Episode Details

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health emergency made it so that anyone enrolled in Medicaid would not lose coverage, including pregnant women. But now that emergency status could end as early as April 16, that could mean tens of thousands of women in the Gulf South losing their medicaid coverage two months after they give birth. All while in the background are increasing restrictions on abortion access, including a pivotal Supreme Court case. 

WWNO’s Public Health Reporter, Rosemary Westwood, and Gulf States Newsroom’s Health care reporter, Shalina Chatlani, join us to discuss the multiple obstacles currently faced by pregnant women in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. 

A funeral home in Amite, Louisiana owned by generations of the same family has become a historial window into the life of the black community it served after the owners discovered funeral programs dating back more than 50 years. One of the owners of Richardson Funeral Home, Valarie Richardson, and historian and genealogist, Dr. Antointtee Harrell, tell us more about the stories they have unearthed and how they are preserving them.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubrey Procell, and Thomas Walsh. 

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