Florida could be a critical access point for abortion, but the state’s own battle is just starting

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the state is poised to become a regional destination for abortion. But with a 15-week ban set to take effect, its own future is unsure.

Shefali Luthra
June 8, 2022

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Herman Miller never asks his patients why they come to his office, but sometimes they tell him anyway. They just need to say it out loud.

There are people who desperately wanted a child and then found out at 16 weeks pregnant that they would give birth to a baby with major health problems — at least one, he recalls, who would have been born without functioning lungs. There are those who had a plan, a partner who would raise a child with them, before they were left on their own. There are patients who drove six hours to get here, who couldn’t get here sooner because rent was due or a kid fell sick. Some just needed a few extra weeks to pull together a few hundred dollars.

Continued: https://19thnews.org/2022/06/florida-abortion-law-access-point-uncertain-future/


USA – Standing their ground outside the abortion clinic

April 6, 2022
Story by Rachel Crumpler

GREENSBORO — On this Saturday, two groups of people stand watch in the 20-space parking lot of a Japanese steakhouse, each staking out their own territory.

When a car pulls in, often with a woman driving, each group springs to action.

Those wearing rainbow-colored vests motion in the direction of the abortion clinic, guiding drivers to the proper place to park. Others, dressed in navy Sidewalk for Life hoodies, wave, smile and put their hands in a praying position. Some wield signs, such as one reading “God loves you and your baby. We can help.”

Continued: http://mediahub.unc.edu/standing-their-ground-outside-the-abortion-clinic/


USA – As Coronavirus Rages On, So Does Anti-Abortion Harassment and Extremism

As Coronavirus Rages On, So Does Anti-Abortion Harassment and Extremism

3/25/2020
by Micaela Brinsley, Ms. Magazine

In clinics in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Kentucky, anti-choice protesters have continued to show up at clinics that provide abortion services, refusing to comply with the pressure for people to practice social distancing and shelter-in-place.

Witnesses have reported protesters gathering in front of clinic doors, walking up to patients, and even “shoving unwanted pamphlets and gift sacks into confused patients’ hands” and through car windows—blatantly ignoring public health recommendations for people to stand six feet apart from one other.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2020/03/25/as-coronavirus-rages-on-so-does-anti-abortion-harassment-and-extremism/


USA – Meet the Abortion Clinic Escorts Shielding Patients From Harassment

Meet the Abortion Clinic Escorts Shielding Patients From Harassment

Rose Himber Howse
Jan 22, 2020

It’s my first day as an escort at A Woman’s Choice, the lone abortion clinic in Greensboro, North Carolina. At 7 in the morning, it feels like I’ve stumbled onto a block party. At least 50 people are gathered in the parking lot, a space designed for 20 cars, and a guitarist with an amp is strumming and crooning.

Blocking the view of the actual clinic is the Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center’s mobile unit: a pink and white van that serves as the mother ship for six anti-abortion activists also wearing pink. The layout is a nightmare for patients who have to navigate a series of turnoffs that lead them past the van and through the parking lot where these protesters set up camp each morning.

Continued: https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2020/01/22/abortion-clinic-escorts/