Protecting Abortion Access: The Experiences of Clinic Volunteers From Roe to Dobbs 1666935247, 9781666935240

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Protecting Abortion Access

Protecting Abortion Access The Experiences of Clinic Volunteers from Roe to Dobbs Shara Crookston

LEXINGTON BOOKS

Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Published by Lexington Books An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www​.rowman​.com 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE Copyright © 2024 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Crookston, Shara, author. Title: Protecting abortion access: the experiences of clinic volunteers from Roe to Dobbs / Shara Crookston. Description: Lanham: Lexington Books, [2024] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023040517 (print) | LCCN 2023040518 (ebook) | ISBN 9781666935240 (cloth) | ISBN 9781666935264 (paper) | ISBN 9781666935257 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Abortion services--United States. | Abortion--Law and legislation--United States. | Volunteer workers in medical care--United States. | Women’s rights--United States. | Pro-choice movement--United States. | Health services accessibility--United States. Classification: LCC HQ767.5.U5 C75 2024 (print) | LCC HQ767.5.U5 (ebook) | DDC 362.1988/800973--dc23/eng/20230911 LC record available at https:​//​lccn​.loc​.gov​/2023040517 LC ebook record available at https:​//​lccn​.loc​.gov​/2023040518 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Contents

Acknowledgments vii Chapter 1: Abortion Laws, Restrictions, and Study Participants: Circus or Sidewalk? Chapter 2: Clinic Location and Physical Plant Challenges Chapter 3: Engagement vs. Nonengagement with Antis Chapter 4: Escorting Presents Personal Challenges Chapter 5: Race and Clinic Escorting

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Chapter 6: Police Presence at Abortion Clinics Chapter 7: Roe v. Wade: Overturning Roe?



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Chapter 8: White Catholics v. White Evangelicals: Christian Antiabortion Protesters Chapter 9: For Antis, Abortion Is Never an Option: Antiabortion Protesters Are Hypocritical and Offer Unhelpful Solutions

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Chapter 10: “I Don’t Fear for My Safety . . . but I Probably Should” 159 Chapter 11: Clinic Volunteerism Challenges and Motivations: Escorting as an Act of Compassion and a Way to Fight Christian Bullying

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Chapter 12: June 25, 2022, and Beyond

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Contents

References Index

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About the Author



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Acknowledgments

I am especially grateful for the escorts in this study who were so generous with their time. I appreciate your energy, enthusiasm, honesty, and trusting me with your experiences. The dedication you all have for abortion access and the love for your clinics is inspiring and heartwarming. I feel fortunate to have met all of you. It is my hope that this book motivates those interested to become clinic escorts or to get involved with their local clinics in other useful ways. Thank you to my husband, Mike for encouraging me to pursue this project, M.E.O. for always cheering me on, Penelope for being an excellent writing companion, and my colleagues at the University of Toledo Department of Women’s and Gender Studies for all of their support. Lastly, thank you to my mother for sharing your story with me. This work was partially funded by the University of Toledo University Research Funding Opportunities (URFO) Program.

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Abortion Laws, Restrictions, and Study Participants Circus or Sidewalk?

Abortion clinic escorts are often the first and only line of defense for patients, staff, and physicians. Escorts are an essential part of protecting abortion access against antiabortion activists and their presence helps to ensure patient comfort. When law enforcement can’t or won’t enforce state laws and local ordinances, clinic escorts risk their safety so that patients are able to get the care they need with as little disruption as possible. While studies focusing on abortion patient experiences and outcomes is necessary and important, research focused on abortion clinic escorts is scarce (see Britton et al. 2017; Medoff 2009; Crookston 2020; Crookston 2021), making this an important area for critical inquiry. To address this absence, this study focuses on the motivations and challenges abortion clinic escorts experience at independent (indie) abortion clinics located in the United States both pre and post Dobbs. Mercier et al. (2016) have argued that a framework that is focused on the impact of abortion laws for patients may “inadvertently overlook the key, and often invisible, work undertaken by abortion providers to minimize the burden on women and preserve abortion access” (77). The insufficient attention being paid to clinic escorts means that this population is rendered invisible and the impact of their experiences on dedicated patient care and the stability and preservation of abortion access is neglected. One goal of this book is to provide a more complete picture of the importance of abortion clinic escorts in an increasingly hostile antiabortion environment. The participants in this study frequently used the word “circus” to describe the sidewalks outside of their clinics when speaking with me. This was true regardless of state abortion laws that made this medical procedure one that required patients to attend multiple clinic visits or a just a single appointment. All clinic escort participants described a chaotic environment where 1

