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To navigate strict abortion laws, one doctor has an idea: open a boat clinic in the Gulf

Gulf of Mexico
Lane Lefort
/
U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers
Gulf of Mexico

This segment of Louisiana Considered aired on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. To listen to the full episode, click the play button above.

Back in June when Roe v. Wade was overturned, ending the constitutional right to an abortion, it instantly activated multiple state laws to restrict and ban the procedure. In order to navigate these laws in Louisiana and across the South, one doctor in California has an ambitious idea: a floating reproductive health clinic in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Meg Autry, an obstetrician, gynecologist and professor at the University of California San Francisco, tells us more about this idea and what it’s going to take to get this clinic off the ground.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of Louisianans who experienced food insecurity during the pandemic reached over 900,000. But the state is now addressing this problem by signing an agreement with the USDA under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program.

Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, tells us how this program will help support farmers and other food suppliers while increasing food access to underserved communities.

Country stores are a hallmark of the rural South — the kind of places where you can buy fertilizer in one aisle, lotion in the next and crickets for bait in a third. While many closed years ago, driven out by big stores with cheaper prices, others hung on. Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Newsroom tells us how these stores are adapting to inflation and why they’re not too concerned.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubry Procell, and Thomas Walsh. 

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Adam is responsible for coordinating WRKF's programming and making sure everything you hear on the radio runs smoothly. He is Newscast Editor for the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom. Adam is also the Baton Rouge-based host for Louisiana Considered, our daily regional news program, and is frequently the local voice afternoons on All Things Considered.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WRKF from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul and The Documentary Group in New York City.