Category Archives: christianity

Sidewalk Snippet ~ {4/15/13}

Posted on by
Reply

The companion and client pulled to the curb in front of the clinic before 7a. We talked awhile about orange vests, protesters and parking options. They decided to remain parked where they were since it was close.

When I moved to the clinic door after talking to them, D decided to stand one foot away from me and stare at me. She wasn’t talking to me and I wasn’t talking to her or looking at her. She continued to stare for about 5 minutes and only stopped when another escort came to join me. That pretty much set the tone for the day. The antis were aggressive and there were enough of them to swarm around each client entering the clinic.

We were able to escort this client and companion with minimum interference when the doors opened. The companion repeatedly told D and the other antis near the door to leave them alone, but of course this was ignored.

When most of the clients were in the clinic, the anti we call “Screaming Preacher” showed up to shout at the clinic windows. He always says the same things: you are sinning, you are murdering, let me adopt your baby, I want to pray with you. We call him Screaming Preacher because he is so loud he never needs amplification to be heard down the street. The clients can hear him while they are in the waiting room, but they cannot always hear his words. They just know someone is harassing them by screaming about his views on what it means to be a Christian..

The companion came out of the clinic after 8a and just stood by the door staring at him. She did say, “You need to be quiet,” and then moved towards their car. As I walked to the car with her she said, “I am trying to be polite about unsolicited opinions. They can hear him in the waiting room. These people (gesturing towards the antis) don’t need to be here. They aren’t helping. This decision is hard enough, we don’t need people giving their opinion of what is right.”

I let her know there was nothing personal in the antis’ words. “We hear the same thing said every day to every client. They don’t know you. I agree they shouldn’t be here, but we cannot prevent them from saying hurtful things. They will be gone soon. When we leave they only stay a few more minutes. We are leaving now and most of them should be gone right away.”

She just shook her head and said, “Thank you for being here. I just wish they weren’t here too.”

All I could do is agree.

*********************************************************

REMINDER: Our annual  fund drive Pledge-A-Picketer is NOW!

The Saturday before Mother’s Day is the biggest protester day of the year.  It also is the date  where we count protesters for donations to support the pro-choice effort and the escorts.  You can pledge a certain amount for each protester showing up that morning. If you prefer, you can also make a straight monetary donation.

Use this form to make your pledge:

 

 

*********************************************************

First Time Escort – by Chris

Posted on by
1

The first thing I knew, going in, was that I couldn’t be “me”. I normally do not shy away from confrontation or controversy, but today wasn’t about me. I was there to try to make an awful situation somehow less awful for the women involved. It’s never fun to have to walk a gauntlet of people trying to intimidate you and bully you into their will, especially when they use photographs and blatant lies to accomplish their goal.

The urge is so strong to get right back in their faces, but we can’t.

I don’t know why these anti-abortionists are so strongly held in their deceit, but I have long noticed that the truth of abortion doesn’t sell the anti-abortion agenda, so they show pictures of 2-4 month old babies, smiling and dressed. This is not what is being aborted. Why lie? Because it serves their purpose.

It was an education for me.  As an atheist, I had thought of this as a conflict between atheists and Christians, but it wasn’t so much of an atheist/Christian fight, but a reasoning vs plea-to-emotion. Sure, they came armed with ‘facts’ that they might as well have made up on the drive there, such as stating that there is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, than ANY other event in history. I’m sure there are some history students who will be shocked to learn this.

I did try to be civil, if asked a question, no matter how ignorant I thought it was. I saw a sign they had that commanded people to obey the gospel. I mentioned to one of the other escorts, that I wondered which gospel they were referencing because of the errors and contradictions in them. I was asked to name the errors, and I’ll admit they aren’t worth committing to memory, so I admitted that I did not have them on recall. His response was that because I didn’t know any, they didn’t exist. Well, I don’t know a single person in the country of Ethiopia, so I wondered aloud to my friend if that also meant Ethiopia didn’t exist.

They made the claims that there were millions of people waiting to adopt the babies that were being aborted, but last time I checked, orphanages weren’t drying up, or running empty on kids. The most obnoxious guy there seemed to love getting right in people’s faces, and when I saw some people volunteering that were less formidable, I stepped in front of him, and towered over him. I don’t think others were intimidated by him, but until me it might have been possible for him to make himself believe he was intimidating. I guess his neck hurt from having to look up at me, because he moved on.

In some ways, it is easy to dispel their arguments, especially when they start picking and choosing from the Bible. Again, I did have to remind myself that this was not the time for that kind of encounter.

This doesn’t phase me, the insults, the name calling, the propaganda, but again, I can’t be strong for these women, just hope to shield them as much as possible.

Will I do it again? Absolutely, if only because I can. I think about what it would be like if this was my daughter, and she had decided to have an abortion. I don’t know that I could refrain from responding to the things the protesters say when it was someone so important to me.

