The Importance of Clinic Defense

Note: The following was first published at ChoiceUSA's Choice Words.
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Every Saturday morning, a dedicated group of volunteers arrives outside of the Louisville EMW Surgical Center, Kentucky's only abortion clinic. On the surface, their job is simple: accompany the clinic's patients from their cars to the clinic doors. But considering the crowds of invasive protesters doing everything in their power to block people from entering the clinic, a day in the life of a clinic escort is anything but simple.

After having possibly driven hours the morning of an abortion, this is what Kentucky's abortion patients can expect to encounter upon arrival:


They call themselves "sidewalk counselors," many of which are from the crisis pregnancy center across the street. Some wear orange jackets similar to those worn by the escorts to further confuse and ambush folks trying to enter the clinic. The ACLU has said that the EMW Surgical Center encounters some of the largest, most aggressive anti-abortion protests in the country.

Further south, the NC-based antichoice group Operation Save America regularly targets Family Reproductive Health, a Charlotte clinic known by many to be one of the most caring, compassionate clinics in the state.


The man depicted in the above video, Flip Benham, was found guilty of stalking a doctor last November and given 1 year probation. The ruling hasn't stopped Benham's followers from appearing week after week to shout over the clinic's gate in his place. Clinic defender and activist Scott Trent describes OSA as "one of the most reactionary, bigoted Christian Fascist groups in the country." Despite the very dedicated group of defenders that show up in the wee hours every week, the harassment continues. "They regularly climb the tree on the border of the property to shout at women going into the clinic, block the driveway in flagrant violation of the FACE Act," Trent tells me, adding that local police regularly neglect to enforce the federal law.

During one of the weeks I was able to make the 90-mile trek to Charlotte, a representative from an area mom's group approached me with a contact sheet. "As a group, we're neither pro-choice nor pro-life," she told me, but they oppose Operation Save America because of their tactics. She was referring to the giant posters depicting aborted fetuses and embryonic remains, saying that as moms, they don't want their young children exposed to such gruesome images. Additionally, she continued, "One of our moms has had multiple miscarriages, several have had abortions, and the posters trigger panic attacks." The moms group is working on a project where folks can hold signs warning oncoming traffic that there are graphic images ahead, then point folks in the direction of a detour.

I could go on about the importance of clinic defense, how activists in both small and large numbers sacrifice their time and their safety to uphold the right to choose. It shouldn't have to be this way, but this is the reality we live in. And while the Feds and local law enforcement alike could be doing more to enforce the FACE Act, defenders put themselves on the line to pick up where the police do not (or cannot) step in.

End Note: This summer, Operation Rescue is revitalizing the "Summer of Mercy" event that led to increasingly violent action against the slain Dr. Tiller in Wichita 20 years ago. This time they're targeting Dr. Carhart at his new Germantown, MD location. If you are able, hook in with local organizations, contact folks organizing defense projects to keep this clinic safe and open. The Summer of Mercy event 20 years ago involved human blockages of clinic entrances, massive arrests, violence, and profound harassment of those receiving much-needed needed care.