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they had to negotiate patients, public sidewalks, police presence, car and foot traffic, and often, large numbers of unruly, loud, and persistent anti-choice protesters, commonly called “antis." Clinic escorts shared dozens of stories of patients and companions being harassed by Christian antiabortion protesters who promised patients financial help with raising their babies if they would “choose life” instead of abortion. Most clinic escorts described scenes of patients being aggressively verbally accosted with phrases such as “slut” and “murderer,” while simultaneously, antis cited Bible passages to support their accusations. Signs depicting Christian-related propaganda such as “Jesus loves the unborn,” to enlarged pictures of third-trimester fetal remains routinely accompanied loud preaching from bullhorns, most often led by middleaged white men. The majority of clinic escorts in this study volunteered at nonengagement clinics with an understanding that escorts would not interact with protesters, despite the verbal and physical harassment they frequently encountered. At some clinics, escorts were there specifically to engage with anti-choice protesters, adding their voices, and sometimes upbeat pop music, to the cacophony of noise generated by protesters. Many participants reported that protesters openly carried firearms and other potentially deadly weapons on their belts, while concurrently preaching about the sanctity of life. All study participants were aware of the history of abortion clinic violence in the United States that has left physicians, volunteers, and staff dead or injured, yet this was not a deterrent to clinic volunteerism. Many clinic escorts had been regularly volunteering at their clinics for years, noting that in the past five years, there had been a marked uptick in clinic violence and harassment by antiabortion protesters. This increase was credited to former President Trump’s antiabortion rhetoric and an increase in Evangelical leaders who have hijacked state politics and policies. Lastly, several participants trusted me enough to share their personal abortion stories, some of which took place pre-Roe. For some, escorting was an act of gratitude for their own abortion decades earlier. ROE, CASEY, AND DOBBS Berer (2017, 13) noted that from a global perspective, the “plethora of convoluted laws and restrictions surrounding abortion do not make any legal or public sense” and has served to prevent making abortion universally affordable, accessible, and safe. While first-trimester induced abortion is not uncommon (nearly one in four women) (Jones and Jerman 2017), access to this protected form of healthcare is heavily controlled in many states, particularly in the Midwest and South. According to Andaya and Mishtal (2016), women’s rights to legal abortion are “now facing their greatest social and

