Posted on Apr 7, 2023
Clinics offering abortions face a rise in threats, violence and legal battles
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/07/ [login to see] /clinics-offering-abortions-face-a-rise-in-threats-violence-and-legal-battles
Thirty years ago, Blue Mountain Clinic Director Willa Craig stood in front of the sagging roof and broken windows of an abortion clinic that an arsonist had burned down early that morning in Missoula, Montana.
"This morning, Missoula, Montana, learned that there is no place in America that is safe from hateful, misguided groups," she told the crowd of reporters and onlookers.
The 1993 fire at Blue Mountain Clinic was part of a particularly violent period of anti-abortion attacks in the U.S. that continued through the 1990s and 2000s, when clinics were bombed and abortion providers killed. Now, less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, rhetorical and physical attacks have increased against clinics that still provide abortions in conservative-led states.
The U.S. Justice Department formed a Reproductive Rights Task Force after last year's Supreme Court decision, in part to bring more attention to anti-abortion violence and threats. Since 2011, the DOJ has prosecuted dozens of criminal and civil cases over obstructing access to, threatening, or damaging abortion clinics. It charged 26 people in 2022 — more than in the previous three years combined.
Thirty years ago, Blue Mountain Clinic Director Willa Craig stood in front of the sagging roof and broken windows of an abortion clinic that an arsonist had burned down early that morning in Missoula, Montana.
"This morning, Missoula, Montana, learned that there is no place in America that is safe from hateful, misguided groups," she told the crowd of reporters and onlookers.
The 1993 fire at Blue Mountain Clinic was part of a particularly violent period of anti-abortion attacks in the U.S. that continued through the 1990s and 2000s, when clinics were bombed and abortion providers killed. Now, less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, rhetorical and physical attacks have increased against clinics that still provide abortions in conservative-led states.
The U.S. Justice Department formed a Reproductive Rights Task Force after last year's Supreme Court decision, in part to bring more attention to anti-abortion violence and threats. Since 2011, the DOJ has prosecuted dozens of criminal and civil cases over obstructing access to, threatening, or damaging abortion clinics. It charged 26 people in 2022 — more than in the previous three years combined.
Clinics offering abortions face a rise in threats, violence and legal battles
Posted from npr.org
Abortion
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Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Violence has been rising since 2020
Violence against abortion providers was already on the rise before the Supreme Court's decision to end federal protections for abortions, according to the National Abortion Federation. Nationally, from 2020 to 2021, reports of stalking rose 600%, clinic invasions 129%, and assaults 128%, according to the federation. The organization is still aggregating its 2022 figures, which include data from after Roe was overturned, but it expects the upward trends to continue, according to chief program officer Melissa Fowler.
"When a clinic closes, the protesters don't just pack up and go home," Fowler said. "A lot of times, they will travel or even move to other communities and states and target the clinics that remain open there."
There have also been attacks on anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers, which have been vandalized in several states since last year. Police in Minnesota were looking for the vandals responsible for smashing windows and spray-painting in red, "if abortion isn't safe, neither are you," at Abria Pregnancy Resources in St. Paul last summer, KSTP reported.
The clinic's director, Angela Franey, had previously voiced support for the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision.
Last May in Wyoming, after a draft opinion of the decision was leaked to the press, a new abortion clinic in Casper was set on fire before it could open. Owner Julie Burkhart blamed the incendiary rhetoric of anti-abortion groups."...
..."Violence has been rising since 2020
Violence against abortion providers was already on the rise before the Supreme Court's decision to end federal protections for abortions, according to the National Abortion Federation. Nationally, from 2020 to 2021, reports of stalking rose 600%, clinic invasions 129%, and assaults 128%, according to the federation. The organization is still aggregating its 2022 figures, which include data from after Roe was overturned, but it expects the upward trends to continue, according to chief program officer Melissa Fowler.
"When a clinic closes, the protesters don't just pack up and go home," Fowler said. "A lot of times, they will travel or even move to other communities and states and target the clinics that remain open there."
There have also been attacks on anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers, which have been vandalized in several states since last year. Police in Minnesota were looking for the vandals responsible for smashing windows and spray-painting in red, "if abortion isn't safe, neither are you," at Abria Pregnancy Resources in St. Paul last summer, KSTP reported.
The clinic's director, Angela Franey, had previously voiced support for the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision.
Last May in Wyoming, after a draft opinion of the decision was leaked to the press, a new abortion clinic in Casper was set on fire before it could open. Owner Julie Burkhart blamed the incendiary rhetoric of anti-abortion groups."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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