Louisville Clinic Escorts are giddy about all the support people are offering us from near and far.

As we’ve mentioned in the statements pictured below, it is not helpful for our supporters to show up at the clinic, BUT other groups have taken the time to be intentional about supporting us in ways that can help community members be engaged in the struggle for access in KY by planning a series of events! Follow these links for more details:

Thursday July 20th – Exclusive FREE Showing of the film Jackson. co-sponsored by EMW Women’s Surgical Center, Louisville Clinic Escorts, and KY A Fund Inc.  ASL interpretation provided!

Friday July 21st – Karaoke with Lady Parts Justice League, ACLU – KY, Kentucky Health Justice Network, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, and more friends!

Saturday July 22nd – LPJL’s Vagical Mystery Tour (with special guests) will be at Headliner’s Music Hall! ASL interpretation provided!

Sunday July 23rd – LPJL, ACLU, KHJN. & PPINK are hosting a Werkshop (registration required) about ways to support existing efforts to preserve and improve access.  ASL interpretation provided!

Saturday July 22-Saturday July 29th – Pledge – Picketer FUNdraiser for Louisville Clinic Escort’s Legal Defense Fund! See details here. In short: the more bullies show up at the clinic, the more $$ goes towards access in KY. Invite your friends to the FB event and make a pledge today!

Hope to see y’all there!!!!

One year ago this month, 12 dedicated members of the reproductive rights and justice communities in Louisville formed a Safety Zone Committee to urge our Metro Council to take steps to address safety on our sidewalks.  We all know first hand how dangerous the powder keg constructed by aggressive antis is. Some of us remember when Dr David Gunn and two clinic escorts were shot in Pensacola Florida in 1993 (of the three, one escort survived). We all remember when Dr George Tiller was shot in the head in his Wichita Kansas church in 2009. One of us managed to catch it on camera when another of us was thrown to the ground by a protester in Louisville early this year. We are not interested in waiting for major injury or worse to occur on our sidewalk before something is done to prevent it.

In summer of 2016 the Safety Zone Committee put together a very thorough information packet and started scheduling meetings with Metro Council members. This packet included information about existing local laws and how they could be amended to create a safer sidewalk not just at EMW (KY’s lone abortion clinic) but also at any women’s heath centers and domestic violence shelters.

The packet also featured statistics showing clear escalation in threats and violence nationally, as well as information collected directly from patients shortly after entering EMW about what it was like for them to walk past the protesters. These numbers are rattling.

Included were pictures of the antis on the sidewalk, information about existing buffer laws in other cities, and diagrams of our public sidewalk where aggressive antis have complete access to physically confront, and sometimes touch and obstruct, people while they approach the clinic.

Over the course of several months Safety Zone Committee members met with over a dozen Metro Council Members and local law enforcement about the need for enforceable safety measures. All were invited to come down and see for themselves what happens on the sidewalk. Some declined the invitation saying they had been frequently harassed while patronizing restaurants on the block. Others didn’t feel a need to visit as they were so bothered by descriptions of the scene and the information presented that they quickly offered their support.

At a certain point efforts became more challenging when committee members started approaching less than likely allies, some of whom understood the need for safety measures but were concerned about their constituents rejecting them for “supporting abortion access.” The committee took a hiatus as the Fall/Winter Holidays approached, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the new legislative session, national extremists visiting, and large spring protest days highlighted a need for safer sidewalks.

Sure enough, between the presidential inauguration, the aggressive attacks on abortion in our Capitol, and national extremists “street preaching” not just at EMW, but also at a local hospital and a high school and middle school, a fire was sparked under supporters. Calls, emails, tweets, and comment threads went wild. Police and city officials could not ignore the problem. We readied ourselves for what was coming our way.

If you have been following this blog, or myriad news sources, you know that in addition to the list of events above, we were forced to react to our Governor attempting to shut down EMW with a permit dispute, quickly followed by national extremists attempting to shut down EMW with with physical blockades, which resulted in local and possibly federal charges. These things have kept escorts on our toes, and brought LOTS of media attention, which we have also had to put energy into.

