To remain transparent, Kaavya Saini serves as the DEI Chair of the Daily Nexus and did not edit this article.

UC Santa Barbara’s Students for Reproductive Justice held an abortion access informational event at the Student Resource Building on May 4. The event supplied free Plan B pills, condoms, pregnancy tests, dental dams and cup caps.

SRJ hosted “Abortion Access Now” to open conversations about abortion, provide resources and educate UCSB students. Sanjana Lingam / Daily Nexus

The event, titled “Abortion Access Now!”, offered a space where conversations about abortion policies were put into a national context, in particular educating attendees on how to be an active and effective advocate. 

The Co-Chairs of Students for Reproductive Justice (SRJ) hosted the event to bring sexual health education, specifically around abortion, to campus. Third-year psychological & brain sciences major Kaavya Saini and third-year history and biology double major Samantha Heinz were the main organizers behind the event. Heinz mentioned that they promoted organization activity during spring quarter by providing condom ferries to drop free contraceptives around I.V.

Saini’s main goal in hosting this event was to continue SRJ’s mission to “globally reach out for giving access to abortion, but locally we aim to bring accessible free menstrual and contraceptive products for college students.”

“Another thing [SRJ] had done was restore the reproductive justice fund to where if you do receive either a free pregnancy test or a STI test at the Student Health Center, the record will not show,” Heinz said 

Heinz clarified that this includes products students receive from the pharmacy that will show up as “Student Health Pharmacy” on their BARC account. 

Saini explains the recently passed abortion policy, Assembly Bill (AB) 2540, provides California Community College students with accessible abortion resources. 

SRJ board members presented the two main types of abortions, using medication or a surgical procedure, both of which are physician approved. They added that the UC Student Health Insurance Plan enables UCSB students to have safe and secure abortion accessibility. The presentation highlighted other resources including Planned Parenthood. 

SRJ members mentioned that the topic of abortion needs to be approached with empathy on opposing sides to bring people together. Saini and Heinz both urged attendees to continue engaging and educating themselves on this topic during a sensitive time. 

At the end of the event, an attendee who chose to remain anonymous emphasized the importance of groups like SRJ staying active to provide students with reproductive health resources.  

“I hope that the organization continues to grow and stay active on campus because sexual health resources are a need especially in our current political climate,” the attendee said. 

A version of this article appeared on p. 8 of the May 7 print edition of the Daily Nexus