By Emily Hassett
Staff writer
To launch the celebration of Women’s History Month, the Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion division of the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement (OSLE) hosted “Women’s ‘Herstory’ Month,” where two panelists, including a Hofstra student, discussed reproductive health, women’s rights and justice.
The two panelists were Zoee Davidson – a bilingual sexuality educator and employee at Planned Parenthood of Nassau County – and Carla Bradley, a senior women’s studies and sociology double major and a Planned Parenthood of Nassau County intern.
Both women have dedicated their time to their work as feminists and advocators for reproductive health and justice. Davidson and Bradley say they stand with Planned Parenthood and want to educate people who may not understand the services that the organization provides. That includes challenging those who associate Planned Parenthood as primarily an abortion clinic.
Bradley, founder of Student Advocates for Safe Sex (SASS) discussed this on a national and campus-wide level. “Well, there are many misconceptions about Planned Parenthood, as we all know. First off that we proudly provide abortion services, that is not the only thing we provide. We are a life-saving health center that billions of people depend on. As far as on our campus, there is still a stigma about talking about sexuality openly,” she said.
Abortion services constitute a mere three percent of all services provided by the non-profit organization, falling behind STI/STD testing and contraception, mammograms and other important health screenings and services.
The panelists stressed the educational opportunity for the audience, particularly Hofstra students, to inform them about reproductive health, rights and justice, as well as Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, which is right down the street from the University.
Davidson discussed the mission of Planned Parenthood. “It’s basically to provide age appropriate, culturally sensitive, competent care services, education, you name it,” Davidson said. “Anything that involves reproductive health, and more over reproductive justice, it’s our mission to really make sure that those things are accessible to everyone.”
Both Davidson and Bradley urged the audience to remain informed and included in the conversation about reproductive justice. Currently, both women are lobbying for paid family leave, considering that the United States is the only developed nation that does not offer it.
As part of their advocacy for reproductive justice, the women feel that families should never be in the position of choosing between taking care of a child or losing their jobs. They encourage activism among young people to make a difference when it comes to all of these aspects that surround reproduction.
Students who attended the event were impressed with the activism of these women who work hard everyday to make sure that women’s rights are not in jeopardy.
Tess Griffin, a sophomore women’s studies major, reflected on why it is so important to be having this discussion.
“I think for people who are unaware,” Griffin said, “it was very important for them to learn that although women’s rights are already being taken away and access to women’s health services is becoming limited, that race and class extremely affects those things as well.”