A few weeks ago members of the Safety Zone Committee were contacted by the Metro Council Safety Committee. They are ready to discuss the matter. We have been ready for this for over a year. Our original impression was that the Committee meeting would be closed, so we would need to send our love and support from afar. Yesterday we learned that is not the case, and that the meeting would be open, which means we can go –  and so could the media, and the antis.

We had almost exactly 24 hours to mobilize our supporters, and you know what? They came out in force. There are about 150 seats in the Metro Council meeting chambers. All of those seats were full. We counted five protesters.

While local extremists displayed their gory signs and used audio projection equipment to voice their opinion in the street outside Metro Hall, supporter of access calmly filled the room and equipped themselves with a simple unified message:

There were a few proceedings before our agenda item. When the time came Metro Council members spoke among themselves at first, and called on staff from the Jefferson County Attorney’s office asking about the 35 foot law in Massachusetts that was found unconstitutional recently. There was conversation about how the ACLU of Kentucky has suggested that a rectangular egress spanning the distance from the clinic door to the curb with a width of 8 feet would preserve the rights of protesters to speak freely, and create a safer way for patients to access the clinic.

Major Eric Johnson was called to speak next, and answered what he could of an array of questions from Council Members. Bill Hollander mentioned having seen our pictures of protesters standing as close to the entrance as they legally can now and resting or pressing signs on the head and face of volunteer escorts. There was discussion of what constitutes a violation and what combination of things needs to happen to result in a charge. Barbara Sexton-Smith and Brent Ackerson talked about the very real safety risks that we know all too well.

At long last members of the Safety Zone Committee were called to speak. The first speaker read a powerful statement about the need for a 20 foot zone to allow people to walk to the doctor un-accosted. She also spoke of the initiative that brought us the drop off zone in front of the clinic, which allows one car to stop and let a passenger exit the vehicle close to the clinic, but how the swarming that takes place in the ten foot stretch between the car and the clinic property is still a huge safety risk.

Our next speaker talked about the level of harassment which has become the status quo on the sidewalk, and how that level of aggression can be dangerous. As a resident of the district in which the clinic is located, she found it appalling that every Kentuckian seeking abortion access has no choice but to be subjected to a gauntlet when accessing legal medical care. Perhaps most importantly, this speaker had an opportunity to share with Metro Council members data from the client surveys.

After the second of four scheduled speakers, Chair David James informed us all that the room was needed for the next committee meeting, and that this discussion would be open for comments again in July. We do not yet know what the date for this will be, but are preparing. Councilwoman Barbara Sexton-Smith asked to make a quick note for the sake of clarity that there is not currently a proposal for a Safety Zone at EMW, and Councilman James adjourned the meeting.

Queue the yelling antis. Yes, really. Two antis who had joined the crowd after their street preaching session stood in the aisle yelling loudly at the Metro Council members. It was similar to how they yell at patients outside the clinic. The main differences were that inside Metro Hall they were not amplifying their voices as high as 90 decibels, holding giant gory signs, or in the words our first speaker: “within knifing distance” of the council members, like they are to the patients companions, and escorts. Since this is the same group pledging to violate any law that may be enacted, we’re kind of glad Metro Council got a good look at their behavior.

This morning Rusty Thomas lead a sit-in, blockading the entrance to the clinic in a clear attempt to prevent access to EMW. About a dozen people including a few minors (one infant) sat on the clinic’s property and refused to move, while at least 100 onlookers gathered around, creating the wildest spectacle I’ve seen in my 18 years as a Louisville Clinic Escort.

I was approaching the entrance with a client, just a few minutes after the doors were unlocked. We were having the usual light conversation when I observed that the scene at the door was different than the usual massive cluster fuck of bullies. Instead of anti’s swarming at us and lining the sidewalk with signs, they were all tightly packed near the entrance. Then I noticed everyone was holding their phones up and pointing them at a swarm of people who I could tell were on the property. I told the person I was walking with that it looked like some trespassing was happening, and invited her to step to the other side of the parked cars and continue walking with me around the block. I figured we would head to her car and figure it out from there. Once we passed the clinic and rounded the corner, other escorts told me to head to the alley, where escorts were holding space at the back gate, which is usually reserved for clinic staff. We were able to walk folks to the alley and in the back door and NO APPOINTMENTS WERE MISSED thanks to the quick actions of escorts and staff who train to stay focused on safety and client needs.

