Louisiana Lagniappe April 2023
By Alysson Romo | April 11, 2023, 6:49 p.m.
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We hope your year is off to a great start. Louisiana’s 2022 Legislative Session will convene on Monday, April 10, 2023, and we are already preparing. With continuous attacks on sexual and reproductive health, including the latest ruling on mifepristone, we must continue this fight. No matter what.
This year, we need our supporters now more than ever to prepare for a session full of action. Planned Parenthood wants to ensure you have the resources and information you need to be an advocate! We’ve put together a comprehensive guide for the upcoming legislative session so you can:
- Contact your legislators
- Know how your legislators voted in the past
- Understand how the legislature works
- Attend committee meetings to pack the Capitol
- Find out who your legislators are
- Sign up for action alerts for advocacy work
- And more...
Visit our website at 2023 Louisiana Legislative Session for access to all these resources. In the meantime, here’s what we’ve been up to in Louisiana!
In the Community
We’re happy to announce a video project we’ve been working on titled ‘Our Bodies, Our Choices’. In this project, we enlisted 15 storytellers who share their experiences and opinions centered around abortion access, as well as why it is so important to give back choice to all people. We hosted an event on Tuesday, March 7th with our amazing donors and partners to showcase the video project. Visit our YouTube channel to watch each of our amazing and powerful storytellers.
Our Promotoras Program, which works to serve our Latinx/Hispanic communities, kicked off a two-day training with Familias Unidas en Accion discussing sexuality, birth control, anatomy and physiology. Special thanks to the University of New Orleans for hosting us!
Mario Sigur, a Senior at Southern University in Baton Rouge and also PPGC’s Men in the Movement Intern, had the privilege of traveling to DC to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who was hosting a listening session for 30 young men of color around the country to share their personal experiences. Mario spoke on his experience as a man in the reproductive justice movement, discrimination within the health care system and barriers young people in the Deep South face within the health care system. Mario grew up in New Orleans and saw firsthand how the lack of comprehensive sex education impacted his fellow students who were becoming young parents. Mario shared a touching story on his mom's abortion story and why he stands in solidarity with making abortion safe, legal and accessible to all.
We partnered with The Nancy Davis Foundation, 10,000 Women Louisiana, Independent Women’s Organization of New Orleans, Lift Louisiana, National Organization for Women, National Organization for Women-Baton Rouge Chapter and Louisiana State Representative Mandie Landry for the Bigger Than Roe march! Our community organizer, Jeramesha spoke at the event to discuss PPGC's efforts amid a post-Roe Louisiana.
We launched our new signature initiative, Black Spaces Black Places, in partnership with Dream House Lounge — a Black-owned mental and spiritual wellness lounge — on Wednesday, March 29th. For the launch, we attended DH Lounge's wellness Wednesdays with NOLA Black Mental Health Matters and Brightside Therapy.
Resources
Questions around abortion access? We may have some answers! Visit here to learn where to go, what resources are available and how to help.
Need help finding out-of-state abortion providers and financial support with travel, meals, and/or childcare? Please call Planned Parenthood at 713-831-6672 for assistance or fill out the below forms.
Get Involved
PPGC In the News
If you haven’t heard, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is now hosting a monthly radio show segment titled ‘ProFrequency’ on New Orleans’ 102.3 WHIV FM and you can listen in here. The show airs every third Thursday each month at 10 a.m. New Orleans-based Kendra Smith-Parks, PPGC’s Louisiana Communications Manager, will host the show featuring PPGC employees and our community partners in the city
Since our last Louisiana Lagniappe edition, we’ve had three more episodes including Black Love and Black Joy, Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and HIV Awareness/Information.
It's also available to listen to on Spotify! Our latest episode on abortions with Louisiana Abortion Fund's Chasity Wilson. We’re so thankful for our incredible guests Chanelle with NOLABlackMentalHealthMatters, Tamika and Jordyn!
"We have to continue to defend reproductive healthcare, because they’re not finished with abortion. They’re coming after contraceptives, they’re coming up with trans-bans, they’re coming across all these intersectional issues that are impacting all people but especially those who are most marginalized and oppressed, black and brown people.” - Petrice Sams-Abiodun, VP of Strategic Partnerships for PPGC.
Looking Ahead
Thomas Mann Gallery presents the Plan B Project
Join us to show your support for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast – Louisiana on Saturday, April 15 at Thomas Mann Gallery on the corner of Tchoupitoulas Street and Napoleon Avenue.
Thomas Mann Gallery presents The Plan B Project, showcasing jewelry and metal art raising money for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast - Louisiana. The Plan B Project is a touring showcase for jewelry and wearable works donated by artists and meant to hold up a mirror to women’s reproductive choices and freedom to safely end a pregnancy or go to term. PPGC’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Petrice Sams-Abiodun will give an update on Louisiana and curator Shauna Burke will discuss the Plan B Project, with introductions by Thomas Mann.
A percentage of the sales of jewelry in the Plan B show will go to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast for the duration of the show. Thomas Mann will give a percentage of sales of Thomas Mann Jewelry to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast on the opening night of the show.
Opening - Sat. April 15
Jazz Fest Opening - Sat. May 6
Mother's Day Closing - Sat. May 13
Baton Rouge Spring Event:
The Baton Rouge Spring Event is Thursday, May 11, 2023, at Chelsea's Live in Baton Rouge. The theme for this year’s event is CouRAGEous which encompasses all of the elements we need in our fight for a better, more equitable future. The courage to continue when our adversaries are relentless, the rage that pushes us to keep fighting, and each and every one of us coming together to demand that our rights be respected until we realize a world where everyone is in control of their reproductive health, lives and futures, especially with the upcoming legislative session beginning in April. Visit here to buy your ticket(s) today!
GiveNOLA and 225Gives:
We are participating in GiveNOLA and 225Gives this year and looking for ambassadors. GiveNOLA is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2 and 225Gives is scheduled for Thursday, May 4th. For more information on how to become an ambassador please contact [email protected].
Men in the Movement
PPGC seeks to provide a safe space for young men of color to consider a gender-equitable future of manhood, discuss issues that are important to them, and to empower them to become advocates and leaders in their communities. The Louisiana Strategic Partnership Team participated in a cultural sensitivity training to address biases toward and develop skills to effectively provide programming for individuals who identify as young men of color. Going into 2023, we are excited to welcome two eager interns to help develop and implement programming. Stay tuned for more details.
Black Spaces, Black Places (BSBP)
PPGC uplifts the experiences and voices of Black persons to increase advocacy and representation, promote community ownership, and tailor sexual education. BSBP cultivates advocates and allies who are passionate and determined to combat the intertwining issues of racial and health equity, liberation, reproductive health, rights, and justice for all Black people in Louisiana.
Promotora Expansion
PPGC is expanding our Promotora program in partnership with Latinx organizations throughout Louisiana. We’re working to train local New Orleanian Latinx leaders using the Promotora created VOICES (Volunteer, Open, Inclusive, Community Education on Sexuality) Program, which was created this year by our Promotora team. Our sessions are delivered to audiences of 5+ people, virtually or in-person (when it is safe to do so). Find out more information by reaching out to our team at [email protected].
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