Pensacola Florida was once center for abortion violence. Late nurse who ran clinic wasn’t scared

Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal
Sept 18, 2023

Linda Taggart, the nurse who ran one of Pensacola’s first abortion clinics during its most tumultuous times, has passed away.

The clinic was a target of violence for years, including bombings, arson fires and deadly shootings. Despite being attacked and threatened repeatedly, Taggart remained steadfast in her position for 30 years until her retirement.

Continued: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/escambia-county/2023/09/18/pensacola-was-once-ground-zero-for-abortion-violence-meet-the-nurse-who-ran-clinic-at-center-of-figh/70794734007/


Abortion clinics regroup, rebuild after violent attacks: ‘There’s more work to be done’

Christine Fernando, USA TODAY
March 25, 2023

As a detective led her through the charred remains of the clinic, Julie Burkhart was heartbroken. Everything was black and melted. The smell was overwhelming. Fire and smoke damage had engulfed the building from the basement to the attic.

“I knew then that we were going to have a long road ahead,” said Burkhart, president of Wellspring Health Access in Casper, Wyoming.

Continued: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/25/abortion-clinics-violence-attacks-rebound-rebuilding/11484439002/


‘People want me dead’: abortion providers fear violence after Roe overturned

Danger is a daily reality for the health workers, and moments of upheaval raise the risk, expert says
Chris Stein
Sun 3 Jul 2022

Boulder, Colorado, has for decades made its abortion providers feel welcome. The city council passed one of the country’s first laws regulating how close demonstrators could get to patients seeking reproductive care, and residents took to the streets in protest when it became clear that the supreme court was ready to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, as it did last month.

“Boulder is probably the most pro-choice community in the country,” said Warren Hern, director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic. “But there are people in the community who want me dead.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/03/abortion-providers-violence-danger-roe-wade


The Anti-Abortion Movement Killed People. Now Victims’ Families Face A Post-Roe World.

Bombings, assassinations and kidnappings: The anti-abortion movement has always had a violent wing that left families shattered.

By Christopher Mathias
Jun 13, 2022

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks, it will mark the culmination of a decades-long, multimillion-dollar legal effort by the American conservative movement to end abortion rights and force many pregnant people to give birth.

It will also be the culmination of a
multi-decade terror campaign.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anti-abortion-violence-murdered-families-roe-v-wade_n_62a37f2ae4b0cdccbe4fa969


USA – Violence Against Abortion Providers and Patients Is Too Normal in This Country

The Right is only escalating its attacks on a safe health care procedure, and we are just letting it happen.

By Caitlin Cruz
3/17/22

Across the street from the last abortion clinic in West Virginia is a nearly acre-size vacant lot that’s been for sale for about two years. For its most recent 40-day prayer action at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, an anti-abortion group rented out the lot, using it to erect a “cemetery” with paper crosses.

Now, the protesters own the lot. “It’s right across the street from our clinic. Where patients have to walk on the sidewalk to get into our front door, they’ve erected at least 10-, maybe 12-foot giant cross,” Katie Quiñonez, director of the clinic, told Jezebel. “It’s mental warfare, because what they’re trying to do is shame and guilt people who are seeking health care.”

Continued: https://jezebel.com/violence-against-abortion-providers-and-patients-is-too-1848628241


Hundreds Of People Who’ve Had Abortions Tell Biden: ‘We Need To Hear From You’

As a historic Supreme Court decision approaches that could have a devastating impact on reproductive access, activists want more from the president.

By Alanna Vagianos
03/10/2022

In just a few months, the constitutional right to get an abortion in the United States could disappear or be severely limited. Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that afforded that right, is facing a serious challenge in the high court. Meanwhile, conservative state legislatures are on a rampage: 2021 saw the most abortion restrictions ever enacted in a single year.

But President Joe Biden has said very little on the topic. His administration has made some limited moves to protect abortion care in the wake of these historic attacks, but abortion rights activists are worried that the president’s hesitance will have major consequences.

Continued: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hundreds-people-abortions-biden_n_622a12bde4b0fe0944d24ee7?k3


As Trump Fans the Flames of Anti-Abortion Rhetoric, Kansas Offers a Cautionary Tale

As Trump Fans the Flames of Anti-Abortion Rhetoric, Kansas Offers a Cautionary Tale

Jordan Smith
August 2 2019

A sheriff’s deputy was waiting in his car along Interstate 35 just outside Kansas City, Kansas, on the afternoon of May 31, 2009, when the powder-blue Ford Taurus rolled by.

The deputy pulled out behind the car and followed it. He took up two lanes and put on his hazards so no one would try to pass as he called for backup. Minutes later, a four-car posse pulled the Taurus over. Inside was 51-year-old Scott Roeder. He got out of the car with his hands raised. There was blood on his pants and one of his shoes.

Continued: https://theintercept.com/2019/08/02/anti-abortion-violence-kansas/


Abortion providers — the custodians of reproductive justice in South Africa

Abortion providers — the custodians of reproductive justice in South Africa

Marion Stevens
13 March 2019

Sunday 10 March marked Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. These are men and women providing a service many health professionals shun. In South Africa, despite a progressive law, abortion providers continue to face stigma and difficult working conditions.

On 10 March 1993 Dr David Gunn was murdered by an anti-abortion extremist in Florida in the United States (See Appendix below annotating assassinations and violence). Three years later, to honour his life and work, 10 March became the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.

Continued: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2019-03-13-abortion-providers-the-custodians-of-reproductive-justice-in-south-africa/


USA: The Murderer Who Started a Movement

The Murderer Who Started a Movement
Michael Frederick Griffin’s killing of Dr. David Gunn ignited a war on abortion providers. He could soon be a free man.

By Dahlia Lithwick
Oct. 31, 2017

Dr. David Gunn was 47 years old when he was gunned down in 1993 during an abortion protest outside his clinic in Pensacola, Florida. Today we think of this as the first targeted killing of an abortion doctor in America—the murder that led to passage of the FACE Act, which made it a federal crime to block access to clinics. It also established the battle lines in an ever more violent and nihilistic war against abortion providers, one that has led to the murders of nearly a dozen more people in the decades since.

Michael Frederick Griffin reportedly shouted “Don’t kill any more babies” just before putting three bullets in Gunn’s back. While the doctor bled to death, Griffin calmly surrendered to the police, saying, “I just shot someone.” Those attending the protest with Griffin showed no alarm at the shooting, a witness told the Washington Post’s William Booth: “It looked like they were just happy.”

Continued at source: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/michael-frederick-griffin-killed-an-abortion-doctor-he-could-soon-be-a-free-man.html