Abortion Late

Archived Posts from this Category

November 15, 2010

Gloria’s Six Abortions

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Centers, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion lies, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pregnancy Centers, Abortion Rates, Abortion Rights, Bad Apples, Liberal, Lies, Methotrexate, Not Informed, Pat Richards, Politics, Pregnancy Test, Psychology, Roe V Wade, RU486, Sanger, Uneducated | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[111] Comments 

Abortion

In early 1991, just months after the formation of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, I hopped in a car and drove around the Midwest visiting clinics to get educated on the provision of abortion services.  One of my first stops was at a clinic in Arkansas.

I had a good initial meeting with the physician (who offered me a joint that he had been keeping in his desk drawer), then I met with the administrator for about two hours to discuss how clinics are run.  Very educational.  At one point, we started talking about the reasons why women have abortions and I mentioned how I’d love to meet a woman who was going to have an abortion.  The administrator responded “well, that shouldn’t be a problem.  You need to talk to Gloria.”

I learned that Gloria was in for her 6th abortion.  I couldn’t believe it and my initial reaction was that I needed to know why this was happening because, if I was going to represent abortion providers on Capitol Hill, I needed to know how to respond to charges of women “abusing” abortion. The administrator left the room to ask Gloria if she was willing to talk to me and she came back within a minute and said that Gloria would “love” to talk to me.

Gloria was in her mid-thirties.  She was what my father would call “a sassy broad.”  She was very confident, had a bee-hive hairdo and, from the crusty tone of her voice, a heavy smoker.  She was chewing gum as we spoke.  Probably worked as a waitress at the local diner.  You get the picture..

I told her that I was just hired to fight for abortion rights, which she appreciated, then I told her I needed to know why she was at the clinic for her sixth abortion.

“Well,’ she said, “the first time the condom broke.  The next time my boyfriend said he didn’t want to use a condom and threatened to beat me if I insisted on using one.  The third time, I had gone on new birth control pills and there was some problem with them, don’t remember the details.  The fourth time, I was raped by two truckers outside of the Rusty Skillet café in Little Rock.  The fifth time.  Geez, I can’t remember what happened the fifth time.  Then this time I was just playing Lady’s Luck.”

Medical Office

“What is Lady’s Luck?” I asked.

“Well, I was not on birth control, didn’t want to use a condom so I just kept my fingers crossed and hoped that I had good luck.  I actually should have just kept my legs crossed, huh?”

During her story, she kept cracking her gum and when she was done she looked at me coldly and said “Any more questions?”

I asked how she felt at that moment, knowing she’d be going in for anotherabortion in about 30 minutes.  She said she felt fine.  “I’ve been through this before, I know what to expect.”   She was a rock, ready to get on with her life.  Then, to my surprise, she asked me if I wanted to go in with her to the surgery room.  I said yes.

We walked in and the nurse put her on the table and started prepping her.  Then the doctor came in and said a few words to her before he got started.  Gloria looked at me and then reached her hand out to me. I grabbed it and she squeezed.  I then saw the doctor insert a tube into her and heard a vacuum-like sound.  I looked at Gloria and she had tears in her eyes.  I asked if she was okay and she said “I am such a loser.  I have got to get my act together.”  I started to well up myself.  The nurse asked if she wanted to proceed and Gloria said “let’s do it” and the process was complete within minutes.

Abortion

Later, in the recovery room Gloria was her old feisty, gum cracking self, ready to go out to her cold harsh world and kick some ass.  She hugged me as she was leaving and said “thanks for being there.”

When she left, the nurse came over to me and said “she cries all the time.  We always ask her if she really wants to do this and she always tells us yes.”

Thanks for the education, Gloria, you sassy ole broad….

 

November 6, 2010

Abortion Rights and the Next Congress

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Oval Office, history, morning after pill, Politics, Roe V Wade, Supreme Court, The Future of Legal Abortion, Vote | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[47] Comments 

Election Results for the House of Representatives

Okay, now that I’ve recovered from my Election night (and, by the way, birthday night) hangover, let’s try to figure out where the hell we are.

By now, everyone knows that the House of Representatives went to the Dark Side by a wide margin.  And while The Force still controls the U.S. Senate, it is by a razor thin margin.  But the one thing you must remember is that there are a number of Senate Democrats who vote pro-life.  I have yet to see an analysis by the pro-choice groups, but although the Democrats still run the Senate, the pro-life forces are in pretty decent shape over there as well.  In the House, they are firmly in control.

