounts on Instagram: @asucd_gasc, @asucd_saaac and @ucdlovelab.
Written by: Megan Pusl — campus@theaggie.org
