By Jada Jinks | September 26, 2022
Photo Credit: GUE/NGL on Wikimedia Commons
International Safe Abortion Day is a globally recognized call to action to recognize the need for safe abortion and protect access to it.
According to 28 September, this day was first launched by a network of activist groups called Campaña 28 Septiembre in 1990. The purpose of this was to decriminalize abortion in Latin America and the Carribean. The efforts of those activists to protect and provide access to safe abortion eventually garnered international attention and recognition. In 2011, the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights declared Sept. 28 an international day.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, the historic court case that legalized abortion in the United States. A wave of anti-abortion laws being drafted into legislation followed this decision.
One of the primary groups on campus that is prepared to fight for safe abortion laws is Planned Parenthood Generation (PPG). PPG is a club that recently restarted on campus after a long hiatus.
PPG’s president, Olivia Buyea, said that the club did not have anything specific planned for International Safe Abortion Day, but that “we are excited to be attending and encouraging students at UAlbany to consider attending an Abortion Justice Rally on Oct. 8 in West Capitol Park from 1 to 3 p.m.…”
This rally will be taking place because between Oct. 7 through 9 is the Women’s March National Weekend of Action. The Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood Inc. (UHPPI) will be holding the rally in coalition with that event.
Buyea stated that International Safe Abortion Day needs to exist because it brings up the topics of abortion and reproductive rights to the forefront of people’s minds. “As an organization seeking to effect change in our community, days like this are an opportunity to have a dialogue about such important topics and increase community awareness and involvement in our goals,” said Buyea.
PPG plans to educate people on safe abortion in upcoming events; the club is going to be focused on answering questions people have about sexual health and how to access the health services Planned Parenthood provides. This primarily involves birth control, and contraceptives, as well as other services.
PPG plans to collaborate with other organizations on campus, including upcoming events for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and LGBTQ History Month, according to Buyea. PPG hopes to set up a unique service catered towards UAlbany students, which is to help students set up appointments at local Planned Parenthood clinics and help drive them there.
The club returned from its hiatus when Madeline Reilly, a Public Affairs and Volunteer Coordinator at UHPPI contacting students to ask if there was a Planned Parenthood chapter on campus. Buyea said that she had responded back, and Reilly has been actively supporting PPG since. She regularly meets with the members and provides materials to give out to students such as pamphlets and condoms. PPG also gains a lot of their support from their faculty advisor Janelle Hobson, who is a Women’s, Gender and Sexuality professor at the university, according to Buyea.
“It is my goal to increase the availability of education and access to vital health services provided by planned parenthood and to create a safe and inclusive space for our student community to seek out information, form friendships, share ideas, and participate in outreach and advocacy,” said Buyea.
For more information on International Safe Abortion Day, go to the International Campaign for Women’s Right To Safe Abortion website.