So, what this means is that the House of Representatives will pass any pro-life piece of legislation that is offered.  They will no doubt come up with all sorts of ways to make abortion less accessible.  We will probably see some kind of national 24 hour waiting period, so-called “informed consent” measures requiring women to view photos of the fetus, etc.  Anything that is proposed will pass.  However, the Republican Party is not dumb enough to go all the way and try to pass a bill or constitutional amendment banning abortion.  That ain’t gonna happen folks.  That’s because there’s no guarantee that they have the necessary two-thirds vote in both houses.  And the Republicans are thinking that if they’re gonna lose, why ask their folks to stick their neck out on this controversial issue and piss off a bunch of possible pro-choice independents when the measure is unlikely to become law?

So, the House will pass some things and then send it to the Senate.  Pro-life forces basically need 60 votes to pass something in the Senate and those votes over there will be close.  But, let’s say they do pass a 24 hour waiting period.  Fortunately, sitting down at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue (at least for now) is pro-choice President Barack Obama.  If any pro-life bill comes to his desk he’ll veto it and that will be the end of it.

So, as far as attacks on the accessibility of abortion, there will be a lot of talk.  You will get a lot of fundraisingletters from both sides asking you to contribute money to help their lobbyists fight the good fight but, at the end of the day, ain’t nothing terrible gonna happen.

House of Representatives

There is one real problem, however, in the U.S. Senate.  And that has to do with the situation when/if Obama gets to nominate another justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.   That’s where it will get very interesting.  Without having seen the exact numbers, I can virtually guarantee you that the pro-choice forces do not have the necessary sixty votes to confirm an obviously pro-choice justice.  And while great deference is often given to the President’s nominee, if Obama nominates a clear pro-choice justice, there will be a major battle.  That’s because the Court right now favors Roe v Wade by a 6-3 margin.  If they can pick up another pro-life vote, then it becomes a 5-4 margin in favor of abortion rights.  So, come nomination time the pro-lifers will be smelling blood.

So, the bottom line is that Obama will have to nominate some “stealth” candidate who has no clear position on abortion.  It will be a crapshoot.  And as history shows, other presidents have found themselves in a similar situation where they nominated someone hoping they would follow the President’s ideology only to find them on the other side of the fence.  This could happen to Obama.

Stay tuned folks.

 

October 29, 2010

An Irresponsible Documentary

Posted by Pat Richards under Aborticentrism, Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Documentary, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion lies, Abortion Medical, Christian Murder, Church, Dr. Tiller, Late Term Abortion, Late Term Abortions, Liberal, Lies, Roe V Wade, Scott Roeder, Supreme Court | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[36] Comments 

Doctor Tiller

The other night I watched a documentary entitled “The Assassination of Doctor Tiller.”   The film followed the events leading up to the brutal murder of Doctor Tiller, a physician in Wichita who performed late term abortions.

I hated the film.

No, let me clarify that.  I think it was dangerous and irresponsible.

Let me remind everyone that I knew George Tiller very well.  We were good friends, spent a lot of time together.  We had informative conversations about his controversial work.  He was an amazing, dedicated man.  And while I appreciated how this documentary discussed to some extent his life and his work, I am very concerned that the film could incite more violence.

Of course, the mainstream pro-choice groups all think it was a wonderful film in that it documented how abortion providers have been stalked, bombed, threatened and, yes, killed.  They say it’s important for the public to know about the “domestic terrorism” that took place or is still taking place around the country.

Now, I am not naïve.  I understand there are anti-abortion protestors who continue to stand in front of clinics and harass women.  I know that some of the more unstable ones call clinics and threaten the staff.  Those with too much time on their hands will follow the doctors to and from the clinic.  Basically, a lot of stuff is still going on and abortion providers cannot let their guard down.

But the fact is that, compared to the 1980’s and 1990’s, when anti-abortion groups like Operation Rescue could get hundreds of people to block the front door of an abortion clinic at a moment’s notice,  these days things are relatively quiet.  There are a few reasons for this trend.  Years ago, the pro-choice movement (with my assistance) passed federal laws that protected clinics and women entering clinics.  Meanwhile, the number of protestors on a general scale is smaller as the anti-abortion leadership has become older and has moved on to other issues (issues that might be able to raise them more money).  Then there is a very cooperative Administration that is making sure the FBI and BATF do their jobs.  Surely, things are not perfect by any means.  For example, there are still people like Bill O’Reilly who continue to preach hatred (and who was particularly focused on “Tiller the Killer.”)  But my point is that things are much quieter compared to a decade or two ago when the shit was hitting the fan everywhere.

