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Candidates for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District are split on a national abortion ban, with some supporting exceptions for rape and incest while others oppose them, and their views on Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act vary. The district, covering 24 parishes in northeast Louisiana, includes rural areas where candidates debate the impact of Medicaid cuts on local hospitals and access to healthcare.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains reopened its New Orleans clinic after a yearlong closure, providing contraception, STI care, cancer screenings, and gender-affirming care but not abortions due to Louisiana's ban. The reopening comes amid ongoing legal battles over abortion access in Louisiana and aims to address healthcare gaps in the state, with plans to expand telehealth services and potentially increase presence in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, along with Arkansas and Alabama AGs, has filed lawsuits asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate shield laws in states like New York and California that protect doctors prescribing abortion pills by mail. Louisiana is also suing multiple out-of-state providers for mailing abortion pills into the state, arguing these actions violate Louisiana's abortion restrictions and threaten state sovereignty.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans blocked the mailing of mifepristone, requiring the abortion pill to be distributed only in person at clinics, supporting Louisiana's ban on medical abortions. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill praised the ruling as a victory for the state's abortion policies and highlighted its impact on preventing mail-order abortion pills in Louisiana.

A Senate hearing led by Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy focused on restricting abortion pills mailed into Louisiana, with Attorney General Liz Murrill testifying about illegal abortions and medical emergencies linked to these pills. Louisiana has classified mifepristone as a controlled substance and is pursuing felony charges against a California doctor who mailed abortion pills to a woman in St. Tammany Parish, but California Governor Gavin Newsom has refused to extradite the doctor.