National Abortion Federation Blog: Saporta Reporter
| News about reproductive choice from the President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, Vicki Saporta. |
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We continue to mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, Dr. George Tiller. Dr. Tiller was a dedicated physician who provided quality abortion care to women, at great personal sacrifice and risk. He is truly a hero to his fellow abortion providers and his patients. Dr. Tiller’s office is filled with letters from women, thanking him for the excellent, compassionate care he provided. Many of these women say Dr. Tiller saved their lives.
Since his tragic death, we have received messages from some of his patients and from people around the world who are saddened and outraged. We feel it is important to share these words and tributes to our beloved colleague and friend. For the first time, we will enable comments on our blog so that all of you can share your condolences or offer memories of Dr. Tiller. We invite you to join us in honoring a true American hero, Dr. George Tiller.
Post your comments, condolences, and personal memories of Dr. Tiller
NAF Staff in the Field: Protecting our Members in Alabama
Update 2Tuesday morning about 20 OSA demonstrators gathered at Planned Parenthood and about 25 more at the New Woman All Women's clinic, while a group of about 120 traveled to Tuscaloosa to protest at the clinic there. I spent my day monitoring the situation and assisting clinic staff in Tuscaloosa. The group there included numerous children and teenagers. The protesters trespassed onto clinic property, placed fliers containing the doctor's name and photograph on cars in the clinic parking lot and those of the surrounding buildings, and harassed and grabbed patients entering the clinic. In addition, two protesters went into the clinic waiting room pretending to be patients, and passed out additional flyers. The protesters were eventually moved to the public sidewalk where they continued their demonstration for about two to three hours, despite not having a required permit. Labels: Alabama, anti-choice
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NAF Staff in the Field: Protecting our Members in Alabama
This week in Birmingham, Alabama, anti-abortion group Operation Save America (OSA) will be protesting at Planned Parenthood and the New Woman All Women clinic. New Woman All Women was the clinic that was bombed by convicted murderer Eric Robert Rudolph in 1998. An off duty police officer, employed as a security guard, was killed and a nurse, Emily Lyons, was brutally and permanently injured.
A staff member from the National Abortion Federation (NAF) is on the ground in Birmingham working with law enforcement and clinic staff in order to ensure that patients have safe access to abortion care and that services are unimpeded. Please visit our blog this week to read our reports “from the field.”Update 1Members of OSA began gathering for their annual week-long protest event in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday. This morning was their first day protesting at the city’s two abortion clinics. About 15 people demonstrated at Planned Parenthood, while about 100 gathered at the New Woman All Women clinic. Protesters carried graphic signs and shouted at clinic staff and law enforcement. Trucks, also bearing graphic signs, drove throughout the city, provoking numerous calls from concerned citizens who complained about the trucks. The group then gathered in the 5 Points neighborhood and held a rally and signing of an "emancipation proclamation for the unborn children of our land." There was a visible law enforcement presence at all the venues. Despite the disruption, the clinics both remained open and cared for their patients. Labels: access, Alabama, anti-choice
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Alabama Man Sentenced to Probation for Clinic Attack
On Thursday, an Alabama man was sentenced for driving his car into a Tuscaloosa abortion clinic in January 2006. Dalton Ray Skinner was ordered to pay $6,100 in damages, serve five years of probation, and live in an in-house substance abuse center until he successfully completes the treatment program. The judge also ordered Skinner to stay at least 200 feet away from the West Alabama Women’s Center.
Skinner was charged in April with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to prevent individuals from obtaining or providing reproductive health care services. He faced a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. It is disappointing that he only received probation. The enforcement of the FACE Act has had a significant impact on the decline in extreme violence against abortion providers in recent years.Labels: access, Alabama, anti-choice, FACE act, violence
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Alabama Man Pleads Guilty in Clinic Attack
Dalton Ray Skinner pleaded guilty Tuesday to a January attack on the West Alabama Women’s Center where he drove his car into the front entrance while the clinic was closed. Skinner was indicted in April on one charge of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to prevent individuals from obtaining or providing reproductive health care services. He faces a maximum of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine at his February sentencing. Labels: access, Alabama, anti-choice, violence
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Abortion Clinics in Alabama
An Associated Press article examines how it has become increasingly difficult for abortion clinics in Alabama to find backup physicians to work at their clinics, as providers’ face hostility, harassment, and threats of violence. The article cites our statistics on violence,which we have been compiling against abortion providers since 1977. Our comprehensive database is an invaluable resource that enables us to detect changes in the patterns and trends in anti-abortion activities. Labels: access, Alabama, anti-choice, violence
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Pro-Choice Activists Fight Back
Pro-choice activists in South Dakota kicked off a campaign today to overturn the state’s abortion ban. Read the Reuters story. NPR has a story about how bills expanding access to emergency contraception are faring in state legislatures. Listen to the report. Anti-choice Alabama legislators have introduced two bills that would ban almost all abortions in the state. Fortunately, the Alabama legislative session is nearing a close and the bills are likely to die in committee. Read the local story. Labels: abortion bans, access, Alabama, anti-choice, South Dakota, state legislation
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