The film, meanwhile, focused on the heyday of Operation Rescue, particularly that time when they surrounded George’s clinic for a whole month as part of their “Summer of Mercy.”  And I guess it’s good to have a history lesson lest we forget.  But what really bothered me – and concerns me – is that the film spent a lot of time focusing on Scott Roeder, the man who assassinated Doctor Tiller.   In my opinion, that was totally irresponsible.

I am not a criminologist but I do know that history is replete with cases where someone killed

Scott Roeder

someone after being “inspired” by some other violent event.  There’s always a copy-cat killing after a sensational murder.  Just remember the rash of school shootings that occurred after Columbine.  The fact is that there are idiots out there, total losers, who are looking to depart from this world with a large bang.  They’re thinking how they’ve got nothing to lose so they decide they might as well take out 20 people at a local McDonalds and get their name on the front page of all the newspapers in the country.  These people are violent extensions of all of those folks who feel a need to go on Doctor Phil or Oprah and talk about their sex change operation or their fight against obesity.  We are a nation of narcissists and sometimes those narcissists take their need for attention a little too far.

So, imagine there is this guy sitting in his dark bedroom, which is located in the basement of his parent’s house.  He is 30 years old, he just lost his job and his wife and two kids are living in another state.  He spends all day playing video games or watching reruns of “Cops.”  He’s got nothing to look forward to.  And he’s got several guns in the closet.

Then, while channel surfing, he runs across “The Assassination of Doctor Tiller.”  He is mesmerized at the films of Scott Roeder, the confessed killer of Doctor Tiller.  He watches his wedding ceremony films and learns how Roeder lost his job soon thereafter and his wife threatened to leave him.  He listens to the ominous background music while he watches grainy films of Roeder standing quietly in front of an abortion clinic.  The film then jumps to Roeder testifying during his trial about how he started thinking of killing Doctor Tiller.  He is impressed with Roeder’s cool demeanor on the witness stand, how he admitted right up front that he did it, that he put the gun to Tiller’s head and fired.  He finds himself getting excited at all of the attention Roeder is getting and how Roeder is cool, even relieved, as he testifies.  He does not sweat a lick, even though he is going to jail for the rest of his life.  Fucking A  – he is the man!

Then maybe this guy in this dark basement starts to get his own ideas…

Protestors

It happens every day.  It’s the same pattern.  And that’s what concerns me about this documentary.  The pro-choice movement has basically done all it can to protect themselves.  They have passed every law imaginable.  But they cannot stop a lone madman from taking the law into his own hands.  If a person wants to kill and give up his own life, you’re not going to stop him.

And what bothered me about this film is that it may have given some wacko out there another idea.

 

October 24, 2010

The Party

Posted by Pat Richards under Aborticentrism, Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Doctors that Have Lost Their Medical License, Abortion Documentary, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion lies, Abortion Medical, Abortion MisInformation, Abortion Oval Office, Abortion Rights, Abortion Violence, Cannot Support Opinion, Church, Community Development Block Grant, Congressman, Late Term Abortion, Late Term Abortions, Vote | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[68] Comments 

On January 22, 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Roe v Wade decision which declared that the constitutional right to privacy extended to abortion.  Supporters of legal abortion rejoiced, although some did object to the fact that the decision allowed some restrictions on the procedure.  At the same time, the pro-life movement declared it as a dark day in history.

Over the next few years, however, the pro-life movement actually took “possession” of January 22.  They started organizing large rallies on that day across the country and ultimately launched the annual “March for Life” where hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers came to Washington, D.C. to express their opposition to legal abortion.  The pro-choice movement could only watch feebly from the sidelines.

Abortion

In late 1997, as a staff person for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, it dawned on me that the next January 22nd would be the 25th anniversary of Roe v Wade.  I started to think about how we could “take back” that day.  Remember that this was a time when abortion providers were under attack.  The bullets were flying, clinics were being bombed, every day was another battle in the constant war.  Ironically, I came up with the idea of actually having a party, a celebration commemorating the work of the doctors and staff at the abortion clinics.  Indeed, for years at the annual NCAP conference, we always had a dinner dance to help us wind down after a full day of seminars and lectures.

