Women's and Gender Studies Major Emma Galluccio sat down with Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) President, Emma Philbeck, to discuss the advocacy work the group is doing and her thoughts on the importance of this work. You can follow PPGA on Instagram @ppgausc
What is Planned Parenthood? Why is it important?
“Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization whose clinics provide reproductive healthcare, education, and advocacy to all. We help work with a lot of local officials especially during elections, helping to promote health, advocacy, and well being of all. We provide contraceptives, pre and postnatal care, STI Screenings, and many other procedures.”
What is PPGA? What topics are covered in meetings?
PPGA is a subgroup of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. We focus a lot of the advocacy and activism aspects of Planned Parenthood’s initiatives. We talk a lot about volunteer opportunities, patient greetings, and how to get involved in the community. We do a lot of electoral work as well, especially with recently-elected official, Heather Bauer.
Why is it important for college students to have knowledge of Planned Parenthood and their initiatives?
Planned Parenthood provides reproductive care to many college students, especially those who may not be able to afford care from an OBGYN or Primary Care Physician. We are in a political environment right now where abortion is a scary and daunting issue and knowing that there’s adequate access to care for everyone is really important.
What do you see as the most critical issue facing our generation when it comes to reproductive healthcare and rights?
One of the most critical issues facing our generation right now is the national attack on abortion. The power is now in the hands of states to decide reproductive rights for those within the state. Those laws include charging expecting mothers and people with uteruses with murder.
As President of PPGA, what does this role mean to you? How did you achieve this role? What are your hopes for the next couple of years as the organization continues to grow? How do you hope to impact young people and generations to come? What are some challenges that you’ve faced as an organization?
To me, it means trying to gain and spread knowledge to keep people aware of what’s happening. If you aren’t aware of current issues, then you can’t fight for yourself. I joined the club my freshman year of college but didn’t have much time to attend meetings. I became more invested in the club as reproductive rights became more restrictive, and decided to apply for an executive role to continue pursuing this passion. I accepted the role as president of the club, and I am very appreciative that I was trusted with the role. It’s been a very interesting experience, especially advocating on a college campus, when so many events are anti-reproductive justice. The biggest challenge we have is maintaining strong activism and advocacy within adverse political environments while emphasizing the importance of emotional well-being amongst students.
How do you continue to keep people involved and informed within the activist sphere?
The biggest way we continue to keep people informed is through social media and maintaining our bi-weekly meetings. On our social media, we post about issues occurring in South Carolina, the kinds of care people can receive from Planned Parenthood, sex education, and information on queerness. We have a special series on our Instagram called “Queer Queries”, where we focus on different aspects of queerness in order to educate and validate those within our community.
If students are interested in getting involved in advocacy for reproductive rights, where should they go from here? How can students get involved in PPGA?
If students are interested, a good place to start is attending meetings! Our bi-weekly meetings cover so much information and can provide you with information on how to volunteer to patient greet, and other ways to get involved within our community. Patient greeting is such an important way to get involved in Planned Parenthood, as you act as a first line of defense for abortion care and the care of the patients. Making sure you stay informed and are aware of legislation occurring in the state is another great way to stay involved, without working on the front lines. Continuing to learn and support one another is the biggest way I suggest is getting involved in advocacy work of any kind.