*********************************************************

REMINDER: If you are interested in escorting, don’t forget the training on Saturday, April 13th at 9A.  Training is not required, but it’s helpful. Please see our Trainings for Escorts page or email us for additional information

*********************************************************

REMINDER: Our annual  fund drive Pledge-A-Picketer is NOW!

The Saturday before Mother’s Day is the biggest protester day of the year.  It also is the date  where we count protesters for donations to support the pro-choice effort and the escorts.  You can pledge a certain amount for each protester showing up that morning. If you prefer, you can also make a straight monetary donation.

Use this form to make your pledge:

*********************************************************

First Time Escort – by Tom

Posted on by
3

My wife has been a clinic escort for over a year. She has helped with new escort training several times, and she discusses with me her experiences as a clinic escort, telling me how various “regulars” among the anti-abortion crowd act and react and how escorts, clients, and client companions manage themselves in what can be a tense environment.

In our discussions, I find that my first reactions to envisioned scenarios are sometimes good, and sometimes not so effective, in light of the primary mission in the Points of Unity the escorts agree to follow: It’s not about escalating. It’s not even about me, or any escort or anti-abortion protester. It’s about providing the space for clients to follow their decision through, with the underlying assumption being that clients have considered their options well enough to make their own decision. The hows and whys of their decision, just like the decision itself, is their own business, to be shared only with people they trust.

Of course, this also means that to focus on the clients, there is no time or space to judge the protesters. They have their own reasons for being there, most often based in their religious belief systems. That I do not share the specifics of their belief hierarchy is irrelevant. They are still people. As discussed later this morning, if calamity were to strike, I would do what I could to help them.

But I digress. Often. You’ve been warned.

I know myself well enough to realize that I would have to be VERY careful if I were to volunteer on the sidewalk. I am too ready to escalate in general. Even so, I have wanted to be there, to see first-hand the intensity, the individuals I hear of by nickname and actions only, and to help.

So, this morning, I went. It’s Easter weekend, a time crucial to the central belief of many Christians, so it was expected that there would be extra and extra-loud anti-abortionists on hand. As it turns out, the call went out via many electronic avenues, and we had students from the University of Louisville Medical School, other college students, and many other folks come out to wear orange vests. I don’t know how many orange vests were in use—one count was in the upper forties, and more people came afterward. I’ve seen posts claiming that sixty or more escorts were on hand—a reality commented upon by a couple of the anti-abortionists, who may or may not have cared that I heard them claiming to each other that our huge turnout was an indication of our concern over the power of their message. Delusions abound.

With all that extra staffing, we had the luxury of posting several volunteers across the entryway to the clinic. We were a moveable wall—tasked with keeping antis from blocking access to the clinic building, moving out of the way when clients and client companions arrived.

It was pretty easy duty, really. Stand there and let the preachers preach, let the antis spew their religious silliness. At times, move aside to allow passage by clients, client companions, and an occasional escort.

Yes, I was more than once reminded of scenes in movies in which drill instructors yell at recruits during boot camp, with the recruits required to stand at attention and all but ignore the verbal abuse. Some of the antis even tried to shame us, speaking derisively of our humanness, calling us names, telling us that their god was going to punish us for our wicked evil abetting of the abortion mill. And then in the next breath telling us that if we confess to their god, and ask forgiveness, we could enter heaven after all. Such hypocrisy. Such ludicrousness.

A couple years ago, I read the book, The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture, by Darrel W. Ray. The base premise of the book is that an apt metaphor for religion is found in the study of virology. Others have used the expression “thought virus” to describe other applications of the analogy, and I find the expression apt. The idea is that once a thought virus gets into one’s head, it’s exceedingly difficult for a thought counter to the original to take root. It’s hard for someone indoctrinated in religion to see an atheistic viewpoint as even being an acceptable alternative to belief in his or her god. Scripture makes use of this, even without formally recognizing it, when it has passages that demonize those of us who don’t believe.

Of course, it could be viewed in reverse: Those of us who have been “inoculated” against the virus don’t get absorbed into it. Speaking from personal experience, I simply find the reliance on the religious person’s god to be speaking of some imaginary friend, like Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. It’s hard for me to imagine believing in what seems horrendously illogical to me. The hubris in saying that no matter what our sins, the Christian God will forgive if we but ask is astonishing to me. That some sidewalk preacher dares to condemn me to his version of hell, not having any idea who I am or what I do is an insult. It’s meant to bother me.

But, because I have the secret weapon of knowledge of the concept of thought viruses, I am able to let his vitriol go on by me. I am able to focus on keeping my place, keeping my awareness on my surroundings so that I can alert my colleagues that clients are coming our way and that we need to be ready to make room for them to pass into the building.

A couple hours after things settled down, after the group breakfast, after some errand-running with another escort to collect her bicycle, and after starting to type out my thoughts, I realized that the antis were giving me a lot of power over themselves. Because I was able to let their words go by me without effect, they got angrier and more strident in their word choices.By giving me this power, they in effect empowered me to be a better volunteer, and do a better job for the clients and their companions.

