Planned Parenthood closed in Louisiana. I'm a New Orleans doctor who wants to help fill the gap and protect safe access to contraceptive care by running a free contraceptive clinic, and I need help purchasing the tools to do it. It's as simple as that.

When Planned Parenthood closed in Louisiana, patients lost critical access to birth control, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and preventive care like cancer screening that was life saving. Notice I didn't say they lost access to abortions. Planned Parenthood *never* provided abortions in Louisiana. The politicians who fought to shut down Planned Parenthood want you to believe they did it to prevent abortions. Unfortunately, because many people have lost access to birth control now, many more abortions will result.

I couldn't possibly fill the gap left behind by Planned Parenthood closing. But I have pre-med college students (and a long list of other volunteers) who want to help me serve the community by providing free access to contraceptive care to those who would otherwise have gone to Planned Parenthood. The waitlists for appointments with providers who can provide this kind of care for free in New Orleans are very long. I'd like to help ease the burden on patients who need it.

The plan:

My little solo practice Direct Primary Care clinic in uptown New Orleans, called Poppy Direct Care, will host a free contraceptive clinic one afternoon/evening a week in the spring and fall. It will be staffed by myself (pro bono) and volunteers. Anyone who needs contraception and who reports they would otherwise have gone to Planned Parenthood for it, is welcome to come in for a free visit to discuss which birth control is right for them. No means testing or document checking. I don't have time for that. We have a lot of work to do. You need contraception? Come on in.

I dispense prescription drugs on site at my practice. So if a patient wants a birth control pill, I can dispense it for wholesale prices right then and there. Or, I can send a prescription to a pharmacy for them to pick up with their insurance (including Medicaid). If a patient wants an intrauterine device (IUD) or Nexplanon (implanted birth control), we will order it using their insurance or prescription-assistance plans to help with the cost of the device. The patient will come back for a second visit (still free) to have it inserted.

The ask:

I need a sterilizing machine, called an autoclave, and all the reusable instruments that I would use to manage birth control that requires a procedure (like IUDs and Nexplanon implants). These tools are expensive. But once I've purchased them, I don't need to buy them again, and I can keep sterilizing them and using them over and over again, to help as many patients as possible. I also plan to use the funds to purchase urine pregnancy tests for this free clinic so that I can properly confirm someone isn't already pregnant before giving them birth control.

Why not just purchase disposable IUD insertion kits? I purchased disposable IUD kits for my paying patients in my practice and I bill them to the patient, but these are about $20 each, which is still prohibitively expensive for many patients who might have accessed care at Planned Parenthood. I can donate my time and my clinic space to this cause of providing free access to contraceptive care, but I can't personally pay for this many disposable instruments to serve the community. I need reusable instruments that I can sterilize, and use again and again.

Why give?

The south is hurting, ya'll. Bodily autonomy and the right to make decisions about your own reproduction are no longer an easy freedom here (or in many other "red states" that have similarly slashed programs and clinics that provide reproductive healthcare).

You can help fight back by giving those of us with the ability to serve the community in this way the tools (literally) to do it.

It's not always safe to out yourself as a supporter of bodily rights and healthcare, and that's OK. Give anonymously.

This is my hill. I'm willing to publicly out myself as a supporter of safe, evidence-based reproductive healthcare (see the lawsuit I'm a plaintiff in where I and other plaintiffs are currently suing the state of Louisiana because they made miscarriage management pills controlled substances). Help me help those who need contraceptive care and either can't afford it, or can't access it now.

Thank you for your support. Ultimately, we're all in this together.

Warmly,

Dr. Holt