But I started wondering why we shouldn’t go a step further?  I had been in Washington, D.C. long enough to know that other organizations, from the realtors to the bankers, regularly had formal, black tie parties.  Why couldn’t we do the same thing?  Why not have a real “grown up” party?

At first, some of our members were reluctant.  It was almost as if it would be a sacrilege for the doctors and staff to “dress up.”  But within a few weeks, the idea spread like wildfire.   On email and over the telephone, people started talking about what they were going to wear, how they needed to rent a tuxedo and other logistical issues.  While they were still nervous opening up their car doors, I could tell they were even more nervous about how they were going to do their hair that night.

To make the evening extra special, I booked the main ballroom at the famous Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.  I then spent weeks looking for a live band and finally found one that I liked.   Everything was in place.

Since they were in town anyway, we offered our members a series of lectures during the day.  They sat through speeches on “head and heart” counseling and how to advertise on the Internet, but it was clear that no one was concentrating.   They were thinking of their “coming out” party.  Finally, the time arrived.  My staff and I got there early and stood at the door greeting folks as they shuffled in.  I was literally taken aback.  I had gotten to know these folks intimately, had talked to them for years about the protestors and the murders, was accustomed to seeing them in their scrubs or casual “clinic wear,” but now they were coming into the room with flowing gowns and jewelry that had been in storage for years.  Instead of bullet proof vests, the male doctors now had shiny tuxedos.  They were different people.  They were finally having fun, getting all “gussied up” as one person put it.  The music, the food and, yes, the booze flowed all night.

A few weeks earlier, I had spoken with a writer for the “Style” section of the Washington Post and she thought it was fascinating that abortion providers would even consider having a party.  I invited her to come and she readily accepted.  The next morning, after a very long night of revelry, our conference attendees had copies of the Post delivered to their hotel rooms and there on the front page was an article entitled “Dinner Break From a Hot Issue.”   The joy of those interviewed jumped from the pages.  Doctors who drove to

Abortion

their clinics with blankets over their heads for security purposes openly talked to the reporter about the great time they were having for that one evening.   Clinic owners spoke candidly about how proud they were of the work they performed.  Directors of clinics talked about the women they served and about whose gown they were wearing.   We had created an alternate world for one magical evening.

Within a few days, everyone was back at their clinics.  Waiting for them were the local protestors, the anonymous phone calls, the nasty unsigned letters and the myriad of issues that come up daily in a medical facility.  But for weeks, they just talked about “the party.”

On that night, we had taken back Roe v Wade.

 

September 16, 2010

For Late Term Abortions: 1-800-595-3155

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Centers, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Pill, Late Term Abortions | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
[98] Comments 
Late Term Abortions

Late Term Abortions

The website, www.Abortion.com, has been providing a useful service to women seeking abortions for many years.  The site is a simple directory of abortion clinics throughout the country and hundreds of thousands of women have used it to procure abortion procedures.  Recently, the owners of the website added a new feature that should be applauded.

The vast majority of abortions are performed in the first trimester.  Sure, the anti-abortion movement likes to make it look like every abortion is performed hours before birth but that is simply not the case.  However, the Roe v Wade case did allow abortions to be performed in the third trimester for extenuating circumstances.  Generally, those abortions are performed when the pregnancy has gone terribly awry.

In this country, one in every thirty-three children is born with a birth defect.  Most of those defects are mild and can be managed surgically.  However, for some, the outlook is not so good.  Some babies will be severely challenged for life and some will simply not survive after the birth.  In some of those cases, a woman will reluctantly elect to abort that child.   As you can imagine, it is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone involved.  And before any anti-abortion folks suggest that these “defects” are very minor, I can tell you personally that I have seen what can happen to a baby in utero.  I have seen babies with two heads.  I have seen babies with their heart growing outside of their body.  It is absolutely horrible stuff.

When faced with this situation, it is very difficult to find a doctor in this country who will perform these physically and emotionally difficult abortions.  Perhaps the most well-known late term abortion doctor was Doctor George Tiller, who was murdered over a year ago by a crazed anti-abortion zealot.  In response to Doctor Tiller’s death, however, an unassuming physician from Nebraska stepped up publicly and announced that he would fill that void and perform those difficult abortions.  His name is Doctor Lee Carhart.