I say this because one in particular spent some time in front of a group of us, deriding us, mocking us, telling us we must have been “real men” to stand up to a woman haranguing clients in front of an “abortion mill.” He went on and on, talking about how he imagined us being really proud that we were abetting the killing of babies and all the guilt-trip words he added to that. We mostly ignored him, until he called us weasels. One of our group piped up with “Can I be an otter instead?” which prompted me to chime in with “I’ll be a ferret! People treat pet ferrets quite well!” The guy walked away, disgusted that he couldn’t upset us. He came back a couple times, trying again to shame us, without success. He gave us the power to disgust him with our indifference to his snide remarks. Again and again.

Other of their ilk preached for a bit at us, or more accurately, at each other for my amusement, then moved on to preach at other vaguely-human forms wearing orange vests or clients or anyone who would listen.

A snippet, because I enjoyed seeing it happen: At one point, a fellow escort was standing beside me, and one of the more vocal preachers was haranguing people who had walked into the building. Because the preacher’s words were having less than the desired effect, he focused his attention on my fellow escort, who was at times smirking at the lunacy of the vitriol. “You mock me! You dare to mock me as I speak the word of God! You dare to mock me!” the preacher shouted.

The escort’s response? Indifference, in the main. An occasional chuckle. He removed his glasses to clean the spittle from them, put there by the preacher as he shouted his anger at having a less-than-desired effect on the escort’s mien. My fellow escort and I chuckled to each other soon after the preacher’s departure.

*********************************************************

REMINDER: If you are interested in escorting, don’t forget the training on Saturday, April 13th at 9A.  Training is not required, but it’s helpful. Please see our Trainings for Escorts page or email us for additional information

*********************************************************

REMINDER: Our annual  fund drive Pledge-A-Picketer is NOW!

The Saturday before Mother’s Day is the biggest protester day of the year.  It also is the date  where we count protesters for donations to support the pro-choice effort and the escorts.  You can pledge a certain amount for each protester showing up that morning. If you prefer, you can also make a straight monetary donation.

Use this form to make your pledge:

*********************************************************

Little Lies

Posted on by
2

I want to start by stating the obvious: there are wide divisions between antis and escorts in our beliefs. Escorts believe in a person’s choice for abortion. Antis believe no one should choose abortion ever. Escorts believe in not making judgments about people they meet at the clinic. Antis judge everyone on the sidewalk. Escorts believe in telling the truth to clients and companions. Antis lie about almost everything in order to coerce clients into their CPC.

This story may seem frivolous or petty. I admit I think it is on one level. It does point out the wide gulf between  the escorts and antis on even small, everyday situations.

There were only two escorts to begin this day and about 9 protesters. When we got out of our cars as the first clients arrived, the other escort started to the $3 lot and I talked to a client at the curb. While walking to a second car pulling to the curb, I saw a glove on the sidewalk. Not knowing who of the many people on the sidewalk it belonged to, I carefully draped it on the rim of a wrought iron cage for a trash receptacle near where I found it; about 30 feet from the clinic door. It was in plain sight there and would not get dirty. I saw D stand directly in front of the cage for the trash receptacle for a full minute, looking down at the spot where I had placed the glove, before moving to one of the cars I had just spoken to.

The first clients had been approached and more escorts showed up when the first escort told me they had lost their glove. Delighted I had found it, I told her what I had done with it. When we checked, the glove was gone. It wasn’t in the trash. It was just gone.

I told the escort I had seen D look at the glove and suggested maybe she picked it up. The escort asked D if she found a glove. The answer was, “No, I didn’t see a glove.” About 5 minutes later, the glove turned up. It was draped on top of the fire hydrant directly in front of the clinic doors.

I cannot prove D placed it there since I didn’t see her do it, but proximity to both sites the glove was draped seem to circumstantially indicate she saw it, picked it up, and then placed it somewhere else we were sure to see.

Lying seems to be so automatic with D that even a simple non-confrontational question is met with a lie, even when the truth would not cause any controversy. “Yes, I saw a glove on the trash container,” or “Yes, I found a glove. Is this yours?” No real need to get in a long discussion with an escort, but her first response was to just lie.

I thought of all the times when we have found things dropped by antis on the sidewalk and made an effort to return it to them. We have even given D hand warmers she has dropped.

What motivates someone to tell lies about little things? Is it justified because we are “evil deathscorts”? Is there any way we could believe D on any comment she makes? I confess, if she told me the sky was blue, I would look up to verify it.

Escorts are not saints. We come from diverse backgrounds and have diverse personalities. What we do have in common is that we are people trying to do the best we can to make a space for clients to go to the doctor. We have our Points of Unity to guide us and try to follow them. One of the points is about being honest and transparent.

I wonder if we could get the antis to agree on Points of Unity for their sidewalk protests. Honesty, transparency, de-escalating? Yes, I know I am dreaming.

*********************************************************

You too can be an escort!!

