As a senior, I am approaching the time where I reflect on the various experiences I have had throughout college, which includes my time at Lift Louisiana. Working with the Lift Louisiana staff, I have gained insight into the purpose and process of doing reproductive rights and reproductive health organizing and advocacy. I have had the chance to see how legal and political frameworks work together to ensure that women throughout Louisiana have access to equitable healthcare and actually receive economic, racial, and reproductive justice.
During the past few weeks of staff meetings, Michelle Erenberg , the Executive Director of Lift Louisiana, has informed us of the rapid changes and halts impacting the state of women’s reproductive healthcare. With the rise of COVID-19, we live in an age of uncertainty and left with the ability to predict the divisive nature of politics. Despite these politics, I have learned from the Lift Louisiana staff that we have to continue to center the lives of women and ensuring that they are protected and safe.
Entering into this program as a second semester senior, I have only had a short experience with working with Louisiana. Regardless of the amount of time I have spent with the organization, I have been inspired to continue doing this work and maintain a lens that will incorporate the frameworks of reproductive justice, reproductive health, and reproductive rights into the work I am pursuing. I will remember that this work cannot be done in isolation, but requires the power of coalition building. Working within a realm that fights to make women visible and heard, the work of Lift Louisiana pushes you to remember the humanity of individuals and how everyone has a stake in creating change. To hear more about my experience, click here to checkout a video I made for the organization.