Therapeutic Abortion and Late Abortion

Therapeutic Abortion and Late Abortion

Doctor Carhart got his training in Pittsburgh and since 1998 he worked with Doctor Tiller at his clinic in Wichita, Kansas.  After Tiller’s death, many members of his staff moved to Nebraska to carry on the Tiller’s work.  As you can imagine, Doctor Carhart has now become a target for the anti-abortion movement and he has had to spend a considerable amount of money on personal security for him, his family and his staff.

The women who go to Doctor Carhart – women from all over the world – do not want to be there.  These are wanted pregnancies that have gone terribly awry.  They have elected to abort their child, an action that most of us (fortunately) could never comprehend.  In response, Doctor Carhart offers some very unique services for these women.  They include the availability of a chaplain, they will take hand and foot prints of the baby, they can arrange a cremation by a licensed Funeral Director and will return the ashes if so desired.  They will take pictures of the baby.  Yes, I know this is heart wrenching and it is hard to believe that these services are out there but Doctor Carhart is responding to the hundreds of women who are, in their mind, forced to undertake this very difficult step.

I want to applaud www.abortion.com because they have now put on their homepage a toll free number for women who are seeking abortions after 24 weeks.  Those phone calls will be routed directly to Doctor Carhart’s office in Nebraska.  It is easily viewed on that page but to give this number as much visibility as possible for those women in need, I’ll repeat it here:  1-800-595-3155

Therapeutic Abortion Late Abortion

Therapeutic Abortion Late Abortion

Related Articles
 

August 30, 2010

Exclusive: Obama is Pro-Abortion!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Blog, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Oval Office, Abortion Pill, most pro-abortion President in our history. | Tags: , , , , , , |
[12] Comments 
Obama Pro Choice

Obama Pro Choice

A short while ago, former Governor, former Mayor, former VP candidate, former beauty queen and would-be czarina Sarah Palin said something very interesting.  Not smart, mind you, but interesting.   She said that President Obama was the “most pro-abortion President in our history.”

Wow, how’s that one!

Ironically, Ms. Palin’s comments actually made me think, as opposed to her usual comments which normally make my eyes roll into the back of my head.   What did she mean by that comment?

Well, we know he’s pro-choice, that’s very clear.  But what does it mean when you have a pro-choice President sitting in the White House?

The first thing, of course, is that if he had an opportunity, it means he will appoint a Supreme Court justice who will defend Roe v Wade.  Looks like he’s done that so far.

Next, there are various bills in the Congress that are supported by the pro-choice community.  The main one is the “Freedom of Choice Act,” which basically would codify the Roe v Wade decision.   That bill, which has been around as far back to the 1980’s when I worked at the National Abortion Rights Action League, has never gotten anywhere.  If I recall correctly, it’s never even had a hearing in a committee.  Sure, at some point during the campaign Obama did say he would sign that bill if it came to his desk but he knows damn well it ain’t getting to his desk.  And, believe me, he is not on the phone every day urging Members of Congress to co-sponsor that bill or to hold a hearing on it.  He just isn’t that dumb.

Then there was the health care bill where he had to sign an Executive Order – which is a really big deal – to confirm that NO money in any of these new programs would be used to subsidize abortions.  He practically put his kids up as collateral to confirm that not one dime would be used for abortion.  Indeed, the pro-choice groups are still pissed off at him for doing that.

So, the bottom line, as far as I can see, is that he has done nothing to promote a “pro-abortion” agenda.   Then what is Sarah thinking?   I started doing some research and, in an exclusive report, will now reveal some tapes we just uncovered that prove Ms. Palin’s point:

Abortion Oval Office

Abortion Oval Office

Scene:  The Oval Office

Raum Emmanuel (Chief of Staff):   “Good morning, Mr. President.  Do you have time to discuss today’s agenda?”

The President:  “Raum, my main man!  (High fives are exchanged).  Okay, I think for the next week our message should be that we need more abortions in this country.”

Emmanuel:   “Right on, Mr. President.  Exactly how do you propose we do that?”

The President:  “Well, the first thing we gotta do is stop subsidizing any forms of birth control.  Then, let’s make it illegal to get emergency contraception over the counter.  Let’s start pushing all of that abstinence-only crap.  And, finally, let’s propose that we give a $500 tax credit to anyone who has an abortion.”

Emmanuel:   “You da man!   I’ll get on it right away.”