Police were already on the scene, and responded pretty quickly, but were generally helpful and gentle to the offenders who face trespassing charges, and were in clear violation of the FACE Act. I can’t help but notice the contrast between the treatment that this type of behavior is met with compared to how individuals within the Movement for Black Lives are treated by law enforcement……

After holding space at the alley driveway for period I moved to the front of the building again where police had blocked the street and were detaining the trespassers on the opposite side of the street from the clinic. The remainder of the morning’s debacle was broadcast live from our Every Saturday Morning Facebook page. Watch that here: https://www.facebook.com/LouClinicEscrts/videos/10154291275180146/ or at the bottom of this post.

We are really thankful to everyone who has reached out and offered LCE support this morning. Our volunteers did a fabulous job of showing up for access this morning. We know we have not seen the last of this sort of behavior, and we expect the worst from these extremist terrorists. Contributions to LCE legal defense fund can be made via paypal to everysaturdaymorning@gmail.com.

#EMWStaysOpen!!!

Alternate title: Two Facebook Rants that Deserve to be Seen.

But first, for the raving part….

WE ARE SO VERY GRATEFUL TO THE BRAVE PEOPLE WHO PROVIDE ABORTIONS TO THOSE WHO NEED AND WANT THEM!! Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer providers, as abortion access continues to be under attack from anti abortion demonstrators, extremists, and legislators. This is why it is SO important that we show our appreciation to the kind and brilliant doctors, staff, and volunteers who work in the face of perpetual hurdles. The services performed by these heroes literally save people’s lives, and can preserve a quality of life for those who aren’t able to stay pregnant, or become parents (again, right now, or at all). I am not going to take this space to spout about the attacks taking place in our state, and our region right now, ranging from vandalism to lawsuits and more new laws to make it harder to both operate a clinic, and to access an affordable procedure without having to travel long distances. Most of our readers are aware of these matters, and can follow the links to the stories about dwindling access. So, for now I’ll repeat a loud and proud THANK YOU to all of the folks working to provide abortion care. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. WE NEED YOU. PLEASE DON’T STOP.

And now…. For the ranting.

Below you will find separate contributions from two different women. We are friends, but did not collaborate on or draw inspiration from each other’s rants in any way. They both center around privilege (our own, and that of those around us), and are appropriate in these times when there is an unprecedented level of tension, both in this country as we head towards a heated presidential election, and in Kentucky as we feel the impact of our new Governor Matt Bevin, who is doing his damndest to punish and oppress people for being poor, queer, trans, non-white, or any person who wants to practice a variety of religions, or (GASP!) have sex for some reason other than procreation.

The first section is taken from a comment thread on a Facebook post that mentioned voting, and linked this NYT article titled Abortion Witch Hunt. It culminates in a rant. I (the author behind “wench” on esm) made the original post, did the ranting, and have omitted the name of my FB friend.

The second section is a touching poem by a woman I have known for a very long time, and have a ton of respect for. We will call her D. D posted her poem on Facebook and I asked permission to share it here, as I thought it fit nicely. Please enjoy and share!

……………….

Him: Are you guys fighting for Bernie? Because if not $hillary is likely to get smoked in the general election. How’ya like for Trumperific years, or maybe the Cruzinator? BERNIE OR BUST! Times drawing near.

Me: I am voting for Bernie, but I think Hillary will win the nomination. I can’t really get down with what feels like a coercive threat: Vote for Bernie or be punished. I’m also not gonna fight with other Dems / feminists about what might be happening in 2017 when Bevin is actively trampling on the rights of so many KYians today.

Him:  Never mind, I’m not contributing to the abortion witch hunt, sorry to inject something as unimportant as the Presidential election, Furthermore, I won’t say a word about the ridiculousness of anyone considering $hillary a feminist. Lastly, it was no threat, but many Bernie supporters, myself included will never vote for the criminal racket that HRC, the DNC and their mega-money overseers comprise. Bernie beats trump by 8% in the polls right now, $hillary beats him by 4% and while Bernie beats all the other GOP candidates handily $hillary loses to them all. Have a nice day!