Come to the training Saturday, April 13!!

9 a.m. ~ breakfast and good times.

Training is not required, but it’s helpful. Please see our Trainings for Escorts page or email us for additional information.

*********************************************************

REMINDER: Our annual  fund drive Pledge-A-Picketer is NOW!

The Saturday before Mother’s Day is the biggest protester day of the year.  It also is the date  where we count protesters for donations to support the pro-choice effort and the escorts.  You can pledge a certain amount for each protester showing up that morning. If you prefer, you can also make a straight monetary donation.

Use this form to make your pledge:

 

 

*********************************************************

Belief and Abortion-by fml and servalbear (Re-publish)

Posted on by
3
This article was originally published December 24, 2011. We liked it and decided to publish it again. 
—————————————————————————
.
One of the myths anti-abortion groups spread is that people in support of abortion access to everyone are all godless. Many of our escorts attend services weekly and have deep faith in their religions. There are many religious groups who support abortion. In Louisville, we have the support of several Christian groups, individual churches and connections to other Christian groups around the country.
.
This week one of us heard an anti tell a client, “Don’t kill your baby this close to Christmas.”  We think there are unplanned pregnancies every day. The most talked about unplanned pregnancy in Christianity is Mary’s. It was unplanned by her.
.
.
The above photo is from a billboard in New Zealand. You can read the whole story of how the billboard was put up to promote tolerance of different views and was vandalized because it was “satanic.”
.
Personally, we think the billboard added humor to a serious discussion. Unplanned pregnancies happen all of the time, every day, all year around. Supporters for abortion access are respecting the choices clients make about their pregnancy.
.
There is a diversity of beliefs among escorts and supporters of reproductive health and we appreciate and value that.  In honor of that diversity, we want to wish everyone a Happy Hannakuh, Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, Good Yule, or Happy Festivus ~ lots of joy in whatever holiday you celebrate. For our atheists friends, we hope you enjoy the time with family and friends on these long weekends.

———————————————————————————-

REMINDER: Share your story.

January 22, 2013 is the 40th Anniversary of Roe v Wade.  Forty years of legal, safe abortions.  This invitation comes from our allies at Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:

“KRCRC (is making plans for a January 20 event in Louisville, “The Roe Monologues,” to mark those 40 years (four decades, two generations!) since the Roe v Wade ruling, and we need your help.

We’re looking for your story. But also for your mother’s, your daughter’s, your sister’s, aunt’s, girlfriend’s, roommate’s, friend’s story. Fairly brief; 2 to 5 minutes, and starting with the year. (e.g. “It was 1983, and I was trying to finish up my nursing degree, when I found out I was pregnant.” “In 2008, my wife and I had been trying for several years to have a baby. Now she had finally gotten pregnant, but when we got the results of the amnio, …” “1957. I was living in Missouri, and abortion was illegal. When my roommate learned she was pregnant, …” etc)

On Jan. 20 at our event, we will love it if you will present it yourself. But if it’s bad timing, bad location, or you’d just rather not get up to present it yourself, we will be happy to have someone read it for you. Also, you can use your own name or a made-up name, your choice.

We need these stories! – and people need to hear them. Will you help us? Will you spread the word that we’re looking for these stories?

Please email info@krcrc.org if you think you’d like to participate, either in person or by providing a story for someone else to read.”

By stepping out and talking about our experience we reduce the stigma and shame that surrounds abortion.  By sharing our stories, we support each other and continue building a world where reproductive justice is a reality.

.

Still Not Changing Minds

Posted on by
4

“Changing Minds – or Not” was published by fml last month. I thought about it a lot this week.

Thursday it stormed in Louisville and it was raining all day. At times the rain was very heavy. After most of the clients and companions were in the clinic, a car pulled up beside the drop-off zone and the driver got out.

They approached the protesters grouped there under their umbrellas and started yelling at them. “You need to stop what you are doing. You need to leave these women alone. My friend doesn’t need to hear you. The decision was hard enough without having to listen to you.” One of the antis responded, “She will have to answer to God for what she is doing. You need to help her. Let us talk to her. Bring her next door to A Woman’s Choice.”

At this point, I was able to identify myself as an escort and asked the driver if they needed to park. “I don’t know where I want to park. I will figure it out.”

I backed away as the driver was telling the antis, “She doesn’t need to talk to you. She has made her decision and it is between her and God now. It isn’t a decision you have any part in making. Leave her alone and go home.”

As I was walking away, the antis grouped around this driver who felt so strong a need to say something to the protesters that they were willing to stand in pouring rain while blocking traffic. The exchange continued for a few minutes before the driver got back in their car and drove away. The driver was able to say what they needed to say.

Then Friday escorts were treated to a personal sermon by one of the antis. After most of the clients and companions had entered the clinic without listening to him, this anti’s attention turned to us. “You either have to obey or disobey. There is only obedience or disobedience. You will be on your knees either in prayer or your knees will be struck and you won’t be able to stand. I tell you this because I love you. You need to obey God.”

