“Women will find a way”: Two friends and reproductive health experts examine Louisiana’s abortion ban from an anthropological and medical perspective
Martha Ward, an 83-year-old anthropologist, and Will Williams, a 41-year-old OB-GYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, met through their church in New Orleans, and identified one another as kindred spirits almost immediately.
“We’ve had some pretty fascinating conversations about reproductive health, both in Louisiana, but also in other cultures,” Will acknowledged. On the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Martha and Will caught up to continue the conversation, touching on the pitfalls of abstinence-only sex education, the joys of parenting, the progress (and backsliding) Martha has experienced throughout her life, and how Will’s work has changed since Louisiana’s abortion ban took effect.
Martha and Will were recorded by StoryCorps Studios as part of Abortion in America’s collection of interviews with people in Louisiana about the ways in which the state’s abortion ban has affected their lives. This project was produced in collaboration with Glamour and the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University.
It’s actually pretty amazing how we, as humans, despite these black-and-white ways that we ourselves, don’t ever actually fit into those things when it comes to a personal decision.
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