Planned Parenthood to Reopen in New Orleans with Non-Abortion Health Services, Marking Partial Return to Louisiana
Key Insights
Planned Parenthood Great Plains (search) will open a new in-person health center in New Orleans this fall, restoring some access after its Louisiana clinics closed in September 2025.
The clinic will provide contraception, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming care, cancer screenings, vasectomies, and menopause care, but will not offer abortion services under Louisiana's near-total ban.
Telehealth services will launch across Louisiana this summer to reach patients statewide, with referrals coordinated for care requiring out-of-state travel.
Planned Parenthood is returning to Louisiana with a new in-person health center in New Orleans, set to open this fall, the organization announced Wednesday. The move, led by Planned Parenthood Great Plains (search), marks a partial restoration of services after the affiliate's two Louisiana clinics closed on September 30, 2025, citing federal funding cuts and political pressures. The new clinic will focus on contraception, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming care, cancer screenings, vasectomies, and other preventive services—but will not provide abortion care.
The announcement comes one day before the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, which enabled states to outlaw abortion.
A Targeted Service Model
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains (search), said the decision to re-enter Louisiana followed a close examination of patient needs. "When we took a hard look at the patients who had been coming to Planned Parenthood [in Louisiana] and the lack of resources for those patients trying to find other providers, we knew that there was a gap we could fill," Wales said in an interview.
The New Orleans clinic will offer contraception, pregnancy testing, menopause and perimenopause care, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming care, vasectomies, and cancer screenings. Abortion services will not be provided, consistent with Louisiana's near-total abortion ban that took effect after the Dobbs ruling. However, Wales emphasized that the clinic will support patients seeking to travel to states where the procedure remains legal. "They do still fortunately have a constitutionally protected right to travel, and Louisianians should have every kind of support, whether it's from Planned Parenthood, abortion funds, friends and family in other states to get out of state and access care that is legal in other states," she said.
Telehealth Expansion and Regional Coordination
Before the physical clinic opens, Planned Parenthood Great Plains (search) plans to launch telehealth services across Louisiana this summer. The affiliate, which already serves Arkansas, Kansas, western Missouri, and Oklahoma, will add Louisiana to its coverage area. Wales noted that Louisiana patients have already been traveling to some of the network's 13 existing clinics for care increasingly difficult to find at home.
The organization has not yet disclosed the specific New Orleans location, though Wales said she expects to announce the site by late August or early September once local staff are hired and trained. She would not confirm whether the clinic would occupy the former Planned Parenthood site on Napoleon Avenue.
The Closure and Its Impact
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (search) previously operated clinics in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, both of which closed last September. The national parent organization attributed the shuttering of 50 to 70 locations nationwide to federal funding cuts and a decline in donations. Anti-abortion groups had pressured the Trump administration to withdraw Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, despite existing rules prohibiting federal dollars from covering abortion procedures.
Louisiana officials welcomed the closures. Governor Jeff Landry called them a "major win for the pro-life movement," while Attorney General Liz Murrill has actively pursued enforcement of the state's strict abortion ban and a separate law against mailing abortion drugs into Louisiana. Murrill has also sued the Food and Drug Administration to end its telehealth policy permitting doctors to prescribe abortion medications without an in-person visit; the U.S. Supreme Court has kept the rule in place while the lawsuit proceeds.
Prepared for Opposition
Wales said Planned Parenthood is ready for potential obstacles from state officials. "We have fought constitutional fights. We have pushed for state legislators to do better, and we're going to bring that same energy to Louisiana," she said. "Because at the end of the day, no one should be celebrating that there are fewer providers in the safety net, and fewer places for people to access lifesaving care."
Dr. Iman Alsaden, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Great Plains (search), expressed confidence in the organization's ability to staff the new clinic despite the challenging political environment. "Threats and horrors that are persisting every day in our country are really kind of, I think, forcing a lot of people to look at their lives and careers and say, 'You know, maybe I can channel my work into something that would really help these people that are being persecuted for no reason,'" Alsaden said.