Servalbear
Louisville, KY
Female, 63
We are a group of volunteers who escort clients and their companions past anti-abortion protesters. We are not security or clinic defense. We are present to support people and create space for them to be empowered while accessing reproductive healthcare. The time escorting can be stressful and emotional, but we feel it is important to support a client's right to make the decision best for them. Abortion is not a dirty word and should be accessible to anyone. Read our blog to find out more.
The FACE Act protects providers, clients and clinics from " "force, threat of force or physical obstruction." It was signed into federal law in 1994 after the first abortion provider, Dr. David Gunn, was murdered by an anti-abortion protester in 1993. Local city and state laws differ in many parts of the country. There are some cities that have bubble and/or buffer zone laws restricting the distance protesters can approach clients, providers or clinics. We do not have those in Louisville. We have recourse to most laws that apply in other situations. The clinic enforces trespassing on their property by calling the police. Escorts, clients and companions can press charges of assault or harassment individually. Protesters can also file those same charges against escorts, clients or companions individually. The protesters can exercise freedom of speech and say anything. They can also use loudspeakers on the sidewalk. Unless there is a complaint from a resident in the immediate area, there is no noise ordinance enforcement. The legal line is thin and difficult to practically enforce. (Link to FACE: http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/violence/FACE_act.html)
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Yes, definitely. When they are not focused on the clients, the protesters will turn their attentions to the escorts. They try to convince of the errors in our thinking every day. We have been called evil, devils and have had prayers directed towards us.
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Yes. We see babies in arms and small children out frequently. Saturday mornings will bring whole families out to protest and the children will range from newborn to teenagers. Sure, we respect their right to free speech. We do not respect their abusive, insensitive and harassing speech directed towards clients, companions and escorts. They have the freedom to say whatever they please. We have the freedom to be offended by their speech. Because someone can be free to speak their mind in public does not mean there won't be reactions to that speech.
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We always ask clients if they want us to escort them past protesters. It is their trip to the doctor and we trust their judgment. Many times we will be told, "We have this" or "They won't bother me" or simply "No, thank you." There are more clients who accept our offers, but many are fine with walking by themselves.
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The main purpose of escorting is to walk clients from their car to the clinic door. Since we are always interacting with the clients, we do talk to them about a lot of subjects and answer questions if we know the answers. If we do not know the answer, we say we don't and we can find out or refer the client to the correct resources. We answer general questions about abortion and the law, but refer specific questions concerning the client to the clinic staff. There is a set of guidelines all escorts try to follow that are a part of our training. Our presence should always be de-escalating and calm. We do not engage in political speech. Religion comes up in conversation because of the protester presence, but we keep those conversations to a minimum and can only answer from our own beliefs. These conversations are usually a client stating they are Christian, but don't understand the protesters' presence. While we are honest and transparent in our answers, we are not there to sway clients to any particular point of view.
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To my knowledge all of the protesters who are out are associated with churches in the area. We have at least 5 churches who recruit people to be "prayer warriors" or "sidewalk counselors." They range in affliation between Born-Again to Catholics. I am not aware of any non-religion based protesters.
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There are very few. The average is probably about 2 per month, or less than .5%. Once the appointment is made most clients have researched the subject, consulted people in their lives they trust and have made their decision. There is also by law a 24-hour waiting period after receiving mandated counseling before an abortion can be performed. This allows further time to think about the decision before having an abortion. Clinic personnel participate in one-on-one discussions with a client on the appointment day before performing a procedure to make sure the client is sure and they are not being coerced. When a client is still conflicted about the decision as they arrive for their appointment, escorts will answer their questions but will leave them alone unless they ask us to escort them. It is their decision to make, not ours.
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