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legislative challenges since its 1973 legislation” following the landmark Roe v. Wade case. In 1969, Norma McCorvey (aka Jane Roe), filed a class action suit in federal court against Dallas, Texas, attorney Henry Wade, asking for an injunction to stop enforcement of the abortion law (Lewis 2022) that limited access to care. At this time, Texas criminalized abortions except when necessary to protect the life of the woman (Lewis 2022). A three-judge district court declared the Texas law unconstitutional but refused to issue an injunction because the Constitution issue remained unresolved, according to Lewis (2022). McCorvey’s attorneys, Sarah Weddington and Katie Coffee, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), appealed the case directly to the United States Supreme Court in 1971. Lewis notes that Doe v. Bolton, which was a case challenging Georgia’s less restrictive abortion law was also appealed to the court that same year. Lewis states that by a 7–2 vote, the court struck down the abortion laws of Texas and Georgia, with Justice Blackmun declaring that a right to privacy, which “derives primarily from the ‘concept of personal liberty’ in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, ‘is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” According to Lewis, “her right to abortion, although a fundamental right, is not unqualified and must be considered in relation to the state’s important and legitimate interests in protecting maternal health and the ‘potentiality of human life.’” Blackmun’s opinion outlined abortion rights in three trimesters where “during the first three months of pregnancy, the abortion decision is entirely a private decision left up to the woman. At the end of the first trimester, the state may regulate procedures ‘in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health.’” Additionally, “after the second trimester, as the fetus acquires the ability to survive independently of its mother, the state may proscribe abortions except when necessary ‘for the preservation of the life or health of the mother’” (Lewis 2022). Furthermore, Lewis states that Blackmun “presented a survey of the historical record,” concluding that “abortion laws at common law and throughout the nineteenth century had been less restrictive than those in effect in 1973,” also concluding that there “was no evidence that the word ‘person’ in the Constitution referred to prenatal life.” It is important to note that Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) was not able to terminate her pregnancy: she later gave the baby up for adoption. Roe v. Wade was not the last time the issue of abortion came before the Supreme Court of the United States. Benshoof noted in 1993 that Roe “altered irrevocably the face of the American political landscape by galvanizing a movement whose sole purpose was to either overturn Roe or render it irrelevant” further stating that “sadly, 20 years later, that movement has been

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successful in a number of ways” (162). Benshoof states that while Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992) reaffirmed the right to terminate a pregnancy before viability, “access to reproductive health care has been limited to such an extent that there are no abortion providers in 83% of the counties in this nation.” Benshoof adds that some patients must travel hundreds of miles to get medical care, in addition to negotiating violence and harassment by protesters (162). As shown below, access to abortion services in the first trimester has become increasingly challenging for patients in recent years. According to Benshoof, these obstacles result in only some patients being able to “exercise their constitutional right to make personal, private childbearing decisions” (162). In 1992, in what Benshoof calls “an extremely divided decision,” the Supreme Court preserved the central tenets of Roe; expressly holding that states are not free to ban abortion (162). However, the court held up several other Pennsylvania provisions that included a twenty-four-hour delay requirement after patients received a state-scripted lecture discouraging abortion; a requirement that a woman under the age of eighteen obtain the “informed” consent of one parent; onerous and unnecessary provider reporting requirements; and vague defining of “medical emergency” (Benshoof 162). Furthermore, Benshoof argued that the “justices rejected the ‘strict scrutiny’ standard granted all other fundamental rights—such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion—the justices adopted an ‘undue burden’ standard that allows states to impose abortion restrictions so long as they do not have ‘the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion’” (163). This new standard, Benshoof stated, “places the initial burden on women to demonstrate ‘undue’ harm” (163). Federal courts “are then directed to measure the degree to which each restriction interferes with a woman’s ability to exercise her right to choose abortion” (163). Additionally, the “federal judiciary’s increasing tendency to interpret the Constitution narrowly, providing less protection on the issues of privacy and due process” may lead to judges being “reluctant to find abortion restrictions unconstitutional under the new standard” (163). Benshoof, in addition to many other abortion advocates, suggests that these restrictions will impact not only all patients seeking care, but those who are not white, low-income, and living in rural areas the most. In March 2018, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a case on behalf of Jackson Women’s Health Organization—the last abortion clinic in Mississippi—which challenged the state’s ban on abortion after fifteen weeks of pregnancy. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the ban “was blatantly unconstitutional under 50 years of precedent” and the lower courts blocked it from taking effect (ACLU.org). Mississippi then took the

