When senior Jeanette Beal noticed this past summer that the University lacked a student organization that advocated women’s health and reproductive rights, she decided to start her own.
“The group was formed over the summer through several informal meetings in living rooms and coffee shops,” Beal said of NARAL Pro-Choice BGSU, of which she is the acting president.
Beal’s organization is one of the most recent additions to NARAL Pro-Choice America, a group that believes every woman has the right to make her own decisions regarding her reproductive health. It also attempts to reduce the need for abortion by educating the public and providing contraception to those who desire it.
Both NARAL Pro-Choice America and Beal’s chapter here in Bowling Green were established as a response to the threat of women being denied access to abortion and other forms of emergency contraception.
“With the cultural climate as anti-choice as it is these days, I thought it was really important that a positive group of people band together in Bowling Green and provide the information this area is lacking in regards to reproductive rights and women’s health,” Beal said.
The focus of Pro-Choice BGSU thus far has been getting organized.
“This is a brand-new student organization,” Jeannie Ludlow, the group’s faculty advisor said. “They submitted their constitution to The Office of Campus Involvement in late September, so most of the work so far has been getting the organization up and running.”
Ludlow, who is also the undergraduate coordinator for the Women’s Studies program, identified several activities and programs that Pro-Choice BGSU has already initiated.
“One of the things the group has done thus far is help BGSU students who have abortion appointments to find transportation,” she said. “To my knowledge, no doctor is providing abortions in Wood County, so students who choose abortion must travel to other counties.”
Beal added that the organization has also made available educational material pertaining to reproductive options, as well as information regarding current laws that deal with reproductive rights.
“We participate in petition signature drives when issues are presented in [Washington] D.C. or Columbus that need our voice,” she also said.
Pro-Choice BGSU will hold a symposium on these issues on November 2. The event is called Vote for Choice.
“The Vote for Choice Symposium aims to encourage people to know how our votes affect our daily lives,” Ludlow said. “Election day is Nov. 8, which is why the group wanted to schedule the symposium on the 2nd.”
The organization also had a table at Campus Fest, where they took pictures of people holding signs declaring they were pro-choice.
For Ludlow, Pro-Choice BGSU addresses a very important issue.
“I’m a parent, and I know that parenthood is the most important and most difficult job I’ve ever done. It’s a shame that some people become parents even though they don’t want that job,” she said.
Ludlow hopes that Pro-Choice BGSU can make an impact and become a presence in the Bowling Green community.
NARAL Pro-Choice BGSU will hold the Vote for Choice Symposium on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Olscamp.
