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Abortion rights advocates meet at Louisiana State Capitol

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Abortion rights advocates came together to talk about how the ban on abortions in Louisiana has affected their lives. Speakers came together at the Louisiana State Capitol for “We Have a Vision: Louisiana Reproductive Justice Day at the Capitol.”

The event started at 9:20 a.m. and some of the speakers who were scheduled to attend included those listed below:

Ebony M. Baylor started the news conference by speaking about “the importance of reproductive justice in our community.” Baylor said, “At the core of reproductive justice is the belief that all women have the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to nurture the children we have in a safe and healthy environment.”

Ashley Shelton of Power Coalition for Equity and Justice then stepped to the microphone and spoke about reproductive justice for Black and brown women. Shelton said this is “about the right to have a baby, the right to access to health care, the opportunity to have actual care while you’re pregnant.”

Nancy Davis is a Baton Rouge native and she shared her experience about dealing with what she said was a “nonviable” pregnancy. Davis said, “I was being forced to carry my baby, to bury my baby.”

Kaitlin Joshua then spoke about her experience while being pregnant in Louisiana. Joshua said, “I am standing before you as a survivor of the unintended consequences set forth by our state’s abortion ban.” According to Joshua, she had to travel around to various hospitals to get basic maternal health care.

Deon Haywood of Women with a Vision concluded the news conference. Haywood said, “Somebody’s going to have to remind lawmakers that they work for us.”