Louisiana’s two Planned Parenthood locations are set to close on Sept. 30, most likely as a result of funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
With the New Orleans location lying just a few minutes walk from Tulane University’s campus, several campus clubs and organizations are shifting gears to continue Planned Parenthood’s mission for current students.
“This is a major win for the pro-life movement here in Louisiana,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Though Planned Parenthood’s facilities in Louisiana were never licensed to provide abortions, the organization provided pre and post abortion services.
The closures mirror a nationwide trend of reproductive health centers closing. The nonprofit announced the closure of its clinics in Baton Rouge and New Orleans in early August.
Planned Parenthood has been in New Orleans since the 1980s, and the upcoming closing could limit the services available to city residents and Tulane students.
“Campus Health obviously does STI testing, which is incredibly important, and they do birth control prescriptions and things of that nature,” Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast organizer Carlie Cintrón said.
Planned Parenthood provides certain services that are not offered at Tulane University Campus Health, such as broader cancer screenings, miscarriage management and out-of-state abortion referrals.
“Planned Parenthood goes above and beyond, so pregnancy care, pre and post abortion care, patient navigation for abortions out of state, things that young people need and rely on and will not have access to anymore,” Cintrón said.
Planned Parenthood’s out-of-pocket options allowed for greater confidentiality for students. At Campus Health, medical records are still confidential; however, if a student’s parents’ insurance covers their care, it may reveal the type of care billed.
“Planned Parenthood did offer confidential resources that could be really useful to students who maybe didn’t want their parents finding out about what treatments they’re getting,” Tulane Peer Health Educators president Shanae Venter said. “I think that will be the main shift.”
Before the clinic closes its doors, it aims to funnel its plethora of supplies — condoms, Plan B, safe sex supplies and more — to Planned Parenthood Generation Action, a Tulane student organization that works to provide resources and raise awareness about reproductive health care and justice.
“I have a surplus at my house; I have like, a whole closet,” PPGA president Catarina Vasquez said. “They’re definitely supporting us however they can with resources and making sure that they’re gonna give us a little stockpile to last us through the rest of the semester, hopefully the rest of the year.”
Many students are finding motivation through on-campus activism.
“Something that helps me is to remember that those before us had less resources than we had, and they still brought the change that we’re able to see today,” Zoraya Rodriguez-Mowzoun, president of Tulane’s Sexual Aggression Peer Hotline and Education, said. “Obviously, there’s a lot that we need to progress, but we have made so much progress as a movement overall.”
“I think that if you’re outraged, you probably should be,” Venter said.
Over half of the patients who utilize services at Planned Parenthood in Louisiana are Medicaid insurance users, and over 70% are people of color.
“Low-income or unhoused people in New Orleans were relying on these resources at Planned Parenthood and they might not be able to access them,” Venter said. “As a Tulane student, it’s frustrating and it’s defeating, but as somebody who was utilizing these resources as their only form of care, it’s a much, much bigger loss.”
“This is a wake-up call for so many people, especially students who maybe weren’t paying attention before, or were aware of it, but weren’t really doing much about it,” Cintrón said. “This is the time to get out there on campus and organize.”