My first thought was, “Wow, how very compassionate.” The escort standing beside me said, “Does he think he is saying anything we haven’t heard a thousand times?” I laughed and agreed we have heard it so many times. His parting comment was, “I love you. Have a Happy Christmas.” Really?

Both days, no one’s opinion was changed. No one said, ‘Oh, I see your point. You must be right and I am wrong.’ We are still at an impasse.

———————————————————————————-

REMINDER: Share your story.

January 22, 2013 is the 40th Anniversary of Roe v Wade.  Forty years of legal, safe abortions.  This invitation comes from our allies at Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:

“KRCRC (is making plans for a January 20 event in Louisville, “The Roe Monologues,” to mark those 40 years (four decades, two generations!) since the Roe v Wade ruling, and we need your help.

We’re looking for your story. But also for your mother’s, your daughter’s, your sister’s, aunt’s, girlfriend’s, roommate’s, friend’s story. Fairly brief; 2 to 5 minutes, and starting with the year. (e.g. “It was 1983, and I was trying to finish up my nursing degree, when I found out I was pregnant.” “In 2008, my wife and I had been trying for several years to have a baby. Now she had finally gotten pregnant, but when we got the results of the amnio, …” “1957. I was living in Missouri, and abortion was illegal. When my roommate learned she was pregnant, …” etc)

On Jan. 20 at our event, we will love it if you will present it yourself. But if it’s bad timing, bad location, or you’d just rather not get up to present it yourself, we will be happy to have someone read it for you. Also, you can use your own name or a made-up name, your choice.

We need these stories! – and people need to hear them. Will you help us? Will you spread the word that we’re looking for these stories?

Please email info@krcrc.org if you think you’d like to participate, either in person or by providing a story for someone else to read.”

By stepping out and talking about our experience we reduce the stigma and shame that surrounds abortion.  By sharing our stories, we support each other and continue building a world where reproductive justice is a reality.

“Bible Belt” Antis

Posted on by
12

Is Kentucky really in the “Bible Belt”? When the state has the nation’s only Creation Museum* and plans to build a Noah’s Ark Theme Park*, complete with a full-scale replica of the ark, do we really need to question how firmly we are in the “Bible Belt?”

The real question relating to escorting is how much does that change the tactics of the antis in Louisville compared to other parts of the US?

The antis we face daily use all of the national pro-life talking points. They have the same signs that are used nationally and internationally. In my opinion, the real difference is in the amount of personalized aggression we see in the antis facing us every day.

We published an article this week that drew attention from at least one anti. We have called her Nurse Betty in the past, but that isn’t her real name. Nurse Betty is always telling us how she works in the medical field and knows, really knows, that we are lying and misleading clients. If we would only listen to her, we would know the truth.

Nurse Betty objected to a comment by another escort on our article. She composed a comment filled with invective and advising us to watch “180”*, the anti-abortion movie to see the error of our ways. We deleted the comment without publishing it. This was followed by another comment demanding to know why we didn’t publish the first comment. We sent Nurse Betty a polite email stating the comment did not comply with our comment policy and included a link to the policy. This spurred another comment from Nurse Betty filled with more demands, more statements about how awful we were and another recommendation to watch “180.”* This comment was deleted as well.**

The next morning after this exchange of comments, I joined other escorts on the sidewalk. There were not many clients this morning and the antis were looking for something to do. Nurse Betty was there and came up to me right away; standing right in front of me and demanding explanations. The aura of offended entitlement was coming in waves.

This is part of our conversation:

NB: Are you one of the ones who write for the blog?
Me: I don’t talk to protesters.
NB: You are protesting too. Do you write for the blog?
Me: I don’t talk to protesters.
NB: Well, I want to know why you don’t want to listen to the truth. You didn’t post my comments. That’s not right to just present one side of the issue. You need to let people know the truth.
Me: This conversation is over. I don’t talk to protesters.
NB: Well, you can evidently hear me since you responded. You need to just listen to me. You are going to hell for what you are doing. You need to see the truth. You are helping to kill babies. You need to watch “180” and see what you are doing.
Me: (Silence)

Nurse Betty soon got tired of me not answering her and moved on to the escort standing beside me. This was a long-time escort and is known to many of the antis. They know his name, where he worked and that he immigrated from another country a long time ago. Since this escort is outspoken against the anti tactics, he is a frequent target of their wrath.

Nurse Betty started the conversation by telling the escort where he worked, where he was from and hinted that there were “bad things” she knew about him. Then went on to say:

NB: I heard you say the other day that babies are not real people until they have a Social Security number. You didn’t get a Social Security number until you came to the US. Does that mean you weren’t a real person before you got your Social Security number? …I am not going to say everything I know about you, but I know. I want to show you how wrong you are.

With that, Nurse Betty went to her car and retrieved some color graphics about 11”x 20” of what we call fetal porn. They are the photos supposedly depicting fetuses at different stages of development. They moved away from the clinic doors and continued to argue about what Nurse Betty did or did not know and what the escort should believe.