The President:  “Cool.   This will definitely turn things around for us.  Okay, now I gotta pack for another vacation…”

Related Articles
 

August 26, 2010

“Regulating” Abortion Clinics in Virginia – An Opportunity

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Blog, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Centers, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Ken Cuccinelli Abortion | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[8] Comments 
Ken Cuccinelli Abortion

Ken Cuccinelli Abortion

A few days ago, Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli (“the Cooch”), said in a legal opinion that the state’s Board of Health could “regulate” abortion clinics.  In response, the local pro-choice folks claimed that such action could close 17 of the state’s 21 abortion clinics.

The first bit of info that is missing here is that abortion clinics are already subject to a number of regulations on the state, federal and local level.  I mean, after all, they are MEDICAL facilities, aren’t they?  Does the Cooch think that their doctors don’t have licenses, that there is fetus blood all over the floors, that they do not use sterilized instruments?   Has he never heard of OSHA, CLIA, HIPPA and the other acronyms that mean nothing to me but strike fear in the heart of any medical office?

The second thing is:  what makes him think that abortion clinics need more regulations?   Has there suddenly been a series of deaths in the abortion clinics?   Are hundreds of women calling to complain about unsanitary conditions at these facilities?  Of course not.  To the contrary – abortion remains one of the simplest, hence, safest medical procedures available in this country.

The third thing that hits me is:   Has the Cooch ever been in an abortion clinic?  Has he ever toured one of the four abortion clinics that are right around the corner from his office in Richmond?   Does he even know how abortion clinics operate?  Of course, the answer is no.

What the Cooch and his allies are attempting to do is to close down abortion clinics, pure and simple.  Years ago, in South Carolina the state passed a number of regulations that basically required that abortion clinics be regulated as hospitals.  They required the clinics to widen their hallways.  They said the thermostat had to be set at a certain temperature.  They even required the clinic to control the insect population on the lawn.  I kid you not.  It was absolutely absurd.  As a result, two clinics that could not afford to make those very expensive changes went out of business.

That’s what the Cooch is trying to do in ole Virginny.   He is anti-abortion and this is just a sneaky way of pushing his anti-abortion agenda.  It has nothing to do with enhancing the safety of abortion or protecting women’s health.  This message is very confusing to me – he wants to outlaw abortion but he “cares” about the women and wants to make sure that they are getting the best abortion treatment.  That’s totally screwy.

On the other hand….yes, there’s always another hand.

The pro-choice groups are apoplectic.  Oh my God, they’re gonna close all of these clinics!   Women will not be able to get abortions.  Please join us in fighting the Cooch and, by the way, please send us a million dollars today so we can save women’s reproductive rights.

Okay, my fellow pro-choicers, calm down.

The fact is that the Cooch’s legal opinion says that the Virginia Board of Health could impose additional restrictions.  It’s all up to them.  They can take the Cooch’s cue and say thanks very much, but I got better things to do.  Or they could try to determine if there are actually some constructive new regulations that might benefit women.   We just don’t know what they’ll do.  Indeed, some observers of the Board are suggesting that the majority of its members will do nothing because they were appointed by the former pro-choice Democratic governor.

We’ll have to watch things closely, of course, and we appreciate local pro-choice organizations like Virginia NARAL.  Meanwhile, however, if I ran a clinic in Virginia, I’d be writing a letter to the Board of Health inviting them to visit my clinic so they can see how great my facility is.   I would tell them that if they have any constructive suggestions then of course I’d consider them, but I will oppose anything that is mere harassment.  Here’s a chance for abortion clinics in the state to take the high road and to remind everyone that they are upstanding medical facilities and not “back alley” abortion clinics.

Related Articles
 

August 18, 2010

The Donohue Show

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Blog, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Late Term Abortion | Tags: , , , , , |
[27] Comments 
Abortion Pill

Abortion Pill

I follow the discussion on the Abortion.com Facebook page very closely and I appreciate the moderator posting some of my pieces.  From what I can see, a number of people are interested in some of the more unique stories about the days when I was at the National Coalition of Abortion Providers.   I’m not sure if this will be to your liking, but…..

At about 2:00 p.m. on March 10, 1993 I learned that Doctor David Gunn had been murdered as he approached his clinic in Pensacola, Florida.  For months, those of us in the abortion provider world knew something was going to happen.  Anti-abortion terrorism was spreading everywhere, folks were on edge.  I have to say that when I got the call, I was not in total shock.

