Molly Ashline
  Staff Writer

Rarely has there been so much feminine solidarity or girl power outside of a summer camp, which is not to say that the Planned Parenthood (PP) action forums Friday, Nov. 6, were trivial. But the two did share some elements.

Field organizers from PP acted as proverbial counselors as they outlined the “community rules” for the discussions. They also included ice breakers intermingled with dance music at the beginning to build some semblance of familiarity. There were even chants at the end.

But this autumnal summer camp also included heartbreaking personal stories, reviews of current policies within and without of North Carolina and a highly developed social conscience towards women’s health.

The forum began with a personal anecdote from a woman named Lauren.

She recounted her history of going to PP every year for pelvic exams and birth control. During her story, she made a point to say that PP treated her with, “Respect, courtesy and compassion.”

Emily Callan, the senior director of field operations at PP South Atlantic, followed Lauren with an overview of PP’s eighteen-month plan and cited future protests. She also mentioned that the action forum held in UNCG’s EUC was the first in the country.

Other members of PP spoke, each building on the energy from the last.

Heather Williams, a field organizer for PP, stated that the purpose of the evening was, “To really find the answers here, in this room, tonight.”

Indeed, the purpose of the forum was to distinguish which issues related to abortion, access and sex education were the priority for all in attendance. This forum and the others to follow will help PP develop the agenda that they will send to the new president in 2016.

The three main topics were discussed more specifically in “breakout sessions,” which were essentially focus groups. These groups reconvened to review their main points with everyone.

In the sex education group, one person outlined the different types of sex ed training that is available, and what it taught in North Carolina.

North Carolina requires “comprehensive” sex ed, rather than abstinence training, but many people in the group—who were educated in NC—found that “comprehensive” might as well mean “exclusive.”

One person in the room, who self-identified as an “unapologetically gay man in America,” said, “A lot of times you see a lot of STI stereotypes placed on that [LGBTQ] community, but in actuality I am no more likely to get an STI than a heterosexual man.”

Many other people in the sex education group stated that information about sexual violence and consent is brazenly lacking from the statewide curriculum.

Some thought that a certain amount of standardization in sex education texts and teacher qualification would raise the accountability of the class.

“We should have like textbooks and like standardized teachers and standardized courses so like everything is kind of the same,” said one attendant.

Others, however, thought that standardization might be discriminatory to poorer school districts that may not be able to afford new the standard textbooks.

“Schools are funded by taxpayer dollars, so you have a rich neighborhood the of course the schools are going to have computers and other supplies, and then the rural [schools]…they’re not even going to have textbooks to take home,” one woman countered.

The healthcare access group also had concerns about reaching poorer or minority populations.

They thought that more funding needed to go to transportation for people to go to clinics who may not have cars. They also thought that with the increasing Spanish-speaking population in the United States, PP and other healthcare providers needed to pay more attention to overcoming language barriers.

“Not everybody speaks English…so websites should be translated properly so everyone can understand what they’re reading,” said Gabrielle Henry-Galloway, who is an intern for PP.

The abortion group had just as much to say about policy as the other groups.

Their main issues included the need for buffer zones around abortion clinics to better protect patients and doctors as well as the need to get rid of the stigma surrounding abortion.

One priority the abortion group brought up that was supported by almost everyone in the room, was the desire to have the Hyde Amendment repealed. The Hyde Amendment is a 1976 bill that prohibits any federal funding of abortion except in the cases of “rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.”

“So basically, what that means is in a lot of states women on Medicaid can’t get access to an abortion,” explained Callan.

These main points were written on posters, and the people in attendance were encouraged to vote for the three issues they thought were most important.

Major themes arose out of the vote. People were most concerned about consent training, equity in healthcare access and education, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment and the need for increased safety measures.

After the vote, everyone joined hands in a large circle and repeated some chants led by PP members. The last one roared across the room with the words, “Act no matter what.”