Monday, January 27, 2014










Hearing details:
NOTE: NOAF and our allies are wearing purple!


Thank you! Together, we can fight back!


  1. The formatting got extremely messed up when I copy/pasted the sample letter and the font is sort of huge too.

    1. Thanks for the warning! We've had some formatting issues on the blog today too, but the sample letter is a PDF from the fund volunteers who contacted us -- I encourage everyone to double-check your fonts, select all and set it to Times 12-pt, or paste it into a simple text editor like Notepad that doesn't transfer as much formatting. Thank you for adding your voice by sending something!

  2. Here's my letter!

    Dear DHH officials,

    The mission of the Department of Health and Hospitals is to protect Louisiana citizens as they receive healthcare. Please revoke the emergency regulations regarding abortion clinics. These regulations are overbearing and unnecessary, and it is frankly preposterous that they are being considered at all. If clinics are to adhere to the stipulations for room size, they will have to rebuild, risking their licenses and unnecessarily inflating the cost of procedures. I volunteer for an organization that helps women obtain funds to be able to afford their abortions. Speaking with dozens of women in a given week, it is clear that it is already difficult for too many women to find the money to get an abortion. Families are struggling as it is. Most of the women I talk to are unemployed or underemployed, living with a family member, and living paycheck to paycheck. Many already have children, and worry that they will not be able to support another child. Adding the burden of cost—or another child if an abortion becomes impossible—does not help anyone in this situation.

    I'd like to share some comments from one of our clients here, B. Jones:
    “I can barely make do for myself. Financially, I make ends meet, but what about diapers and wipes? I've done my part with my birth control. I don't qualify for those long-term birth controls [the IUD and the Implanon]. If I'm being shut down on my birth control, I'm forced to seek abortions. It's my way of not being on welfare, food stamps, [having] another child on WIC or Medicaid. The truth of the matter is it's my body and I thought it was a free country. And it's my choice.”

    Furthermore, I truly fear the consequences if Louisiana's abortion clinics are forced out of business. As always with these regulations, low-income families will be affected most, while those who can afford to do so will travel to seek out a safe abortion. Those who cannot will undoubtedly attempt to terminate their pregnancies some other way. I know because I have spoken with such individuals. Please do not turn back the clock on health and safety in this state. Too much is at stake for women and families when abortion rights are impossible to access.

    Another client says it best: “I could understand [these regulations] if there's a real threat to someone's health, but they're using medical standards to control someone's life. It's not really gonna help anybody out. They don't really know hat's going on in a situation. It would take a personal encounter to understand the weight of the decision.”



    1. Wow, that's an excellent letter. Thanks so much for sharing it. The words of the clients are humbling, as they so often are...and ought to shame anyone who doesn't already realize how shameful this attack is.

