To Protect the Lives of American Babies
To Protect the Lives of American Babies
The Escalation of Antiabortion Activism
Chapter 5 traces the tactics of anti-abortion activists and their impact on the experience of abortion providers and patients. Already in the 1970s, towns tried to prevent the opening of abortion clinics through building and zoning regulations. Once clinics had opened, demonstrators in front of abortion clinics, intimidated patients and abortion providers, held prayer vigils and harassed patients and staff through sidewalk counselling. The chapter discusses the history and tactics of sidewalk counselling and Crisis Pregnancy Centers and the attempts of abortion providers to defend themselves against anti-abortion activism. Providers’ ability to endure the harassment and continue their work depended in part on their ability to get help from law enforcement. And African American patients and providers also relied on their experiences as civil rights activists when confronting anti-abortion activists. The chapter focuses on the experiences of clinics in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Fargo, North Dakota, and concludes with a discussion of Operation Rescue tactics in Atlanta and Detroit.
Keywords: Joseph Scheidler, Operation Rescue, Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Sidewalk Counseling, Anti-abortion tactics, African American abortion providers, African American patients, Anti-abortion sit-ins
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