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case to the Supreme Court, “asking initially for the Court to uphold its ban, attempting to argue that it was consistent with Roe v. Wade” (ACLU.org). According to the ACLU, after Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 2020, Mississippi changed its strategy and asked the court to overrule outright. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court “accepted the state’s invitation and overturned Roe; eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion” (ACLU.org). The ACLU stated that this decision would not only force “second-class status” onto those who can become pregnant, approximately “half of the states are expected to ban abortion, denying the 36 million women and other people who can become pregnant in those states the fundamental right to decide for themselves if and when to have a child” (ACLU.org). As evidenced by the interviews in this study that were conducted both pre- and post-Dobbs, the landscape of abortion access in America has changed quickly and has negatively impacted patients seeking care. Just one month after the Dobbs decision, the Guttmacher Institute reported that forty-three abortion clinics in eleven states, all in the South and Midwest, have stopped offering care (Kirstein, Jones, and Philbin 2022). Seven states did not have a single abortion clinic providing care as of July 24, 2022. These states included Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas (Kirstein, Jones, and Philbin 2022). Additionally, the lone clinic in North Dakota moved several miles away to Minnesota in the late summer of 2022, leaving North Dakota without a single provider. McNamara et al. (2022) note that Southern and Midwestern states experience a disproportionate burden of abortion restrictions and clinic closures, making access for patients in these states challenging. The June 2022 Dobbs decision led to many individual states passing laws that either banned or severely restricted abortion access, which will cause a “dramatic increase in patients that are people traveling from out of state for abortion services” in nearly half of existing abortion clinics (1). Katrina Kimport (2022) notes that there are “three certain effects of the Dobbs decision: (i) more people surveilled and criminalized for activities during pregnancy; (ii) more people denied abortion care; and (iii) more delays in obtaining abortion care” (1). Kimport argues that post-Dobbs “we can expect a dramatic increase in the surveillance and criminalization of activities during pregnancy and inequality in how that happens,” adding that “spontaneous miscarriage and an abortion caused by pills look clinically the same, making it impossible to distinguish the two” (1). Kimport suggests that the United States look to other countries where “abortion is broadly illegal” to offer insight into “how we can expect authorities in the United States to respond to this ambiguity” (1). One response, Kimport states, will be “an increasing suspicion and investigation of all kinds of pregnancy loss” which may require

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“people who experience a miscarriage . . . to prove that they did not cause the pregnancy loss intentionally” (1). This, Kimport notes, will be more difficult for those with fewer resources available, which will lead to a “particular risk of being criminalized for spontaneous pregnancy loss” (1). Going forward, Kimport expects that healthcare workers will be “compelled to search for and report signs of illegal abortion in their patients” and this trend will be “layered on the . . . history of healthcare workers disproportionately reporting poor women and women of color for signs of drug and alcohol use during pregnancy, despite actual drug and alcohol use not being patterned by race or class” (1). In effect, Kimport expects that Dobbs will impact low-income and non-white women disproportionately. The second effect Kimport anticipates in the aftermath of Dobbs is the increase in the number of people denied abortion care, which quickly became reality in the late summer of 2022 (McPhillips 2022). Kimport notes that before Dobbs, an “estimated 4000 people annually were denied abortion care because of gestational limits” (1). As Dobbs enables individual states to ban abortion at earlier stages, the number of people being denied care will increase, which will “disproportionately affect people in socially marginalized populations, including people living on low incomes and black and brown people” (1). Before Dobbs, Black and Hispanic women were overly represented with “three quarters of abortion patients living within 200% of the federal poverty level” (Kimport 1). Another group of people who will be denied abortion care due to Dobbs are patients who are seeking care for fetal or maternal health diagnoses in their third trimester. Kimport argues that pre-Dobbs, “hospital-based physicians regularly offered third-trimester abortions to select patients” as “these abortions fell under the narrow exceptions in those laws” even in highly restrictive legal settings (1–2). Most of these exceptions, according to Kimport, are now gone, and Dobbs “will force those previously private procedures into more public notice” (2). Patients will have to travel longer distances for abortion care, and many will not have the financial means to do so. Diana Greene Foster’s groundbreaking 2020 text The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion has documented the adverse outcomes of being denied abortion care that include worsened physical health and greater economic insecurity. Lastly, Kimport notes that Dobbs will increase the number of abortions that take place after the first trimester of pregnancy. State-level abortion bans are closing clinics, forcing patients to travel farther to get to a facility. Kimport states that “travel for abortion care costs time and money, extending the time between when people first want an abortion and when they can get one” (2). The remaining clinics will have to serve more patients, and with this increase in demand, patients will have longer wait times. Kimport posits that bans

