Following up on the last post, I wanted to talk more about the tactics of some of the protesters who frequent the clinic because I think it's important to be aware of the lengths these people will go to shame, race bait, deceive, and invade the privacy of PP's patients.

I do very much believe that just their presence alone is invading the privacy of the women who visit our clinic. They are there to invoke shame and guilt for something that is no one's business but that of the woman herself.

So yes, I do think it's a gross invasion of privacy and while I have no problem with "free speech", it should not be LEGAL to have your "free speech" at the expense of another human beings' right to privacy when accessing any form of medical attention. PERIOD.

Ugghhh. Makes me stabby.

In any case, let me address the criminal level of stupidity displayed by some of our most ardent opponents because honestly, it is unparalleled by anything else I have ever witnessed.

Imagine my disbelief one day upon hearing "shouty little asshole" (my arch nemesis and least favorite protester) offering up a "free high chair" to our patients.

This is not a goddamn joke either. Her exact words were: "Please don't kill your baby! We can help you. We can get you a free high chair!"

Wow, what a monumental offer. This was really a tough choice for some of these women I'm sure, but if you can get them a free high chair, THAT SOLVES EVERYTHING! What reason could you possibly have to follow through with an abortion if you're being offered a HIGH CHAIR????

{insert extreme sarcasm here}

OMFG I can't even take it sometimes.

In.what.assholes.mind.....does giving someone a high chair reconcile every other profoundly life-altering hurdle present when considering whether or not to carry a fetus to term?

Do you understand what the fuck I go through to try and maintain my civility for the sake of the patients?

It's hard, I am not going to lie.

Another thing I'd be remiss not to mention is the way some of the protesters plead for women and girls to "just come with us down the block for breakfast, so you can tell us about your situation. If you change your mind about having this procedure after you talk to us, we will bring you back to Planned Parenthood".

*Sidebar- I don't believe for one second they would ever bring someone BACK to what they perceive is a "haven of 'baby-killing' and ill repute". I honestly think that anyone naive enough to accompany them and then have the audacity to NOT agree to do things their way would be left stranded and helpless.

Now, I have never seen anyone fall for this tactic but some of the other volunteers say there are rare occasions when patients are swayed by these people and actually leave with them.

What I'm told is that the whole "let us buy you breakfast" tactic is just another way to foil the abortion since this is a procedure that MUST be done on an empty stomach.

This is like high school level fucking sabotage with these people.

"Eat some of our tasty free food you vulnerable, naive pregnant girl. That way the clinic won't be able to terminate your pregnancy today!" *evil cackle*

What the fuck is this, Snow White and The Sabotaging, Breakfast-Wielding Anti-Choice Dwarfs?

And it only gets more frightening.

One of the biggest fucking shams ever thought into existence by these maniacal zealots is the infamous "Ultrasound RV" that used to troll the surrounding neighborhood near the clinic lying in wait for women "on the fence" about their impending terminations.

Just by the sounds of it you know I am talking about some extreme fuckery dontcha?

Well, it's just as you imagine it. This is an enormous recreational vehicle equipped with ultrasound apparatus. Also reportedly included? Random people dressed in scrubs (to give them the appearance of a legitimate medical professional) offering women free ultra sounds (in their shitty ass RV) and "counseling".

I haven't seen this thing on any of my shifts but several sources tell me it is in fact real and not some crazy urban myth.

It is unknown whether these people are actually CERTIFIED to even perform ultra sounds (I'm thinking ummm NOPE!) but, they have been known to tell women that they are farther along than they actually are just to deceive them into believing it's too late for them to have an abortion.

Just thinking of some young, uneducated, under-privileged woman being bamboozled into continuing a pregnancy under these kinds of circumstances puts me in extreme mental despair. The amount of anger and emotion is almost too much to cope with if I really allow myself to consider this possibility.

Again, I am told there are women who leave with them on rare occasion and for that I'm sure the protesters feel victorious that day. But victorious over what? The fact that they guilted and shamed a woman into keeping a baby she likely cannot take care of either financially, emotionally, psychologically?

The woman carrying this fetus actually came to a clinic - which is a huge step for some - to abort it. She was serious about her inability to go through with this pregnancy until these people intervened.

They can walk away from that precarious situation and feel good about themselves without WORRYING about the fate of this woman and the soon to be born child?

