On Monday, March 10, St. Olaf’s Students for Reproductive Rights (SRR) club attended Reproductive Freedom Lobby Day at the Capitol in St. Paul. The first part of the event consisted of a rally with speakers ranging from representatives to advocates, while the second part involved meeting with Minnesota government politicians.
Ella Bergquist ’25 and Carmella McGee ’25 run the club as co-presidents, along with an executive board. The club does many events: some bigger, such as Reproductive Freedom Lobby Day, and some more local.
While the club name includes reproductive rights, its purpose goes deeper.
“We particularly fight for reproductive justice,” McGee said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “Reproductive rights are something that we should all automatically have. Reproductive justice is seeking to ensure that we do all have those rights, so we focus on the justice aspect of it.”
Amidst all the debate and inequality around reproductive freedom in America, Bergquist has found it more important than ever to be involved.
“Reproductive freedom means that each individual is free to choose their own path… SRR is deeply important to me because, despite the communal benefits reaped via reproductive freedom, I also understand that those benefits are not evenly distributed,” Bergquist said. “I feel that given my place of privilege as a white woman, it is integral for me to use my voice to amplify others who have been historically deprived of reproductive freedoms — this is an opportunity afforded by being a part of SRR.”
On Lobby Day, club members attended the rally and met with St. Olaf alumna Kristi Pursell ’03, the State Representative for the Rice County District. She discussed her role in getting the bills for financial support of reproductive health care clinics passed.
“As the lead author on one of the bills, I can request a hearing for my bill, and I then coordinate with other groups who support these priorities to line up testifiers to make a strong case for why it needs to be funded,” Pursell said. “Leadership will make the decisions for how much each committee is allocated for our budgets and then it’s each committee Chair who decide(s) how the funds are spent or from where they’re cut.”
Pursell also spoke about how community members can help, emphasizing that while it’s important to communicate with representatives when they’re doing things we don’t like, it’s also important to show positive support when they’re doing things that we do.
Their participation on Lobby Day highlighted why so many SRR members feel a deep commitment to fighting for reproductive justice.
“The basis for everything is the right to make your own choices about your body,” McGee said. “It doesn’t matter what your reason for getting an abortion is, it’s no one else’s business. It’s important for anyone who just doesn’t want to be pregnant.”
“SRR is about educating ourselves to make the boldest and most necessary impact, but it is also about creating a space for radical joy,” Bergquist said. “I feel very grateful to be a part of an organization that represents such a display of duality and one that allows me to use my voice to be a force for holistic change.”
Students for Reproductive Rights meets biweekly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Buntrock Commons 144. Anyone is welcome to join. You can find out more on their Instagram, @srrolaf.
