Planned Parenthood to return to Louisiana with New Orleans facility

Planned Parenthood is poised to reestablish a physical presence in Louisiana with a new facility in New Orleans, marking a disturbing development in the ongoing national debate over abortion after the repeal of Roe v. Wade. 

Key Takeaways:

• Planned Parenthood announced it will open a facility in New Orleans later this year.

• It plans to offer certain telehealth services, minus abortions (which are illegal in Louisiana), this summer.

• The facility will be part of the Planned Parenthood Great Plains region.

The Details:

On June 24, Planned Parenthood announced its plans to open a new facility in New Orleans before the end of the year, with telehealth services (minus abortions) in the state scheduled to commence later this summer.

Louisiana will be incorporated into the Planned Parenthood Great Plains region, which already covers the Arkansas, Kansas, western Missouri, and Oklahoma areas. Other facilities under this affiliate are also planning to open in various states.

“Access to reproductive health care has become increasingly uneven across the United States. Instead of care, communities with the most unmet needs are met with new restrictions and disruptions. The loss of Planned Parenthood health centers providing services in Louisiana reflected that reality. The return of care underscores Planned Parenthood’s commitment to remaining in the South to meet people where they are and create more pathways to accessing high-quality health care for as many communities as possible,”  Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said. 

Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said that patients from Louisiana have been patronizing its 13 facilities to obtain abortions that she noted are becoming harder to access in their home state.

"When we took a hard look at the patients who had been coming to Planned Parenthood [in Louisiana] and the lack of resources for those patients trying to find other providers, we knew that there was a gap we could fill," Wales said.

Zoom In:

The New Orleans facility is expected to offer contraception, STI testing and treatment, so-called "gender-affirming care," pregnancy testing, care related to perimenopause and menopause, vasectomies, cancer screenings, and other services.

It will not, however, commit abortions on site. Wales said the facility will instead assist patients seeking to travel to states where abortions remain legal.

“They do still fortunately have a constitutionally protected right to travel, and Louisianians should have every kind of support, whether it's from Planned Parenthood, abortion funds, friends and family in other states to get out of state and access care that is legal in other states," Wales said. 

Louisiana has long been acknowledged as one of the most pro-life states in the United States. Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Louisiana’s trigger law took effect, banning most abortions and reinstating the state’s dedication to protecting preborn children. The law mirrors the will of many Louisiana residents, and is a culmination of years of pro-life advocacy and legislative action.

In view of this, Planned Parenthood’s return is a direct affront to Louisiana’s pro-life values and laws. While the organization alleges that it offers essential health care, Planned Parenthood’s core identity and revenue model have historically been heavily linked to abortion.

Data from Planned Parenthood’s own yearly reports consistently reveal that abortions contribute considerably to its earnings, even as it obtains significant taxpayer funding. Moreover, the wider cultural impact of Planned Parenthood’s presence should be denounced.

Establishing a facility in New Orleans could impact public perception, particularly among young people, by deceptively portraying the organization as a trusted healthcare provider instead of an entity deeply entrenched in the practice of killing preborn babies and harming the bodies of born children and individuals struggling with gender confusion. 

Reopening a clinic could also position Planned Parenthood as able to dispute Louisiana’s pro-life laws in court, or to quickly broaden abortion services should the legal landscape change once more. 

The Bottom Line:

To counter the insidious presence of Planned Parenthood, pro-lifers in Louisiana need to bolster  alternatives that truly support women and families. Pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, and community-based support can offer life-affirming care for both mother and child, instead of resorting to abortion as the default option to deal with crisis situations.