It's really hard for me to swallow. Maybe it shouldn't be, but it is.

I never in a million years thought that I could feel such compassion, concern, and care for women who are complete and total strangers but I feel like I remember the faces of every woman I have ever seen walk into our clinic. I remember their faces and I remember the stories they tell me of how they arrived at this critical juncture in their lives.

Days later, when I'm going about my daily routine...out of nowhere I'll wonder how they're doing.

This is not something I'm trying to frame as sad or tragic either.

When they leave our clinic, I am nothing but utterly relieved for them. Not sad or regretful, but relieved.

Relieved they had a choice.

That they weren't forced into motherhood against their will.

That they didn't bring another unwanted child into the world.

That, if they are childless and impoverished, their chances of emerging from poverty are better without the presence of children. Numerous studies (and conventional wisdom) tell us that women with children are more likely to be impoverished. One source states that "Motherhood increases the odds of poverty by an estimated 79%."

These are things I personally care a lot about.

I realize that the protesters (and anyone who is AGAINST CHOICE) do not care about these things.

Essentially, these people want PP out of business which means not just less abortions. It means less affordable contraception for those with low incomes, less access to affordable reproductive health services, and less STD testing, education, and treatment for people in communities that under-served and generally underprivileged when it comes to health care services.

Make no mistake, the people protesting PP and similar providers are protesting ALL of these services, not just abortion.

I think my hope is that anyone reading this is spurred to do something relevant to support CHOICE. Personally believing in a woman's right to choose unfortunately is not actively helping women. That's not an accusatory statement or an indictment of anyone's character. I just think a lot of us are complacent and unaware of how much of a threat this anti-choice movement really is.

With the Stupak-Pitts amendment (which polls show is favored by a majority of Americans), even the ability to use private insurance to pay for an abortion would be threatened. A MAJORITY of Americans don't believe any federal funds should be used toward an abortion. Yet how many of those same people gripe at the notion that their tax dollars must go to something "welfare related"? How many of them are too stupid to realize that less unwanted, unplanned children women aren't prepared for means less welfare and poverty?

Oklahoma wants to pass a law forcing women undergoing abortions to reveal the following bits of personal information:

1) Date of abortion
2) County in which abortion is performed
3) Age of mother
4) Marital status of mother
5) Race of mother
6) Years of education of mother
7) State or foreign country of residence of mother
8) Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother

This information would then be fully accessible to the public which means women in small towns could possibly be identified by their friends and neighbors as the "culprits" of a perfectly legal medical procedure.

My state and numerous others are supporting pharmacists in denying women birth control and emergency contraception.

My state and others are enacting prohibitive measures such as "24 hour waiting periods" and "mandatory counseling" to put barriers in place for women seeking access to abortion services.

Yes ladies, they are legislating how we become informed about our own uteri. They are legislating our bodies and it's contents. They are legislating whether we can PREVENT PREGNANCY OR NOT because they are more concerned with the rights of some pharmacist than the long term implications of you having a baby you may not want or be able to take care of.

The gravity of all this should devastate ANYONE who cares about women.

How we spend our time defending our rights matters. Who we vote for matters. How we take a stand on this issue matters.

Donate to PP or a similar organization. Volunteer for PP or a similar provider in your community. Vote every anti-choice bastard you know out of office. Campaign for them. If it applies to you, simply say the words I said in my last post regarding this: "YES, I WOULD HAVE AN ABORTION". Help take the horrible stigma away from this valid, powerful choice. Too often women are afraid to say they would have an abortion but the reality is, 1 in 3 of us will have had an abortion by the time we're 45.

ONE in THREE

It's not that I don't respect people who say they personally support the choice but would not have one, it's that we need to hear from the women who support the choice and are not afraid of saying YES they would have one. Those voices are in short supply.

Sometimes I wonder if it is going to take us going back to pre- ROE v. Wade days for people to stop being complacent about this. The days when women DIED from illegal, botched abortions or from desperate attempts to self-abort using dangerous drugs and wire hangers.

As cruel as it sounds, that may be the only way to wake the pro-choice movement up from it's seemingly peaceful slumber.

I hear a lot of voices these days with regard to this issue...it's unfortunate that the anti-choice ones seem to be the loudest.