As anti-abortion fanatics step
up their war on clinics, pro-choice activists will have to get organized,
writes clinic defender and abortion provider Michelle Farber.
ANTI-ABORTION demonstrators
invaded three clinics around the country on September 15, physically forcing
their way in and refusing to leave in a coordinated escalation of the
right-wing attack on women's right to choose.
The national anti-choice group
Created Equal called on members to participate in identical actions in Sterling
Heights, Michigan; Alexandria, Virginia; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Demonstrators entered clinics
in order to perform
a "Red Rose Rescue," imitating a harassment tool popularized by
Canadian anti-choice activist Mary Wagner, in which the antis approach women in
the waiting room of clinics, hand them red roses and attempt to talk them out
of having abortions.
Created Equal's blog insists
that by participating in these types of actions, they aren't "blockading
abortion center entrances or procedure rooms." That phrase is a clear
reference to the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which is
supposed to prohibit anti-choicers from harassing patients.
Protesters remained in the
waiting rooms until police were called, and a handful of demonstrators were
arrested in each city. Created Equal is calling this demonstration an act of
"peaceful civil disobedience for the unborn."
The reality is that this is an
attempt to physically harass and terrorize abortion providers, clinic staff and
the women who need care--with the goal of shutting the clinics down.
And clearly this isn't the end
of it. On September 20, a protester, obviously inspired by the events of last
week, invaded the Planned Parenthood in Everett, Washington--while an active
clinic defense was going on, according to reports from Jane's Sidewalk Support.
It's unclear if the anti was
also attempting to perform a "Red Rose Rescue" or simply disrupt
clinic services. He was arrested--and, according to Jane's members, back
outside the clinic protesting within half an hour.
The fact that an anti-choice
demonstrator felt so emboldened to invade a clinic with a strong, dedicated
defense group outside of it further demonstrates how confident the right has
become in the Trump era--and underscores the need to reclaim the space outside
of our clinics.
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THIS SHOCKING and invasive
form of harassment comes just prior to the biannual "40 Days for
Life"--this year running from September 27 to November 5--in which
hundreds of clinics around the country will be picketed for 40 days straight.
On its website, 40 Days for Life boasts actions in 715
cities worldwide with 4,876 local campaigns. It also claims responsibility for
the closure of 86 abortion clinics.
Abortion clinics are, in fact,
closing down, and the fanatics are getting help from anti-choice lawmakers in
state after state. According to the Guttmacher Institute, anti-choice
legislation like Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) laws--which
impose such strict requirements on providers that they are forced to shutter
their clinics--were responsible for closing more than 50 clinics in 2014 alone.
We are facing record shortages
of abortion providers and a marked increase in clinic harassment. The
National Abortion Federation (NAF), which tracks all forms of clinic pickets,
reported 21,175 incidents in 2015. That's a shocking number in and of
itself, but in 2016, NAF reported 61,562.
Anti-abortion demonstrators
clearly feel emboldened to escalate their tactics, including open defiance of
the FACE Act. The law prohibits anti-choicers from "the use of physical
force, threat of physical force, or physical obstruction to intentionally
injure, intimidate, interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate or
interfere with any person who is obtaining reproductive health services or
providing reproductive health services."
In May, anti-choicers blockaded
the last abortion clinic in the state of Kentucky--with 100 of them blocking
the clinic's entrances and 10 getting arrested. One
of North Carolina's remaining clinics was highlighted in a short
documentary this year detailing how clinic staff and patients have to deal with
a barrage of hundreds of protesters every day.
These attacks are often only
reported in local newspapers and rarely gain national attention. Rarer still
are they viewed as part of a national trend. For those of us who want to defend
a woman's right to decide what she does with her own body, it's important to
look at what's behind the anti-choice onslaught.
The anti-women rhetoric coming
from the White House has given new confidence to the anti-choice side. But
supporters of women's rights also face the fact that there has been no broad,
grassroots abortion rights movement, after decades of establishment women's
organizations focusing not on protest to defend out clinics, but electing
Democrats, some of whom aren't even fully committed to abortion rights.
Trump has made it no secret
that he detests women's rights, and he has chosen staunch anti-choicers for the
Supreme Court and Justice Department. Neil Gorsuch joining the Supreme Court
threatens to make good on Vice President Mike Pence's promise that Roe v. Wade,
the 1973 decision that made abortion legal, will be "consigned to the ash
heap of history."
If anti-choice demonstrators
get charged with violating the FACE Act today, it would be by a Justice
Department led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has an
abysmal record on protecting abortion access, and even voted against family
planning measures aimed at reducing teen pregnancy rates.
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IT IS in this context that
abortion rights activists must begin to chart a way forward. We also start at a
point of incredible weakness, because those of us who see the importance of
forming grassroots organizations to defend our abortion clinics also face
opposition from establishment liberal women's organizations.