When we were ready to leave, the escort came back to the clinic doors tearing up the pamphlets Nurse Betty gave to him to read. We have seen them all before; many times. She moved to the other escorts on the sidewalk to display her photos. We never found out the supposedly “bad things.”

This is a common maneuver of our Louisville antis. They pretend to know personal things about escorts. Sometimes they do know our names and other personal information, but usually they are on fishing expeditions to see if we will give them more information than they have in order to shame us. Once they learn our names, they use them frequently. Sometimes they will threaten, “I know where you live,” or “I know where you work.” Their aim is to use any bit of information they can glean to intimidate us. That is just one of the reasons I always refuse to respond to their questions. If they are going to use information against me, I want them to have to work for it.

The antis in Louisville scold us, threaten us with hell fire, plead with us, all from inches away from our faces. It is really surprising more confrontations have not taken place between escorts and antis. They seem to feel empowered by their belief and the knowledge a lot of the community around them is made up of fundamentalist Christians who support their views. They feel free of any social stigma to come out daily to harass clients coming to their doctor’s appointment.

Clients and companions are not so lucky. They are surrounded in the “Bible Belt” by the shame and stigma associated with sex, contraception and abortion.

This week Women’s Medical Fund Wisconsin posted an article on their Facebook page with the comment:

  • “Melinda McKew of the Georgia Reproductive Justice Action Network has written a moving essay about the impact of stigma on women’s experiences of abortion, including the experience of a woman she helped recently – and also her own experience as a teen.”  

Melinda McKew’s article is powerful and points up the force of stigma and shame, especially in the “Bible Belt.”

  • I share this story because it highlights the impact abortion stigma has upon individuals having abortions as well as persons who are in any way associated with abortion—clinic workers, abortion doctors, abortion rights advocates, among many others.
  • I know this is stupid, but… do you think God will take away any of my children because I’m getting rid of this one? I’m just so worried that I’m going to lose one of my children now as punishment for my abortion. 
  • After the procedure, my mother made me vow to never speak of my abortion to anyone—not my father, not my family, not even my close friends—lest they discover my shame. 

Please read the whole article. It brought tears to my eyes because we see and hear these things from clients every day.

Escorting in a “Bible Belt” state presents its own unique challenges. We are lucky in that we have more support for pro-access in Louisville than there is in rural areas of Kentucky.

——————————————————————————–
*All links to anti-abortion websites have been omitted purposely. Please use Google or message us separately if you would like a citation for sources.

**Since the original comments and email, we have received multiple comments from Nurse Betty on different articles and pages of our blog. These comments still have not adhered to our comment policy. They have all been deleted without publishing them.

Awakening ~ Guest Post Written by MR

Posted on by
7

“I’m going to volunteer at the abortion clinic soon.” My attention flicked from the smoke rolling off my cigarette to S sitting across from me. I knew about the clinic downtown, and I heard about the protesters in the morning, but never had I really given it much more thought. The more she spoke of  the volunteers in front of the EMW Surgical Center, wearing neon orange vests, “escorting” women to their appointment, the more intrigued I became. I felt a small spark in my heart, and I urged her that we go volunteer as soon as possible.

It was a little after seven that S and I arrived at the abortion clinic. Before I could even step foot out of the car two women, early twenties, bombarded me and S. “Do you have all the information you need to be making this decision? You don’t have to do this. There are other options.”, one of the women spat at me. An older woman, mid forties possibly, caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. The aura about her read confident. She proudly wore an orange safety vest, clearly reading “Clinic Escort”. I turned to the protester, smiled, and said, “I’m sorry, but we’re actually here to escort this morning.”

“Good morning ladies, my name is F, you here to escort this morning?” I admired the calmness she obtained, especially in such a hectic environment. S proudly announced that we were and F replied with, “ Oh good! I’ll let you guys walk up to the clinic like clients first, get a first hand feel on what they experience.”

You’ll know when you meet an escort. Not by how they dress, or talk, their gender or age, but by their vest. Every escort wears a neon orange safety vest with bold black lettering stenciled carefully on the fronts and back of them, identifying themselves to the clients. When F arrived from retrieving our vests, she carried just one in hand. The vest shortage made for an interesting first morning on “the sidewalk”.

I often got approached by protesters assuming I was a patient. Clients were wary of me when I approached, since I didn’t possess the orange vest they had heard about. One woman replied to me asking her if she was going to the abortion clinic, “That is none of your business.” It struck me hard for a moment. I questioned how these “pro-life advocates” could go on morning after morning approaching these women who often lash back with viscious tongue. After I had explained the circumstance, and that I was there to walk with her through the protesters path if she wanted, the uneasy look disappeared from her face. She laughed, and gladly took my offer of walking with her to the clinic doors. The orange vests are what transform everyday people into passionate volunteers helping women seek medical care.

