Shreveport abortion clinic plans to move after Louisiana abortion ban stays

Makenzie Boucher, Shreveport Times
·2 min read
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After the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected an appeal to hear a case on the state's abortion ban, a group in Shreveport  has created a GoFundMe fundraiser for the only clinic in North Louisiana. 

"The community support received the last few months has been amazing," said Kathaleen Pittman, administrator for Hope Medical Group for Women. "Channeling this support into a GoFundMe is the next step."

Hope is one of only three clinics in the state. The other two clinics, in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, are expected to move as well.

This will leave Shreveport without an abortion clinic for the first time since 1974.

"When Friday's ruling was issued by the Louisiana State Supreme Court and Hope's rent was denied for permanent injunction against the abortion ban. They realized that they needed to start looking for space elsewhere. They don't want to shut down because they want to keep providing services because abortion providers are going out of business all over the country," said Debbie Hollis, a group member who helped create the GoFundMe fundraiser.

Hope Medical Group for Women on June 24, 2022 on Kings Highway in Shreveport.
Hope Medical Group for Women on June 24, 2022 on Kings Highway in Shreveport.

Hollis continued, "that's why we created this fundraiser."

Read: ‘We are still fighting’: Shreveport abortion clinic, Hope Medical Group for Women, still open

Hope Medical Group has been providing abortion care to families in the Ark-La-Tex since 1980, and the staff is 100% committed to continued service in the South. "They want to stay open, they just can't stay open in Louisiana," said Hollis.

Pittman said, "we are unable to continue abortion care in Louisiana and are actively searching for a new location."

Kathaleen Pittman, the administrator of the Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, works in her office on Feb. 20, 2020. The clinic is one of three in the state that provides abortions to women, and it is challenging a state law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The Supreme Court is hearing the case on March 4.

Similar clinics in other states have relocated after the ruling of Roe vs. Wade. The Red River Women's Clinic in North Dakota is one example, after raising $1 million this clinic was able to relocate to an abortion-friendly state. Hollis said, "we can't just stand by and do nothing, and this fundraiser is a way to make sure people in the southern states will still have access to safe, legal abortion - even if its not here in Louisiana."

"We are determined to continue to provide abortion care wherever that takes us," said Pittman.

More: Louisiana Supreme Court rejects appeal in abortion ban case

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveport abortion clinic plans to move after abortion ban stays