11:32 p.m.,
Apr. 06, 2003
So as weekends go, this was a pretty good one. But something happened Saturday morning that made me really angry.
I am on Depo-Provera. My insurance doesn't cover it, so I get it at a discount from Planned Parenthood. The last time I went, there were a few protesters, but they kept to themselves and prayed in a circle and stood about 200 feet away. They didn't try to directly engage me, nor did they imply that I was a terrible person for supporting family planning. There were also four of them.
Since I last went to PP for my shot, the Supreme Court ruled that pro-life protesters can interfere with clinic business.
So on Saturday, about 10-12 protesters stood in front of the door, saying a Hail Mary in unision for each person who walked in and walked out. An 11th person aggressively pursued passersby and patients, trying to shove an 'informational' pamphlet into their hands. They were quite confrontational - I was helped into the door by two volunteers wearing bright green Pro-Choice Clinic Escort smocks. Every 20-30 minutes or so, the clinic's director walked through and made an announcement about how she'd talk to anyone who was upset, and if the protesters bothered anyone, it was their right to tell them to leave them alone.
On my way out, the pamphleteer followed me almost all the way to my car. He said "Ma'am, we're just trying to give you information so you'll know how far you've fallen." I told him to keep praying for my birth-control shot, flipped off the group, got in my car and burst into tears. It really could've been a lot worse, but I have to be honest, it was really scary.
I believe in free speech. I believe that people have the right to demonstrate for things they believe in. I'm fine with pro-life activists demonstrating and rallying because that's their right as Americans.
But I would never show up at the Catholic church handing out pamphlets about how the Pope is wrong about abortion and birth control to people trying to go into church, stepping in their path and then discouraging them from going in and worshipping.
Just as they have the right to protest, I have the right to support Planned Parenthood and what it stands for, both politically and financially. And I don't believe they should be allowed to literally stand in the way of that.
Oh, and also, a 21-year-old woman was kidnapped from the bus stop I use when I take the train to work at noon on Friday. It's one block away from the PP Clinic. She was also raped and then dumped behind the grocery store near the bus stop 45 minutes later. No one was out rallying for her protection, and God knows, she needs it more than low-income people seeking cheap birth control.