Lucy Wagner and Jennifer Avegno
Recorded
June 21, 2024
01:02:48
0:00 / 0:00
ID:
ddc002661
Description
Daughter Lucy Wagner (19) and mother Jennifer "Jen" Avegno (51) consider the state of reproductive healthcare in Louisiana. Jen discusses the impact of recent legislation on her work as Director of the New Orleans Health Department. Lucy shares her concerns, as a young woman, about this legislation. They emphasize the importance of hope and resilience in moments of fear and uncertainty.Subject Log / Time Code
Lucy Wagner (LW) and Jennifer "Jen" Avegno (JA) reflect on JA's transition from working as an emergency care physician to leading the New Orleans Health Department. LW shares what it was like for JA to become the public face of Louisiana health.
JA considers how her family and her upbringing informs her views on abortion.
LW recalls finding out, while at the zoo with her friends, about the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision and the "trigger" law that consequently banned abortion in Louisiana.
JA asserts that abortion is not a black and white issue and explores why she decided to champion reproductive rights.
LW acknowledges that she now has the privileges of being informed and able to access reproductive healthcare, even though she didn't have any kind of sex education in middle and high school.
LW and JA realize that they both thought of each other when they found out about Louisiana's abortion ban. They cherish the open conversation they had on the day the ban took effect and highlight the importance of talking about sex and reproductive health.
JA shares that she deliberately informs LW and LW's friends about human trafficking, sexual assault, and other dangers that no one spoke to her about while growing up. JA describes patients' unwillingness to ask about sex and contraception after the abortion ban was implemented.
JA considers whether she would ever leave Louisiana.
LW compares Louisiana's reproductive healthcare system to that of Scotland, where she attends university.
JA recounts rallying almost 300 Louisiana doctors to sign a letter of concern about S.B. 276, the bill that classifies mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. She expresses disappointment about the way in which the public and the media reacted to the letter.
LW shares that she is afraid of becoming pregnant right now and of not being able to become pregnant in the future, when she is ready to have children.
LW and JA elevate resilience as the antidote to hopelessness and celebrate the resilience of New Orleanians.
LW and JA share their hopes for one another and for their relationship.
LW recounts seeing Opill, the first over-the-counter daily contraceptive, for the first time at Walgreens with her father.
JA remembers the day that LW was born.
JA explains that serving patients in the emergency room taught her that, rather than black and white, there's a lot of gray area in medicine.
JA compares Christian and Jewish perspectives on abortion.
LW and JA consider the ways in which abortion is discussed in public and reflect on the decline of public and maternal health. LW laments the silence, misinformation, and lack of education that surround the topic of sex.
LW and JA emphasize the importance of hope.
Participants
- Lucy Wagner
- Jennifer Avegno