What makes the EMW Surgical Center one of the worst locations for anti-choice protesters is due to the fact that the clinic itself does not have a private parking lot. It forces clients to walk from where they parked to the clinic doors on public sidewalks. The protesters patrol these sidewalks, waiting and watching. The actual clinic doors don’t open until 7:30 a.m., but the clinic tells the clients to arrive around 7:15 a.m., also causing the problem of having women and companions standing outside of the door while protesters talk at them, trying to hand them pamphlets with photos of fetuses on every page.

The first client that showed up that morning was accompanied by her mother. I couldn’t help but put myself in the young women’s shoes. There would be no one else in the world who I would want there for me through such a difficult decision than my mom. About fifteen clients arrived that morning, some arriving alone and strong, some with significant others, and there was even one or two who arrived with tears in their eyes; but the mother and daughter stood out in my mind the most. The love and support this mother offered, these other companions offered, was beautiful to me and showed me that every single one of those companions believe and trusted these women to know what was right for them, to make the right choice for them. No matter what their personal views on it was, they supported these women and that inspired me.

The escorts are a “non-hierarchal group of autonomous individuals”, as they say. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the regular escorts that morning. Each one approached us with smiling faces. They nurtured us, keeping us under their wings. S and I were the youngest escorts on the sidewalk. C manned the corner of Market Street. He wore a pin on his vest that read, “this is what a feminist looks like” with an arrow pointed upward. I loved it. He struck me as such an educated man, genuine and kind, passionate about his reason for being there. What makes the Louisville Clinic Escorts and the protesters different is that we are there to help people, help women; they are there to hinder women from seeking medical care.

I encountered an entirely new species that morning in front of the clinic, anti-choice protesters. As I stood on the corner of Market, the young women who approached me when I first had arrived that morning approached me again. “What are you getting out of being here?” I had to think about that for a second. I had already gotten so much out of the experience. “I’m here to help women. To support them in a terribly difficult decision in their life. To let them know that they can be empowered to do what is best for them, and most importantly; because I trust women.” She argued with me that “the babies the doctor is killing could be women too,” but I had learned that morning the best way to deal with a protester is to ignore them. She was quick to spit, “You will have the blood of these dead children on your hands,” before she pivoted on her heels and scurried away.

The way the protesters speak to people is degrading. They believe they are entitled to your time and conversation and if you deny them of that their blood starts to boil. The only defense tactic they use is shame. They yell slurs like, “You will have to answer to god one day for this!” and “You’re making such a selfish decision, what about the baby?!”

Some of the script they use is more comical. While I was standing at the clinic’s property line that morning, soaking in the surroundings, a protester steps next to me and begins shouting at the window. “You could die in there! If this facility catches fire you will be under anesthesia and not able to get out. You would die in there just like your baby!”, a regular protester, Donna, belted. My jaw dropped. All these people with their signs readings, “Abortion Kills Children” and their rosaries singing the same hymn over and over again, they are all the same. I thought to myself, how could these people wake up so early in the morning with so much hate in their heart where they feel the need to focus it on people around them? I turned to F and asked if things like Donna had just said is normality around here. She laughed, “I hear that line about once a week.”

The night after escorting I caught myself staring at the ceiling processing what I had been exposed to that day. All the emotions I had felt rushed back through my mind. I realized that the attack on women seeking abortions is an outrageous reality in this country. I saw that these clients need someone there to help them feel empowered. I realized that women aren’t trusted to make their own reproductive health choices. As I lay there reflecting on how this escorting experience affected me I realized my new passion, the burning in my heart, I wanted to help and that I 100% trusted women.

Sidewalk Snippet ~ {8/20/12}

Posted on by
Reply

There is a Catholic anti-abortion group named Louisville Helpers of God’s Precious Infants.* The second Saturday of each month the priest or Archbishop leads a procession of people from the Cathedral of the Assumption downtown. They walk about 7 blocks to stand across the street from EMW Women’s Surgical Center to pray. They line up on the sidewalk across the street praying. There are sometimes as many as 100, lined up three-deep for a block. Sometimes there are fewer marchers. All of them are saying prayers to end abortion.

The second Saturday in August, we had a Swedish film crew making a documentary at the time the parade reached the sidewalk across from the clinic.

Rita, one of our long-term escorts, shared this exchange with us. (Thanks, Rita!)

When the 30 -35 cathedral prayers came down to stand across the street on Saturday, the Swedish film man took a number of shots around and amid the group.  

As Lisa was interviewing me on the Action Loan corner, a woman broke from the group and approached us. She said, “Who are you and what right do you have to take our picture?”  Lisa replied that she was with Swedish TV and making a documentary to be shown in Sweden.

That seemed to be an approved answer because the woman prayer then said that she wanted to make sure that the film crew wasn’t an agent of “Big Brother,” because you know how they are – running everyone’s lives.

What a dual ethic!!!


——————————————————————————–
*All links to anti-abortion websites have been omitted purposely. Please use Google or message us separately if you would like a citation for sources.

———————————————————————————–

REMINDER: If you are interested in escorting, don’t forget the training on September 8th at 9A.  Training is not required, but it’s helpful. Please see our Trainings for Escorts page or email us for additional information.

Prayer Meetings

Posted on by
9

There are so many things I have difficulty understanding in the actions and words of the antis.

For the past six months or so, we have been told constantly by antis who come out every day they aren’t protesters. This is always said with a certain amount of anger on their part. They are just exercising their free speech. They are just giving clients all of their choices. They are just praying for the clients and escorts to see the light of truth.

Most of the antis that come out weekdays are members of Catholics in Action.* They are part of the anti-abortion group called Prayer Warriors.* They are made up of counselors and prayers. They show up daily, including Saturdays, in front of the clinic to talk to clients or sit/kneel/stand in silent or group prayer. Escorts are referred to as “deathscorts” by these antis. The second Saturday of each month Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Archdiocese of Louisville, leads a procession to stand across the street from the clinic. They come to pray; sometimes filling a city block, three deep.

D is a daily protester who has reacted every time we call her a protester. D arrives in front of the clinic about 630a each morning. This gives time to set up her anti-abortion signs on her car and around a tree in front of the clinic. Then with pamphlets in hand, the morning begins with the first client to approach the clinic. D is called a counselor. She doesn’t consider herself a protester.

The following happened last week and sent me on a search for why, or if, there has been any change in tactics this past year or less for the antis to view themselves as not being protesters, but something else instead.

  • Most of the clients were already in the clinic and I was standing by the entrance facing a group of antis across the sidewalk. They were in their usual spot for praying. Two were seated in folding chairs they bring daily and there were four standing alongside of them. There were another three protesters ready to approach clients on the same side of the sidewalk.
  • A bicyclist rode up to me and asked me, “Who is everyone here? Which side are they on?” I gestured and said, “All of those people on the other side of the sidewalk are protesters. I am an escort.” Then he asked, “Who do you escort?” “We escort clients coming to the clinic past protesters.” He said, “I’m with them,” and went over to talk. He proceeded to tell them he had a blog where he had hundreds of videos on the subject, and handed out some papers he’d made. After a short time he left.
  • When the prayers left, one of the seated prayers came up to me. She stood inches away from me and quietly said, “I heard you tell that young man we are protesters. We are not protesters. We don’t carry any signs. We are out here praying for your souls.” I said, “Oh, you believe in a woman’s right to choice for abortion?” “No! We are praying for your souls.” “Then you are protesting.” She walked away from me.

In my opinion praying in front of clinic doors to shame clients is protesting even if it is quietly done. Why wouldn’t we consider her an anti-abortion protester? Why wouldn’t she consider herself an anti-abortion protester? Are the signs the key to being a protester or not? If it is the signs, why doesn’t D consider herself a protester?

What I found in my search for answers is several rhetorical questions without logical answers.

There doesn’t appear to be a recent change in terminology, but I did find denial among some of the antis about their role as protesters. 40 Days for Life* states on their website they were holding a prayer vigil not a protest in their campaigns. Bound4 Life* is saying they are not protesting, they are holding a prayer meeting, restating it on another page as “silent prayer is not a protest.”* Are the Louisville antis mimicking this terminology? Does it gain them a self-view of non-violence and rationality?

An article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette by Ann Rodgers on May 9, 2012 is titled: “Praying activists once again will protest abortion throughout Lent.”

The lead sentence in the article is:

  • Erica D’Amico has trouble thinking of herself as an anti-abortion activist, a label she associates with angry people and political wrangling.

If I have understood all of this correctly, protesters are viewed as angry and the word is associated with pro-access activists. We are labeled protesters and it is given an unpleasant connotation. Are escorts viewed as protesting against the “non-protester” antis or prayer meetings?

Protesters carry signs. The only exception to this is escorts. I guess our orange vests count as carrying a sign? D’s signs must not count because she doesn’t carry them?

Praying on the sidewalk or holding prayer vigils are not protests, they are prayer meetings. This is in spite of the fact prayer vigils have been recognized as forms of protests for decades. What changed about the prayers in front of the clinic that they were considered a protest last year, but are not protests this year?

I have really gone full circle with my research in an attempt to understand this position without approaching any enlightenment. There are still many unanswered questions for me of why antis in Louisville would not want to be called protesters. They are questions to which I don’t expect answers.

My last rhetorical questions:

If those praying are holding prayer meetings, why can’t they pray at home or in their own church?

What other purpose could it serve to pray on the sidewalk except to harass and shame clients?

You say “Prayer Meeting”; I say “Protesting.”

—————————————————————————————
*All links to anti-abortion websites have been omitted purposely. Please use Google or message us separately if you would like a citation for sources.

protest – verb to give manifest expression to objection or disapproval; remonstrate.

pray-in – noun a form of social protest in which demonstrators engage in passive resistance and prayer: popular especially in the 1970s.