Me:  I wasn’t referring to HRC as a feminist. I was referring to her supporters. I truly hope Bernie wins the nomination. If he doesn’t, I’ll do what I’ve done every election since my first when I voted Nader in 2000 and lived through 8 more Bush years. I’ll vote for Not Trump.

I know there are Berners who won’t vote HRC. You may not call it a threat or punishment, but there is a palpable difference between intent and impact there. That’s no way to teach any lessons. That’s your privilege showing.

H: My privilege? I’m listening

M: yes. I’m not sure if you want me to elaborate on the privileges that you enjoy in this culture (the fact that you are seen as an able bodied, strong, heterosexual, white, cisgender man, and all the leeway you get with that… the fact that you and your family members have had access to education throughout your lives….. your ability to gain employment and maintain job security at not one but two well established and highly regarded institutions)…… Or if you’re wanting me to elaborate on the privileges inherent to the concept that by refusing to support a democratic presidential candidate, just because it’s not *your* preferred person, as a way of punishing those of us who you don’t think are fighting hard enough for your preferred candidate, you are teaching us some kind of lesson by making us suffer through Trump (or any republican contender) because you couldn’t bring yourself to vote for the lesser of two evils.

These hardcore Berners you’re aligning yourself with aren’t the people whose loved ones will be deported (or murdered or waterboarded) in the name of immigration reform or anti terrorism efforts. y’all won’t be the ones losing your homes in real estate collapses, then housing project demolitions and section 8 cuts. Your kids won’t be the ones whose class sizes swell well above 35 children per one tired, underpaid adult in schools with no arts programs. Or whose teenagers get charged as adults and shuttled through the school to prison pipeline because they’re seen as troubled at-risk thugs who are a threat to society. The absence of these disadvantages and countless more are some of reasons why the approach of punishing dems for not nominating Bernie is a very privileged one.

That covered some of the class and race privilege in this approach. To make it more personal for myself, as a person who enjoys some privileges as a (somewhat) educated white cis-woman: what might happen to health care? to marriage equality? and i’m not just talking about abortion access… i’m talking about being able to keep my home (or car, or phone) if I have to spend time in the ER or ICU for some reason, or end up needing long term treatment for an ailment. if I could afford, for example inpatient cancer treatment, or hospice care, would a partner who can’t be a legal spouse have rights regarding my care or benefits? going Trump is going backwards, just like we are seeing with Bevin now.

but since it came up, and since the original post was about abortion access, and now we are talking about male privilege… I can’t tell if you mentioned not being in on the abortion witch hunt meaning you’re not taking part in the hunt, or it that doesn’t concern you, but those sentiments both fall under: Your Male Privilege Showing.
Here is just one way men will be affected if Bevin stays his course in eliminating *LEGAL* abortion in KY (note that abortions will happen even if illegal, so here is a freebee example where a mother of 3 leaves behind dad and kids by trying to self abort and hemorrhaging to death) so currently a couple living in Louisville or Lexington can decide to terminate a pregnancy and do so after making a phone call and waiting 24 hours, IF they have $750+ laying around. Bevin has already made it to where two trips to the clinic will be required in addition to the original phone call (this will go into effect this summer). so now imagine if the charge Bevin has filed closes that clinic in Lexington. a couple who lives in a suburb east of Lexington now will have to make two trips to Louisville for the procedure. this will mean two adults taking two days off work, possibly having to pay for childcare both days, plus gas expenses (if there is a vehicle) and possibly a hotel, or more gas…… or stay with friends but that might be uncomfortable, and again is a privilege of knowing people with a big enough home in the city.

so you see, there is a LOT of privilege in thinking it’s ok to choose the option of teaching the milquetoast feminists a lesson by punishing us with trump because y’all can’t bear to support a candidate that’s not *your* candidate.

(end rant. These comments took place over the course of two+ days. There have only been crickets post rant.)

……………………………………..

A rant. By D

My whiteness is a cloak. It is a invisible cloak that protects me from the bigots and fascists. It blocks me knowing. It makes me a party to racism whenever I stay quiet.

I wear it without realizing how much it protects me. I want to rip it off layer by layer so I can become more emboldened to not lie and lay
silent when by its lack of color one believes I am a comrade for hate.

