Reproductive health vending machine to be installed in New Orleans

By Izzy Wollfarth
Contributing Writer

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade under the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. The ruling abandoned nearly 50 years of legal precedent and effectively ended women’s right to abortion. In Louisiana, the “trigger ban” also known as the Human Life Protection Act, came into effect shortly after, making abortion illegal at the state level.

Amidst a volatile political climate, the Louisiana Abortion Fund, Women with a Vision, Birthmark Doula Collective, and Reproductive Justice Action Collective created the Reproductive Health Vending Machine. With plans for installation in June, the vending machine will be located at Turkey and The Wolf, a local New Orleans sandwich shop.

Free to patrons and community members alike, the vending machine will contain emergency contraception, harm reduction materials, condoms and safety testing strips.

“The vending machine is a symbol of our understanding that abortion is not the only way to serve our community,” said Tyler Barbarin, director of grants and development with the Louisiana Abortion Fund. “This vending machine is a love offering to our people to say they deserve care and resourcing and we, along with our collaborating organizations, are here to make sure that happens.”

The Louisiana Abortion Fund centers around Indigenous communities, people of color, queer folks and immigrants. Their initiatives are rooted in the idea that once the most marginalized among us are free, so too will the rest of the world be free. They are a community fund helping people to overcome economic and geographic barriers to abortion care and an organization rooted in reproductive justice.

“We have been supporting our community in acting on their own vision and desires of their reproductive futures since long before the Dobbs decision and we will continue to do so, no matter the political climate or context,” Barbarin added.

Another participating organization, Women with a Vision has worked for 35 years to uplift women’s ability to choose. The intersection between public health and racial justice is the organization’s foundation. Deon Haywood, the executive director, said, “We are working to build a world where everyone has the right to have children, [or] not have children, and care for their families (in whatever configuration is right for them) in safe and healthy communities.”

The abortion ban has subdued legislative attempts that challenge the new legal precedent.

Louisiana State Representative Aimee Adatto Freeman, D-New Orleans, has worked to advocate for women’s choice through legislative efforts but is often unsuccessful. “My bills are doomed for failure as soon as I file them,” Freeman said. “Obviously, I want them to be successful, but in the climate that I’m in, that’s not possible.”

Despite the foreboding failure, Freeman is “constantly on the floor” and represents the desires of her district. She recently petitioned against House Bill 575, which allows civil lawsuits and liabilities for the unlawful termination of a pregnancy, potentially leading to the criminalization of women for miscarriages.

Despite the ongoing battle against abortion laws, the divide between abortion and anti-abortion activists is increasingly complex.

Tara Wicker, the state director for Louisiana Black Advocates for Life and a former East Baton Rouge Parish councilwoman, spoke to the negative impact that abortion has on the Black community.

“We know that there are organizations that have historically and intentionally targeted abortion strategies and tactics in communities of color under the auspices of providing quality healthcare, but the internal intention is to ultimately reduce the Black population.

“We’ll go on campuses, and we’ll say, ‘What’s the biggest killer of African Americans?’ And they’ll say, ‘Oh, well, you know, cancer or diabetes or heart disease.’ And when we take all of those top things that people think are the major killers of Black people in this country, and you combine them all together, abortion is still the largest killer of Black people.”

Louisiana Black Advocates for Life aims to educate those who are unaware of the potential consequences of having an abortion. They aim to create a space where those affected by abortion can heal and feel safe in sharing their stories. “Any of the pushback that we have is this conversation about well, these are my rights and I’m tired of older white men and white Republicans being able to tell me what’s right for my body and whether I can do this and I wanna be able to have my choice. And I say, ‘Well then let’s have a real conversation about what is the reality of choice and where did that all start?” Wicker said.

According to Wicker, economic gain also lies beneath the surface of the debate. “This industry is one of the most money-making industries that there is and people are not having the conversation about the economics that’s surrounding this,” she said.

Under House Bill 575, for example, Freeman notes that for civil lawsuits “It’s up to a hundred thousand dollars a person in the amount of damages you could get.”

While the vending machine seeks to provide reproductive care, its intent extends beyond issues related to abortion. The project aims to empower individuals to make decisions that are right for them no matter the circumstances.

“I think a lot of times people are hyper focused on abortion, for good and not so good reasons. But the reality is that abortion is only a small component of reproductive choice. It exists on a spectrum and not in a vacuum,” Barbarin said.

With support from community members and organizations, The Louisiana Abortion Fund and other participating organizations hope to install the vending machine in other locations around the city.

This article originally published in the June 2, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.