Planned Parenthood in State College

By Sydney Smichnick

Planned Parenthood is an essential resource for some college students, but it and its resources have not been available to Penn State students since early 2012. 

The nonprofit organization educates people and provides vital health care services, such as STD testing and treatment, birth control, well-woman exams, cancer screening and prevention, abortion, hormone therapy, infertility services and general health care.

State College closed its sole Planned Parenthood due to lack of funding nine years ago. Now, the nearest Planned Parenthood to State College is in Harrisburg, which is over 85 miles away.

Due to the closure of Planned Parenthood in State College, Penn State Students have felt the need to take charge for the lack of resources for students. In 2015, students on Penn State’s campus created an organization called Planned Parenthood Generation Action, which partners with Planned Parenthood nationally and at a Pennsylvania level.

Planned Parenthood Generation Action is “a movement of young people across identities and issues that organizes with, by, and for their generation in order to achieve reproductive freedom. Planned Parenthood Generation Action groups all across the country engage their campus to organize, host events, educate their peers about sexual health, register voters, work with their elected officials, and support their local Planned Parenthood health centers.”

Jackie Friedlander (senior – public relations) is the external vice president for Planned Parenthood Generation Action.

“I joined Planned Parenthood Generation Action because I have been passionate about reproductive rights, and I am a feminist,” Friedlander, who is originally from Harrisburg, said. “I also have gone to Planned Parenthood since I was 16. That's how I got birth control when I was underage. I think everyone should have access to that. 

“Planned Parenthood mostly services women of color who can't afford to go to doctors and gynecologist. Planned Parenthood offers a sliding scale, so people pay what they can. And that way, people have access to birth control, which to me is liberation.” 

According to Friedlander, Planned Parenthood Generation Action meets once every other week on Tuesdays. At these meetings, the members of the organization discuss what they can do to carry out Planned Parenthood’s missions. That includes advocacy work, such as petition signings and plan advocacy events, as well as their condom handout, which they try to plan for two or three times a year. They were the organization that was able to get free STI testing for students at University Health Services, which is located across from the Penn State Outdoor Swimming Pool.

In addition to all of this, Planned Parenthood Generation Action is starting a mutual aid fund called the Reproductive Crisis Support Network. This entails of them trying to assist students who are seeking abortions because they are not accessible in Central Pennsylvania. 

The organization is looking for student volunteers who are willing to be crisis counselors. These crisis counselors will be people who are willing to drive students to bus stops or even to the nearest Planned Parenthood in Harrisburg. They were hoping to launch this initiative before the semester ended, but they were having trouble finding volunteers. 

Friedlander is set to graduate this spring, but she says that the organization will continue to grow this program after she is gone. She believes that the members of Planned Parenthood Generation Action have a drive to further the organization in the future.

Furthermore, other work that the organization does includes Friedlander and her fellow organization members conducting coordinated efforts and making phone calls advocating for a Planned Parenthood to return to State College.

“We have to think about the greater community, not just Penn State students, because there is a State College community. There is surrounding communities that does not have a Planned Parenthood. Therefore, they do not have access to any sort of reproductive health care,” Friedlander said. “There's a desert, I guess you would call it, between here and Harrisburg. That is a long way to go to seek health care. Also, Pennsylvania has a law where you have to do an information session 24 hours before your operation. That puts a burden on people.”

Friedlander hopes that the new mayor of State College and his administration can work to bring a Planned Parenthood back to the town but understands that it could difficult due to logistical or financial reasons. 

The newly elected mayor of State College, Ezra Nanes, is a huge advocate for having a Planned Parenthood return to the town. 

“Women's Health is one of the most important things we can focus on supporting in our area. And it is an area that is unfortunately often underserved and that can be reproductive health care,” Nanes said. “We need to make sure that we provide that, and Planned Parenthood is an organization that provides a lot of elements of women's health care, especially around reproductive health care. 

“It's very important we have a large population here of students. We need to make sure that the female students on campus are supported, taken care of and have options.” 

Despite his desire for a Planned Parenthood to return to State College, Nanes is unsure of its status. However, he is aware that State College has contacts involved with Planned Parenthood.

Once Nanes has settled into his role as mayor, he would like to pursue conversations and speak with Planned Parenthood as a statewide organization to see the logistics of the organization coming back to the town.

For the time being and, in the future, Nanes particularly wants to work with student organizations on Penn State’s campus.

“I think that student groups on campus have a great voice, and we've seen in so many situations, for example with UPUA and various other organizations,” Nanes said. “The students know what they want, and they know how to express themselves very well. I think that working with student organizations to advocate for Planned Parenthood, making the student voice heard and bringing that student voice into Borough Council meetings and other arenas would be a great starting point for us.”

Nanes further believes that it is important that women are heard and that their health care needs are taken seriously and not denied.

“I hope to bring that voice I will bring that voice to the office of the mayor and do what I can to make sure that we can get a Planned Parenthood here,” Nanes said.