Thin Orange Line: The Police Get Involved

[neadods]

This post is probably going to be buried in the post-Who tsunami, but I had to get it off my chest.

Last week there were apparently protesters shipped to the clinic from out of state. Violent, racist ones according to another escort who was there, ones who'd been trying to egg a fight.

But this is the week that things got physical. I've been saying for a while that I was there when Eeyore showed up and I'd be there when she got hauled off in handcuffs. It came perilously close to that today when she charged into the parking lot, targeting a couple of clients.

Nobody got hurt and it seems that nobody's getting sued either. Also on the plus side, two people came up to thank us for the job we do and one of them asked for membership information.

But the quiet clinic is not quiet anymore. And I never expected to use the pen and paper in my car to have to write down a statement while everything was fresh in case it was ever needed legally later.

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

we have the rather tragic scenario where people are forced to take the boat to England

I've even heard a term for that - I don't remember it precisely, but it happens so often that there's an actual term for it.

I can't even imagine. I really can't. The idea of the police being brought in to *guess* if women were... my brain just goes "spuh." TBH, I'd rather deal with Eeyore than that!

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

Well, I think the police would have had tip-offs, which is - if I recall correctly - how the twelve-year-old rape victim was stopped and arrested. Which, rightly, made most sensible people in Ireland horrified, which is what led to the minor change in the law.

But as far as I know it's still the case that anyone doing pregnancy counselling cannot even mention abortion. They can't discuss pros and cons, so people getting advice don't get to talk about the full range of options - which might even make them decide against an abortion. And advertisements for abortion clinics are banned, which has occasionally led to British magazines and newspapers being seized at ports of entry if that issue happens to be carrying an ad. It's just stupid.

Glad you're okay! And given your comments downthread about what constitutes assault, it really looks as if the protesters have all the rights! Does any of your team carry a camera? Is it possible to video things?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

anyone doing pregnancy counselling cannot even mention abortion. They can't discuss pros and cons, so people getting advice don't get to talk about the full range of options

*long heavy sigh* Yeah, and until recently, our national policy was to enforce that on other nations that took our money for *any* health reasons. It was called the gag order. Obama rescinded it, just as Clinton did, but both Bushes replaced it.

It's known here there are emergency pregnancy services which basically either omit abortion info or do whatever they can to keep women from getting them, up to and including promising abortions under a reduced price and then stringing her along until the legal deadline has passed. In part because of those concerns, there's a HUGE stink right now that Baltimore has passed a law saying that clinics that don't give abortions or references for birth control have to post a sign actually saying so. It has been straight-facedly argued that it's an anti-Catholic policy and unConstitutional. Apparently it's against the Catholic Church's right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion to have to announce that they're against abortion and birth control.

I'll let you just stare at that last sentence for a while. I sure did.

Technically, if they're on the sidewalk, it's illegal to record them. I wouldn't mind a rule that we can start running camera if they come off, but at the time, we were just trying to protect that frightened couple!

[museclio]

One of WACDTF's Virginia clinics has a a "crisis center" next to it. They try and get the women in.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

And we're the ones accused of hunting women down...