The murder was front page news for several days.  A short time later, I got a call from a producer from “The Donohue Show.”  For you youngsters out there (or you oldsters who can’t remember where your bathroom is anymore), Phil Donohue was basically the first “Oprah.”  The producer said they wanted me to join Susan Hill, Doctor Tom Tucker, David Gunn, Jr. and a Mr. Paul Hill on the show a few days later.  I readily accepted the invitation.  Unfortunately, Doctor Tucker got stuck in a snow storm but Doctor Takey Crist, an abortion provider from North Carolina, chartered a private jet at the last minute to fill in for Tucker.  Susan Hill owned 8 clinics at the time and employed Doctor Gunn.  David Gunn, Jr., the son of the murdered doctor, had already become a celebrity of sorts by that time.  None of us knew who Paul Hill was.

When we got to the television station, we were escorted to the “Green Room” which is where we all met Paul Hill.  By that time, we had learned that he would represent the anti-abortion side on the show.  I shook his hand, he was very cordial.  When we went up to the stage, I was seated next to him.  Then, once the show started, Paul quickly told the world that it was “justifiable homicide” to kill an abortion doctor.  The crowd, a liberal New York crowd, collectively gasped.  They had never heard such a thing (neither had I).  I thought the audience was going to lynch him.  His remarks were especially outrageous in that the son of the murdered doctor was sitting three chairs from him on the stage.

I answered a few easy questions, although later on my friends said I had the “deer in the headlight” look about me.  At one point, I was talking about how some police were letting protestors block the clinics and I said that “we HAD a sheriff in Corpus Christi, Texas, who testified that he would never arrest the protestors because he was pro-life.”  Unfortunately, millions and millions of people across the country thought I said we “HAVE” a sheriff down there.  The next day I got a call from the sheriff of Corpus Christi who, screaming in my ear, told me that his office was being barraged with phone calls from angry pro-choicers.  I felt terrible when he told me he was actually pro-choice – but the damage had already been done.

During one commercial, Phil Donohue himself came over to me and said “Okay, someone is going to call in and ask you about that abortion pill.  What is it called, RU-483 or something?”    I told him it was RU-486.  Minutes later, “Marianne from Brooklyn” called to ask about the abortion pill.  I found out later that “Marianne” was actually one of the co-producers of the show calling from backstage.

Then there was Doctor Crist.  He was a large, dashing bearded doctor of Greek descent who on that day was not going to take any crap from Paul Hill.  He massacred him verbally, got more applause from the audience than anyone.  After the show, over the course of the next few weeks, his clinic received hundreds of calls from women who wanted to meet Doctor Crist personally.  He told me later that he received at least 50 proposals of marriage in the mail after his appearance.  Ah, the power of television.

During the commercials, I talked to Paul Hill and over the next year I saw him at a number of anti-abortion protests.  He became the national spokesman for the “justifiable homicide” doctrine.  Then, about 15 months later I got another call that Doctor Baird Britton and his bodyguard had been assassinated in Pensacola.  They were both shot by Paul Hill.

 

August 12, 2010

Guaranteeing Access to Abortion Clinics – The Time the Government Helped

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Blog, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rates, Abortion Rights, Community Development Block Grant, Cranston, Late Term Abortion | Tags: , , , , , |
[29] Comments 
Cranston Abortion

Cranston Abortion

This past weekend, I got a great treat.  I was alone in my house.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love my family.  But I have to admit it was fun to just putter around the house, drinking wine at 1:00 in the afternoon, taking a nap, drinking wine at 5:00.  At one point, however, I found some old newspaper clippings and noticed an article about something I was involved in when I worked for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers.

In the 1990’s the anti-abortion movement would hold massive demonstrations in front of abortion clinics.  It seemed like they could get hundreds of people at the drop of a hat to converge on a local facility.  They would march to the front door and sit down, preventing women from entering the clinic.  Of course, the clinic staff would immediately call the police but in conservative cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana or Birmingham, Alabama the police would just watch the demonstration.  That’s right – they would do absolutely nothing.  Hundreds of protestors were clearly trespassing but the police would just sit on their hands and let the demonstrators do their thing.  It was totally outrageous.

One day I was talking to a friend of mine who worked for Senator Alan Cranston of California and I told her about this problem we were having.  We started to think about how we could get local police to enforce the trespassing laws in those cities.  We came up with a brilliant idea.

In those days, just about every city in the country received “Community Development Block Grant” (CDBG) funds from the federal government.   These CDBG dollars were used for all kinds of projects:  to build affordable housing, construct new sewer lines, repair roads, etc.  Cities got millions and millions of these dollars (I know, those were the good ole days).

