Penn Reproductive Justice hosted state Rep. Chris Rabb (D-200) for a Monday panel on the role of abortion in the upcoming midterm elections.
The Oct. 12 “My Body, My Ballot” event — part of PRJ’s Philadelphia Reproductive Justice Week of Action — was moderated by College senior Saanvi Gupta. Panelists gathered in the Annenberg Center’s Montgomery Theatre to discuss reproductive freedom and encourage students to vote.
Rabb, graduated Penn in 2006 with a master’s in organizational dynamics and is running for election in Pennsylvania’s third congressional district. In an interview, he said that students should recognize their ability to organize and hold their universities accountable before graduating.
He was joined by Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju, The Women’s Centers’ Director of Public Affairs Roxanne McNellis, and OB-GYN Karen Feisullin.
The event kicked off Reproductive Freedom for All’s campaign tour across battleground states throughout October.
Timmaraju similarly emphasized the important role students can take in advocating for reproductive rights during the discussion.
“You’re the first generation to come to be in your reproductive years without the full protection of the Constitution, and that can be a really scary, demoralizing place, or it can be a point of clarity,” she said, adding that “our hope is to use it as a point of mobilization.”
In an interview, Timmaraju added that the event aimed to provide a “reality check about how devastating the crisis of abortion access is in the United States and what unique role Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians and Penn students can have in fixing the crisis.”
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Following a dinner reception and opening remarks, she encouraged attendees to vote for candidates who support abortion rights — including Rabb.
“Flipping control of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate is the best way for us to ensure access in all 50 states,” she added.
Rabb similarly expressed that reproductive freedom policies cannot pass “with the Senate controlled by folks who embrace misogyny and patriarchy.”
He criticized voters who do not consider the larger consequences of their choices.
“This is an indictment of a fickle electorate that feels comfortable in their own bubble and not is understanding that the choices they make are going to have a lasting impact for generations and impact an entire state and perhaps an entire country,” Rabb said. “Because as Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation.”
McNellis examined Pennsylvania’s reproductive freedom policies.
During the panel, she criticized restrictions implemented under the state’s Abortion Control Act and called on state lawmakers to reduce their control over medical care.
“When you’re in a state where the practice of medicine is baked into state statutes, it can’t change for decades,” McNellis said. “That means people don’t get the care that they deserve, and they can’t practice in the ways that they should be able to.”
The panel concluded with a conversation about the relationship between campus responses to sexual violence and reproductive freedom. Speakers discussed Cornell University’s handling of an alleged gang rape on its campus in 2024. They encouraged attendees to share their experiences and organize collectively.
“We’re all part of a bigger global movement that includes fighting for the Epstein survivors, that includes fighting for Jane Doe, that includes fighting for abortion rights for women who’ve died in states with abortion bans,” Timmaraju said. “And we have to think about it as a global interconnected movement.”
Gupta concluded the event by calling collective participation in elections the “very bare minimum” for protecting reproductive rights.
College junior Kimb Liu, PRJ co-president and Week of Action organizer, expressed hope that attendees would leave the event motivated to vote on Nov. 3.
“I hope that people who leave this event feel like their vote matters, and I hope that they feel that they’re not alone in their beliefs,” Liu said.
