Faculty forced to report affiliation with Planned Parenthood

Coastal Carolina University faculty members have been asked to report any affiliation with the Planned Parenthood organization, and some attempts are being made to track potential funding to this organization, according to an anonymous source.  

The South Carolina state legislature halted taxpayer state funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers as of June 2023, according to sc.gov. 

An unnamed source informed The Chanticleer that faculty have been asked to report any connection to Planned Parenthood. The source said the University asked if they had received money or given money to Planned Parenthood, and asked that they do not tell students about this required reporting.  

Associate Professor and Director of Women’s and Gender Studies Ina Seethaler confirmed that faculty were asked to report any affiliation with Planned Parenthood in their respective departments upon legislative request. 

Seethaler said University-required reporting of Planned Parenthood affiliation is not new, as legislature has asked universities for similar reports in the past. 

“Again, nothing has come of it. So, I think it’s, to a certain degree, just kind of a scare tactic,” Seethaler said.  

Seethaler said the South Carolina state legislature is heavily invested in its attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, and to make it as difficult as possible for anyone to collaborate with the organization. This constant legislation makes access to reproductive healthcare increasingly difficult for women. 

“I do think it is very ideological, it supports their ideological pursuit to defund Planned Parenthood,” she said.  

Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) is a student-run organization with chapters on college campuses nationwide, and Coastal’s newly instated chapter is starting to blossom.  

Co-President of PPGA Emily Boling joined this organization to pursue her passion for reproductive justice. PPGA offers a welcoming and inclusive space for students to access sexual health education. The group provides resources for reproductive health, including contraceptives and emergency contraceptives, to those in need.  

PPGA is directly affiliated with Planned Parenthood.  

Senior Alexis Mejia interns for Planned Parenthood through the PPGA organization. She works as the liaison between Planned Parenthood and executive members of PPGA by communicating ideas, initiatives and upcoming legislation that may affect the group.  

Mejia said she was required to report her internship, something that she said isn’t required of other interns at Coastal. 

She is unsure where the information went, but assumes it was sent to the state. She said a report like this wouldn’t have been required had she not interned for Planned Parenthood.  

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the University by The Chanticleer, requesting emails and letters sent by administrators containing information about Planned Parenthood. The FOIA Office has not fulfilled this request. 

Known affiliation with PPGA or Planned Parenthood can land faculty members in hot water because of its political nature. Boling said any faculty member associated with PPGA is at risk of losing their job, even just for sending or receiving emails pertaining to this group. 

“They are tracking absolutely everything,” Boling said.  

Boling said PPGA has received an overwhelming amount of support and she is hopeful for future success and outreach programs.  

“I think the campus is getting a lot better at accepting, like, demonstration of feminism and things like that,” Boling said. “But there’s still so much work to be done.”  

Meghan Chambers, junior psychology major, joined PPGA to use her voice for change. She hopes existing programs and upcoming initiatives will provide students the access to reproductive help she believes they deserve. However, she worries about repercussions of the previously mentioned University reporting.  

“If that has to be reported, no one is going to come to us because they are not going to see it as a safe space,” Chambers said.