Fall Wrap Up Blog Post

This semester has truly passed too quickly! What a whirlwind of events this election season. At Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC), we have been organizing voter registrations, phone banking drives, and tabling events for the past few months. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am so impressed and feel so fulfilled with everything that the PPGC team has been able to achieve digitally and in-person (socially distanced of course).

Kicking off the semester, I helped to design a challenge for Voter Registration Week, where we encouraged PPGC volunteers, supporters, and our larger community to get registered, learn more about the history of voting, and the intersections between voting and upholding reproductive rights. On the ballot this fall was Amendment 1, the “No Right to Abortion,” amendment, and it was absolutely essential to PPGC’s mission that we raise awareness about the harmful impacts that the change in language would bring to the future of abortion accessibility in Louisiana. We held several town halls and lectures to keep our community in the loop as well as address any questions about the amendment.

Outside of the digital sphere, we continued organizing via tabling events at community churches, educational sessions, and here on campus at Tulane. One of the most reassuring experiences that I’ve had this semester was all the support and energy I received from my peers while tabling. The pandemic has made it much more difficult to meet new people in person and by extension, organize at the levels we were accustomed to pre-COVID. But to be able to hear from people that they would love to support the #voteNO1A campaign and how much Planned Parenthood meant to them, was truly heartwarming and motivating to keep up the campaign’s momentum into election day. And while the amendment did end up passing in the state, I’m still so proud of all the work we were able to carry out and all the people we were able to reach here in the New Orleans community.