So, one night, when the U.S. Senate was in session Senator Cranston proposed an amendment to a bill saying in so many words that if the police did not do their job and arrest the trespassers, then that city would lose its CDBG funds.  Before the anti-abortion Senators knew what was going on, the amendment passed and ultimately became law.

The first thing we did was write a letter to every mayor of every major city in the country to tell them about this new law, just to put them on notice.  Our announcement caused an explosion around the country.  For example, within two days of the letter going out, I got a call from the Mayor of Philadelphia asking me about the new law.  No, that’s not entirely accurate.  What he actually said was “What the *%$)(#*@&% is this new law all about?   What the *#%()@#*%$# are you doing?”

After picking myself off the floor, I politely told him that he just had to make sure the police did their job and he would have nothing to worry about.  “*$()@*@(#%$,” he concluded and hung up the phone.  We never had a problem in Philadelphia again with protestors.

Also, whenever we heard about a demonstration that might take place, just to make sure I would call the Mayor of that city and warn him or her that they stood to lose a crap-load of money if the police ignored the protestors.  All of a sudden, police started making arrests in the most conservative of cities.

A lot of people are down on government.  They say there’s too much of it, it’s broken, keep it out of my face.  I get the argument.  But there are times like this one when government actually helped us guarantee that women would be able to exercise their constitutional right to have an abortion.

Is this a great country, or what?

 

July 31, 2010

Do Anti-Abortion Laws Cause More Late Term Abortions?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion & Religion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, D&E, Hyde Amendment, Late Term Abortion, Not Informed | Tags: , , , , , |
[23] Comments 
Henry Hyde Abortion

Henry Hyde Late Abortion Creator

The anti-abortion movement thinks abortion should be illegal.  Good for them, go for it, knock yourself out.

I would guess, however, that if they had their druthers, the anti-abortion crowd would also say that if you’re gonna have an abortion you should have it as early as possible.  I mean, it goes without saying that if you wait too long, the fetus will grow and grow and grow.  And no one likes the idea of abortion at 23 or 24 weeks.  Meanwhile, the vast majority of women who get “later” abortions are minors or poor women.  But here’s the irony – it might be the anti-abortion movement that is responsible for a lot of these late term abortions.

Hey, Pat, are you off your rocker?   Have you totally lost it?

Chill out, folks, lemme explain.

A woman receiving Medicaid assistance gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion.  She calls the local clinic and they tell her that the price for a first trimester abortion is $400.  That’s a lot of money for this woman.   Years ago, the anti-abortion movement enacted the “Hyde Amendment” which says that you cannot use your Medicaid card to get an abortion unless your life was endangered.   Now, if there was no such thing as the Hyde Amendment, this woman would just go to that clinic, give them her Medicaid card and have the abortion right away.    But, instead, she is now looking for $400 that she didn’t anticipate needing.  She doesn’t have a credit card, no bank account to speak of, no rich friends.   So, she has to spend precious time finding the $400 somewhere.  Meanwhile, the baby is growing.  Ultimately, she might get the $400 but by that time she is more advanced and abortions cost more money the later they are performed.   It’s a viscous cycle.  Ultimately, she might get the cash but she’s now in her 19th week.

Were it not for the Hyde Amendment, the abortion would have been performed within days of her discovering her pregnancy.

Then there are the minors.    A 15 year old girl discovers she is pregnant.  Now, at that age she might delay any conversation about her situation because she just might not be sure that she is pregnant.  But once she verifies it, the chances are that she lives in a state that requires her to get the permission of her parents.   These laws, of course, are all courtesy of that anti-abortion movement again.   But the girl’s family is not Ozzie and Harriet land.  In fact, she is petrified of going to her parents, one of whom beats her on a regular basis. So she waits and waits, perhaps thinking she might have a miscarriage and the issue will just go away.  In denial, she remains mum.  Then, her stomach starts to expand and, despite her wearing loose clothes, she ultimately is panicking that her parents will notice.  Only at that point, perhaps now in her 18th week, does she reluctantly go to her parents to give them the news and, hopefully, get their permission for an abortion.

If there were no parental consent laws in her state and she felt she could not talk to her parents, she would have found a good friend or close relative that she could confide in and secured the abortion much earlier.

Ironic, isn’t it?

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »