How to Access an Abortion in Louisiana During a Pandemic

Be prepared for barriers

I am a staunch defender of abortion, but this is not my story. I am 32 years old, and I have never been pregnant. This doesn’t make me special; it makes me an outlier.

In the U.S., the average age of first sexual intercourse is 17 and the average age of menopause is 51. Within these 34 fertile years, a woman will ovulate around 408 times. The odds are incredibly high that during one of these ovulations, birth control will fail in some way. Perhaps a partner will insist on not using protection, or medication will interfere, or the sex education will be taught incorrectly or not at all, or there will be a situation where it is unsafe to refuse. As I’ve written before, I believe most sex in the world today is nonconsensual. These odds lead to a statistic that I hope makes you feel less alone: nearly one in four women will have an abortion by age 45.

As a social worker, early childhood teacher, and public health professional, I have seen all that I need to to know that no one should have to endure an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. I know that abortion is a safe medical procedure that should be available to anyone who does not want to be pregnant.

Yet the stigma and shame attached to abortion is real. Never mind the hundreds of thousands of children…