This semester, students launched a new chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) at the 5Cs, which leaders said is determined to enhance access to reproductive health care, promote civic engagement and hold events with other student groups.
A subsidiary of Planned Parenthood, PPGA is a national network of youth and student organizers advocating for reproductive freedom, sex education and civic engagement. The new 5C chapter is one of more than 350 across the country.
Cleo McHenry HM ’29, Claremont College PPGA president, said the new chapter aims to fill a gap in understanding of what healthcare resources are available to students on campus. She said that questions like “Do we have to pay for pregnancy tests at Student Health Services?” or “Are there free options on campus?” often don’t have clear answers because they vary by school.
To combat this, the group plans to create a resource bank of what organizations, hotlines and help centers exist on campus.
“There are a lot of really strong women’s organizations on campus, but very few of them focus on reproductive health in both an advocacy sphere and a providing sphere,” McHenry said.
McHenry said she initially reached out to Planned Parenthood Los Angeles in the spring semester of her first year to inquire about volunteering. Instead, the organization recommended that she start a campus chapter.
The chapter began meeting earlier this fall and has since developed a full board of campus representatives, with the founders also focusing on encouraging students to vote in the recent midterm elections.
“This has been a big election year,” Claremont College PPGA committee chair Kiara Nisenbaum PZ ’29, who leads the chapter’s on-campus advocacy, said. “We’re doing phone banking and [other projects] that fall under the 5C community, but not just for Planned Parenthood, but also for the state of California … [it] is really awesome to be a part of that.”
The chapter’s political engagement so far has included phone and text banking as well as voter registration events throughout October. Leaders said they have plans to collaborate with on-campus groups such as Pitzer Advocates and End Overdose.
Still, leaders said Claremont College PPGA distances itself from any political affiliation, stating that their focus remains on advocating for accessible healthcare. PPGA is a 501(c)(4) organization, or a tax-exempt “social welfare” nonprofit, a status that allows Planned Parenthood and its subsidiaries to engage in lobbying and political campaign activity as long as politics is not its primary function.
“We are a (c)(4) organization, so that means that we are politically engaged, but we do not have partisan stances on [reproductive health],” McHenry said. “I would say that it is unfortunate that healthcare is such a political topic, and we are focused on making it accessible and a matter of need and not of politics.”
Some students expressed excitement about the forthcoming resource bank and the chapter’s connection to Planned Parenthood at large. Zoey Blake SC ’30 said she hopes to get involved in the future.
“I think that being involved with a larger organization can bring better resources that could definitely be used and be very useful to students at the 5Cs,” she said. “I think it provides a lot of essential services that are very relevant, especially for college students, and especially in this political climate.”
“I think that being involved with a larger organization can bring better resources that could definitely be used and be very useful to students at the 5Cs,” she said. “I think it provides a lot of essential services that are very relevant, especially for college students, and especially in this political climate.”
Other students expressed concern about the 5Cs’ association with Planned Parenthood, citing personal beliefs about abortion.
“I’m against Planned Parenthood,” Grace Rutherford PO ’28 said. “And I would also be against the chapter because I believe that life starts in the womb, and so following that, abortion is considered murdering a human being, and Planned Parenthood is an organization that kills people and kills innocent people in the womb.”
At the same time, Rutherford recognized the importance of giving students with different beliefs the opportunity to organize.
“I believe in free speech, so I think it’s all right that the club’s on campus,” she said.
McHenry said she hasn’t received any backlash from community members about partnering with Planned Parenthood, and that the 5Cs have been historically supportive of discussions and action around supporting reproductive health.
“I don’t think we’ve had bad incidents or anyone who is against the organization, and we’re so lucky to be on these campuses that are so supportive of this topic and this organization,” McHenry said. “But we are trained as a part of our work at Planned Parenthood to engage in those situations.”
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