Legislature too often retreats into fantasy, ignores our real problems
By: Melissa Flournoy
Originally published in The Advocate
Common sense is in retreat at the Louisiana Legislature as too many legislators want to fight a culture war on women, transgender kids, truth and history.
Efforts to eliminate access to reproductive health care including contraception and further outlawing abortion are attacks on women.
If the Legislature is against abortion, it should fund access to contraception and health care. As a former state director of Planned Parenthood, I can tell you that Planned Parenthood in Louisiana has never performed an abortion. It is one of the most pro-life organizations committed to reproductive health care, contraception and family planning to reduce unwanted pregnancies and reduce the need for abortions. We need to trust women and support their health care decisions and access to contraception.
We need to trust educators and support education for the 21st century. Educated citizens need to be aware of efforts to rewrite history, pretend that racism and misogyny are not issues and that everyone always had the same opportunities for economic success.
We need to recognize that there are many LGBT people in Louisiana who deserve rights and protection against discrimination. Parents of children who may be gay or transgender deserve to make health care decisions and not be stripped of their rights.
We need 10,000 women to make their voices heard demanding action to make Louisiana a place where young people want to live, work and raise a family. Serious problems require savvy, serious, committed people working on reducing poverty, improving the economic self-sufficiency of families, promoting equal pay, access to health care, healthy babies and healthy families, improving education, promoting economic development across the state to meet the needs of the economy of the future with renewable energy — not just focus on the past and fighting a culture war. Let’s focus on the future and solve our real problems.
MELISSA S. FLOURNOY
founder, 10,000 Women Louisiana
Baton Rouge