The phone bank, which began Tuesday, will take place weekly from 6 to 8 p.m. in Ballantine 205.
Wanda Savala, the community engagement coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, said the goal is to make 300 calls each night until the city council hearing Oct. 21.
Hannah Miller, the president of IU College Democrats, said her organization is working with the IU Feminist Student Association and Planned Parenthood of Bloomington to help organize the effort.
Since Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to cut funding for Planned Parenthood in mid-September, partially community-funded ventures like the Bloomington Healthcare Center also came under scrutiny from local conservatives.
Miller said members of Bloomington’s city council have told her pro-life or conservative members of the community have been present in force at many recent events and meetings about Planned Parenthood.
“The pro-choice people, for some reason, don’t show up as much,” Miller said. “Maybe because the city council is Democratic, they don’t feel like they have to worry.”
Savala said the goal is to get about 100 community members to rally before the meeting and fill the chamber Oct. 21.
“Overall, what we’re looking for would just be a strong show of support,” Savala said. “We think 100 people would be a strong showing.”
Community feedback convinced the local Planned Parenthood chapter to gather support at the upcoming city council meeting, Savala said.
“From there, we’re trying to get people to rally and pack the halls to show support,” Savala said.
Planned Parenthood contacted the College Democrats and Feminist Student Association to do more outreach in Bloomington, she said.
“The whole point of the phone bank is to create a community aspect to this because Planned Parenthood is all about helping the community (by) giving nonjudgemental healthcare,” Miller said.
If 10 students show up on a given night and make 30 calls per hour, the goal of 300 calls per night could be finished in an hour, Savala said.
“We’re not expecting every person to pick up, and when they do, we’re not expecting every person to say yes,” Savala said. “We want to be sure that we’ve called enough people that when someone says no, it doesn’t hit us hard.”
