By: Bailey Weaver
Undercover Activist
Molly Zaninovich, a 20-year-old student at the University of Oregon, dedicates her time to educating and empowering women despite her hectic schedule as a college student. While studying to earn her degree in women’s and gender studies, she is also the Co-President for the University’s Students For Choice program where she organizes and participates in events that bring awareness to women’s issues. Fellow Co-President of Students For Choice, Sima Anekonda, describes Zaninovich’s work as an activist as incredible and states how Zaninovich creates an environment “where passionate people can come together for women’s rights, work hard, and at the end of the day, have a lot of fun.” However, Zaninovich’s drive and passion for women’s rights weren’t always a priority in her life.
Zaninovich explains that because of her upbringing in Oregon, a state that represents more progressive values than others, she never felt reproductive rights were something she had to fight for. Going to college changed that perspective and provided a new outlook on the importance of being proactive in women’s rights. During Zaninovich’s freshman year, the leader of Student’s For Choice informed her about crisis pregnancy centers, which reportedly give inaccurate information to their patients. In that moment Zaninovich realized that people today actively fight against reproductive rights. She states, “it hadn’t occurred to me that anybody would want to fight against something that’s so good for so many people.” After learning this information, Zaninovich decided to take matters into her own hands by going undercover at Eugene’s local Crisis Pregnancy Center, Dove Medical. Despite battling nerves and intimidation of her plan, she pretended that she might be pregnant in order to experience what other women go through during their visit. In the time between taking a pregnancy test and getting the results, Zaninovich received counsel and pamphlets from workers advising her against abortion. She noticed how misleading the environment was and noted that workers wear scrubs around the office despite not being medically trained doctors. “To see the faces of people who are trying to work against women’s reproductive rights in a very sly and undercutting way made me feel really passionate about working towards providing both resources and accurate information for people.”
From this experience, Zaninovich developed new paths for her education by changing her major to women’s and gender studies. For the next two years, she will continue her work at Student’s For Choice along with being a part of the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team. Zaninovich plans to use her studies and experience in her future career. Her goals for the future are to remain a proactive supporter and activist for women’s rights while pursuing a career in educating and assisting survivors of sexual assault.