In February, anti-abortion
forces organized a national day of action to defund Planned Parenthood and told
anti-choicers to protest at its clinics. After the massive Women's Marches on
Inauguration weekend, many people were excited to continue the momentum and
started organizing counterprotests.
But instead of support and
gratitude, the political arm of Planned Parenthood told supporters to stay
home. In many cities, there were tense Facebook exchanges between Planned
Parenthood staffers and organizers of clinic defenses.
The thrust of the message from
the political leadership of Planned Parenthood was "You confuse patients.
The pro-lifers want attention. By counter-picketing, you give them what they
want. Donate money. Phone Bank. Vote for Democrats."
One such comment, published at
Bustle.com, argued, "Anti-choice protesters are turning abortion clinics
into political spaces, but they're fundamentally not political spaces. They're
health care centers. So if you want to get political, take it to a political
space instead of a health care space."
Those of us who advocate
clinic defense agree that abortion clinics shouldn't be political spaces. But
the anti-choicers have made clinics political spaces, and ignoring them doesn't
change that fact. It merely allows these political spaces to be dominated by
those who would harass and intimidate those inside.
Thousands of counterprotesters
agreed with this assessment, recognizing that the most important thing to do
was show the antis that they are not the majority and their voices will not go
unchallenged. On February 11, pro-choice activists outnumbered right-wingers in
250 out of 300 cities, showing the potential for a
grassroots movement to defend our clinics.
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SINCE THEN, the political
landscape has shifted. We have seen not only increased clinic harassment but
also the rise of more public and bold white nationalist and neo-Nazi actions.
The way in which we organize to protect our abortion clinics must echo the ways
in which we have seen broad coalitions challenge the right-wing forces.
Many liberal groups like the
American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center also
advocate that we not challenge the alt-right and rely on police protection,
turning to laws prohibiting hate speech and calling on college campus
administrators to cancel right-wing speakers.
These strategies are sure to
fail because the law isn't impartial. The actions of police, buffer zones
outside of clinics, and noise ordinance laws can and will be turned against
those attempting to defend our clinics--just as hate speech laws and university
administrators are used to silence voices on the left.
There are few laws protecting
patients from anti-choice harassment, and clinic escorts around the country
have lamented that when they call the police, they
are told either not to call or to "deal with it" themselves.
Laws and ordinances do little
to stop antis from showing up and creating disruption and harassment in the
first place--just like laws against hate speech don't prevent the conditions
that enable the growth of far-right groups.
They also aren't a replacement
for a bold, uncompromising movement whose purpose is to reclaim abortion
clinics for women and providers, by outnumbering and demoralizing the
anti-choicers so that they don't come back again.
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SEATTLE CLINIC Defense, the
group I work with, has been mobilizing community members to counter anti-choice
harassment since 2011. There are now two other groups in the Puget Sound area
that regularly and spiritedly defend abortion clinics: Tacoma Clinic Defense
and Jane's Planned Parenthood Sidewalk Support in Everett, about 30 miles north
of Seattle.
Clinic defense will look different
in every city, but here are some lessons we've learned after close to seven
years of organizing:
-- We now hold short
"orientation" meetings about 15 to 20 minutes prior to the start of
the defense to get to know new defenders. We introduce them to our point people
and review basic guidelines, like staying out of the clinic driveway.
-- Go inside and introduce
your group to the clinic staff. Tell them you are here for them, you support
what they are doing, and you are standing up for abortion access.
-- Have a few short chants
that many defenders know and can use if the antis begin praying loudly or
shouting at patients. Some clinic defense groups play music intermittently, but
we prefer positive chanting.
-- Keep signs clear and short.
Encourage defenders to wear pink, which signals you are in support of Planned
Parenthood. Patients, staff and community members are more used to antis being
outside clinics, so short signs, large lettering and large banners will make it
clear you are in support of the clinic. We have two large banners. One says
"Seattle Clinic Defense," and the other "Trust Women."
Since our February 11 action,
we have seen a surge of new clinic defenders and interest in organizing a
response to anti-choice harassment.
There will be disagreements
with the political arm of Planned Parenthood, but as more and more anti-fascist
actions are successful and clinic defense grows across the country, the call to
stay home will more and more fall on deaf ears.
These are important arguments
to have out in our movement, and the more we organize and turn out in defense
of our clinics, the more we see our ideas borne out in action.
We will see that clinic
defense demoralizes the antis; that clinic staff and patient morale is heartened
by our support; and that these seemingly small actions give many new
organizers a taste of what it is like to stand up to the bigots and win.
September 27 is right around
the corner. Our clinics are under attack. Gather up your banners and your
"Honk for Choice" signs. I'll see you on the sidewalk.
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