Out of what I was taught to do cloaked and white. I smile and nod confining and defining the very bigotry I claim to hate and oppose. Sweetness is not the antithesis to racism. Racists can be sweet as hell saying “would you like a big ol glass a sweet tea?”

Layer by layer I will take off the cloak and I need to do it with care. Underneath there are the others layers I use the cloak to protect. My lower class background, divorced, in poverty working class self, my queerness, my child’s disability, my families mental illness and suicide history.

None of those things. None of those things. Did I say that? None of those things are as powerful to define me as the privilege of the cloak of this white skin.

For that is my truth.

Because of it I must listen to the ones uncloaked fearless or in fear and learn.

Because of my cloak I must learn to speak to ones who wear it too.

To call them out and ask them to tear my cloak off too.

I will falter and it will hurt but it will never be the pain of those I seek to understand.

It will never be the pain I cannot comprehend.

Growing pains can be hard but I’m taking the step in faith for a world where we all come to a table and our skin is removed.

Blood spills and is mixed. The river of us all renewed.

This past Saturday was the first time in over 16 years of escort that I had to send “safe” texts to loved ones after I left the clinic.

Clinic escorts are accustomed to dealing with scary people. Some of the most frightening people I have encountered in my 16 years as an escort have been white men. Some seem more stable than others. Some seem more sober than others.

It will never cease to amaze me how entitled these men feel to forcing their beliefs and morals onto complete strangers who are doing what they know is best for themselves and their loved ones. I have often guessed that some of the people who come to protest at our clinic aren’t there out of compassion for life, or as a way to care for pregnant people or their potential offspring. I think some of them come out because the sidewalk protests are a place where it is socially acceptable to bully people. The ways that they use their bodies, their massive signs, and their words, with or without amplifiers to shame and intimidate others is praised by their peers in this space. it is bullying at it’s best, and domestic terrorism at worst.

This past Friday (the day after thanksgiving, when many clinics were closed for the holiday and many americans were acting some type of way in the name of capitalism) we were reminded of what can happen when entitled and potentially unstable people decide to take action against what they have been convinced is wrong, even if it has no actual bearing on them – whatsoever. In the aftermath we are seeing anti choicers react in various ways. Some are openly praising the attack. some are trying to wash their hands of any remote responsibility. I demand accountability. Unfortunately, I will have to be very patient. Robin Marty explains better than I can about how even the sidewalk prayers need to hold themselves and each other accountable for the Robert Dears and the Scott Roeders of the world, for they are not going away, they’re getting inspired.

It is still unclear what exact message Dear wanted to send with his actions. Survivors of Dear’s murderous hissy fit have stated he said “no more baby parts” so we can infer that he was acting against PP while drawing inspiration from the widely disproven “sting” videos that were released earlier this year. One thing we can be sure of is that Dear wasn’t doing this out of a logically driven compassion for life (as his supporters may wish to believe) since he clearly aimed to cause great harm with his actions, and ultimately killed three people and injured nine others. His victims included an officer of the law who was doing his job, plus two civilians, both People of Color. Both accustomed to life without the privileges afforded Dear and most clinic protesters (who *if* they recognize their white privilege, almost certainly think they deserve it.) It was Dear’s white privilege that allowed him to surrender alive, even after killing an officer and two innocent bystanders. I saw someone make a comment about whether the police bought Dear a fast food treat on the way to jail, referencing the greasy kudos Dylann Roof was given after his Charleston SC shooting spree. My stomach churned knowing that this is the reality of this day and age.

These rather unpleasant thoughts are part of our day to day reality now. These are the facts that we cannot ignore while we are on the sidewalk, creating and holding space for people. We can’t forget that our own clinic has been under attack very recently. We must consider our own safety in addition to that of everyone on the sidewalk. Above all that we know we cannot let these bullies prevail. so, what can be done? That is a great question, and one that is being asked in and of escort and other access groups constantly right now. The answers are varied and unclear, but one thing we know we have to do is use our voices and demand accountability. Share this post, and the ones linked herein. Encourage others to speak up. It is our duty to change the narrative that it’s socially acceptable for white men to tell people how to lead their lives – lest they end them for us.