University of AZ partners with activist group to distribute ‘sexual health emergency kits’ in response to ‘climate change’

The conservation group The Center for Biological Diversity, which it says is dedicated to “the protection of endangered species and wild places,” provided the kits, which include items such as emergency contraception. In a press release earlier this month, the organization said “extreme weather events” were the reason for the initiative, though it did not identify a specific upcoming weather-related event.

“Extreme weather events can disrupt services and limit access to abortions, birth control, and menstrual hygiene products,” the organization said. “This increases the risk of unintended pregnancy and can make it harder for vulnerable people to recover from the event.”

Kelley Dennings, a campaigner at the center, cited “flash foods and wildfires” in the press release, saying these instances “make it impossible to access family planning and period supplies” and that “most people leave these items out of their emergency preparedness kits.”

“The kits help make sure people won’t have to scramble to care for their sexual health during climate-fueled severe weather emergencies,” Dennings added. The emergency kits were distributed on Friday on the University of Arizona's main campus in Tucson. The last major wildfire in the area occurred in 2020.

The organization said in its statement that the “climate crisis” disproportionately impacts “women and gender diverse people,” saying “their voices are often left out of climate and emergency preparedness plans, even as climate-fueled severe weather events become more frequent because of human-caused climate change.”

“Sexual health emergency preparedness kits are designed to fill this gap, as well as highlight the need for people and communities to consider these kinds of items in their own emergency preparations,” the group said.