Despite recent abortion bans, reproductive justice groups try to expand access to care

Plan B, probiotics, condoms, stickers and zines with reproductive healthcare information sit on a table at CareChella,a reproductive justice event put on by the Louisiana Abortion Fund and Plan C Pills, on July 6, 2024. (Arielle Robinson/Verite News)

Two reproductive justice groups teamed up on Saturday for an event centered around increasing access to abortion, emergency contraception and other forms of reproductive health care.

The Louisiana Abortion Fund and Plan C Pills , groups that help people access abortion care, hosted the event, called “CareChella,” amid years of declining access to abortion in the state, culminating in a statewide ban on the procedure that took effect in 2022. The implementation of the law, under Democratic former Gov. John Bel Edwards, followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.

The event, which featured information tables and zines on reproductive health, as well as free condoms, Plan B pills and probiotics, was meant to remind people that there are still ways to access reproductive health care in Louisiana.

“We’re still here to help people,” said Chasity Wilson, executive director of the Louisiana Abortion Fund. “Reproductive justice and reproductive access and care [are] broad. So it’s not just about abortion.”

Louisiana’s ban on abortion is among the strictest in the country, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

But the state hasn’t stopped there. In May, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed Senate Bill 276, which classifies the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol as dangerous  controlled substances. The bill will go into effect on Oct. 1.

The organizers of the Saturday event said the passage of SB 276 was meant to stoke fear.

“Our legislature passed that to further criminalize people,” Wilson said. “…When you talk about this bill that they passed, it did nothing but create fear, unnecessary fear, in people who are already afraid.”

She added that people have worries about traveling out of the state to seek an abortion, including costs  and whether they will be able to get out of the state for an appointment during a weather emergency.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Plan C Partnerships and Engagement Manager Imani Wilson-Shabazz said Louisiana’s legislative attacks on abortion access are not rooted in science. The day that Landry signed SB 276 into law, he said in a press release that the bill “protects women across Louisiana.”

“By and large we know that abortion is fast and safe,” Wilson-Shabazz said. “In a lot of instances safer than childbirth, so these bans aren’t about keeping people safe. It really is about controlling people’s bodies.”

Wilson-Shabazz said she hopes and believes SB 276 will most likely be struck down through court challenges before going into effect.

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the country , and Wilson-Shabazz said the Legislature’s attacks on maternal health care will only make that worse.

In addition, she noted, misoprostol is used for a host of other things, like treating stomach ulcers and post-partum hemorrhaging.

“Making it a controlled substance makes it harder for it to also be used in those other instances, which really can hurt people,” she said.

Brianna Foushee, who lives in New Orleans and attended Saturday’s event, said she agreed with Wilson-Shabazz that the bill will likely make maternal health outcomes worse in Louisiana.

“All this kind of did was open the door for it to get much worse,” Foushee said.

Gabrielle Steib, another New Orleans resident, said she was embarrassed by the moves the state has taken to reduce access to care.

“I’m worried for younger girls, especially in situations of sexual violence, that they [may] think there’s not other options” besides carrying a child to term, she said. “It’s scary.”

Despite the pessimism felt by many at the event, there was still some hope.

Steib said she would like these sorts of events put on in smaller towns throughout the state and presented in different languages.

Wilson-Shabazz said reproductive justice advocates are going to keep fighting to increase access to abortion care.

“I know things can look bleak,” Wilson-Shabazz said. “But there are groups that are really here to help you access the care that you need [in] the way that you need it.”

DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST

This article first appeared on Verite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Despite recent abortion bans, reproductive justice groups try to expand access to care appeared first on Louisiana Illuminator .