Protests, Hate Mail And Stalkings Are Part Of Daily Life For Abortion Providers
ProPublica talks with an author who interviewed 87 clinic owners, doctors and employees about their experiences. In related news, following the shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood, regional reproductive rights groups are asking the state legislature to classify attacks on abortion facilities as domestic terrorism.
ProPublica:
For Abortion Providers, A Constant Barrage Of Personalized Harrassment
Since 1993, 11 people have been killed in abortion-related attacks — doctors, clinic staff, and last week, a police officer and two visitors in the line of fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. While the investigation continues into the shooter’s background and motives, David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University, says that stalking and harassment pose a much more common threat to abortion providers and their families. For their May 2015 book “Living in the Crosshairs: The Untold Stories of Anti-Abortion Terrorism,” Cohen and co-author Krysten Connon interviewed 87 providers in 34 states — clinic owners, doctors, and other employees. ProPublica spoke with Cohen about their findings; the interview was edited for clarity and length. (Martin, 12/2)
The Denver Post:
ProgressNow, NARAL Pro-Choice, Blame Republicans In Planned Parenthood Attacks
The liberal group ProgressNow Colorado assembled Planned Parenthood supporters on the state Capitol steps Tuesday to characterize the rhetoric of anti-abortion Republicans as the match that lit the fuse in last Friday's mass shooting in Colorado Springs. "No one should have to fear for their lives when they're just out just being in their communities, when they're going to the grocery store, when they're going to the doctor, accessing health care," ProgressNow Colorado's executive director Amy Runyan-Harms said at a the press conference. (Bunch, 12/1)