WMC News & Features

Skyrocketing abortion clinic violence tied to extremist rhetoric

Planned Parenthood Colorado Springs

The National Abortion Federation’s latest report on abortion clinic violence lays out a disturbing increase in harassment and violence targeting the health centers’ employees and patients in 2015. NAF, an organization of public and private abortion providers, has been monitoring threats since 1977.

The report points to a direct link between anti-abortion propaganda efforts and acts of violence and intimidation against providers. It also serves as a reminder that attacks against providers have been part of a decades-long campaign that has waxed and waned with social and policy changes.

Incidents documented from 2015 included nine attempted murders and 11 acts of arson; 94 death threats (an increase from one the previous year); and a near doubling of clinic blockades, from 23 to 45.

“Incidents of picketing at facilities, which had been decreasing in previous years, increased from 5,402 in 2014 to 21,715 reported incidents in 2015—a number larger than numbers reported for any other year,” according to the report. 

These incidents are part of a 40-year pattern of violence and harassment against providers, according to NAF. Overall, from 1977 to 2015, clinic violence has included 11 murders, 26 attempted murders, 42 bombings, and 185 arsons.

But not since the 1990s have clinics been on alert like this, said NAF President and CEO Vicki Saporta.

Last year’s spike in violence included the murders of three people, and the wounding of nine, at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, when anti-abortion extremist Robert Dear opened fire at the facility. The clinic is part of the Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains affiliate, which was featured in the series of videos released last summer purporting to show Planned Parenthood staff selling fetal body parts for profit. “When police arrested Dear,” the NAF report points out, “he made a reference to part of the video smear campaign.”

The videos have since been discredited as completely false, and their creator, David Leiden of the Center for Medical Progress, has been indicted in connection with his actions in making the videos. Moreover, NAF received an injunction against CMP, whose computers were recently confiscated by California justice officials.

But damage was done. An investigator hired by NAF during the height of the video controversy identified more than 25,000 incidents of hate speech and threats in just six weeks.

“We have directly documented that in fact hate speech and threats skyrocketed,” said Saporta.

Another, less well-known incident cited in the report involved a man who posted on social media a call for people to set fire to abortion clinics. “If thousands rallied together to set each murder house on fire, we would see the end of abortion,” he wrote. Within three months of the post, facilities in Washington, Louisiana, California, and Illinois were targeted with arson.

Saporta commented on the psychological fallout, saying, “It is never good for women when their health care providers are being constantly threatened and intimidated, and subject to violent attack—and the escalation in threats, hate speech, attempted murder, and murder.”

Ellen P., a client counselor at one of Houston's six remaining clinics, said the atmosphere of intimidation makes patients more vulnerable. “My greatest concern is for the patients,” she said. “Some are in abusive relationships. Others are terrified of anyone knowing they got pregnant out of wedlock.”

NAF works closely with clinics to put safety measures in place, including staff training. Staffers strive to prevent threats from escalating into something worse: They increase outside surveillance, attend security workshops, communicate with the local police and FBI about any incidents, and share strategies.
 
Escalation is best prevented by catching acts of harassment or vandalism early on and turning them over to law enforcement for investigation and possible prosecution, Saporta said. The clinics and NAF work together to assess the danger.

The actions of law enforcement and policy makers do make a difference. After the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian in 1988, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno set up the nation’s first federal task force to investigate and prosecute clinic violence.

“Potential violators now understood that the federal government was paying attention; they were taking these matters seriously,” Saporta explained. “And all of a sudden some of these extremists saw that they didn't really want to spend the rest of their lives in jail."

“In addition, [Reno] dispatched U.S. Marshals to protect providers we identified as being in imminent danger. Her actions as Attorney General led to a decline in extreme forms of violence for more a decade,” she said.

That ended with the murder of Dr. George Tiller in 2009.

Even though the number of investigations and prosecutions has again increased during the Obama Administration, “Picketing out in front of the clinic is an everyday occurrence now, and there are more protesters there,” according to Houston-based clinic operations consultant Kathy Kleinfeld. “They have bigger signs. They're more vocal. They are more aggressive. They're harassing patients more.”



More articles by Category: Health
More articles by Tag: Reproductive rights
SHARE

[SHARE]

Article.DirectLink

Contributor
Categories
Sign up for our Newsletter

Learn more about topics like these by signing up for Women’s Media Center’s newsletter.