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impact patients in both abortion-supportive states and states that have banned the procedure, causing patients to “remain pregnant that much longer than they want to be” (2). TRAP Laws and Abortion Restrictions Historically, abortion has been commonly treated differently than other medical procedures in the United States. Providers were routinely required to comply with legal obligations that went beyond standards of professional ethics and practice (Sedgh et al. 2012), making safe, affordable, and accessible abortions difficult to obtain. Individual states have and continue to pass laws that restrict access to abortion by insisting on mandatory waiting times as well as biased counseling and limited public funding, thereby creating additional hurdles for patients to negotiate. Additionally, individual states have singled out abortion provider practices and imposed burdensome requirements that are not required of other medical practices. TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws have been particularly effective in disrupting patient care at independently owned (“indie”) clinics around the country, including the majority of the clinics in this book. TRAP laws, “go beyond what is necessary for patient safety,” according to the Guttmacher Institute (2018a) and make compliance burdensome and costly for clinic staff and owners. When TRAP laws are met with additional abortion restrictions, clinics are forced to close. Since 2011, 162 abortion providers have shut down or have stopped offering the procedure, yet only twenty-one new clinics opened during that time, according to Deprez (2016). Texas has seen the most closures due to TRAP laws and other restrictions with at least thirty clinics closing in recent years (Deprez 2016; Grossman et al. 2014; Mercier et al. 2015), making abortion access for patients in that state extremely limited. In 2021, Texas governor Gregg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8—also referred to as the Texas Heartbeat Act—which contained language that banned abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy; often before a person may realize they are pregnant. Additionally, the law authorized private individuals to file civil lawsuits to “enforce” the abortion ban according to a November 2021 Texas Tribune editorial by Kevin Reynolds. This provision allowed any member of the public to “sue the health care provider and seek a court order that would block the patient’s abortion and prevent the provider from performing any abortion after approximately six weeks into pregnancy” (Reynolds 2021). Furthermore, under the Trump administration (2016–2020), twenty-five new bans—primarily in the South and Midwest—were signed into law in 2019 alone (Nash, Mohammed, Cappello, and Naide 2019), which has far-reaching implications for women’s healthcare. In 2017, nineteen states

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adopted sixty-three new abortion access and rights restrictions—the largest number of restrictions enacted in the span of a year since 2013 (Nash et al. 2018). Additionally, in 2017, twenty-nine states were categorized as “hostile” or “extremely hostile” to abortion rights; having “enacted at least two abortion restrictions that are not based on scientific evidence” (Nash et al. 2018, n.p.). Some of these burdens included restricting the physical layout of abortion clinics themselves. According to Marshall Medoff (2009), TRAP laws relating to the physical plant (clinics) and administration (laws and restrictions) “impose on abortion providers medically unnecessary and burdensome plant and personnel requirements that regulate wide-ranging aspects of abortion providers’ operations” (227). Some TRAP laws applied state standards for ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) to abortion clinics, even though these clinics did not provide the riskier services or administer the higher levels of sedation to patients that are common in ASCs (Guttmacher Institute 2023). In some states, TRAP laws extended to physicians’ offices and locations where only medication abortion was administered. Other restrictions included medically unnecessary requirements—including hallway width stipulations, mandatory waiting times, and admitting privileges at a local hospital—even though abortion providers often did not meet the minimal annual patient admissions figures that some hospitals required, thereby creating an additional hurdle for providers to overcome (Guttmacher Institute 2023; Grossman et al. 2014; Medoff 2009). The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have expressed concern regarding these laws (Grossman et al. 2014; Mercier et al. 2015, ACOG 2014) and the impact they have on abortion access. The impact of physical plant challenges on abortion escort experiences is further discussed in chapter 2. Antiabortion groups have used TRAP laws as a means to force some clinics to implement transfer agreements with a local hospital within a set number of miles between the clinic and the hospital (Crookston 2020; 2021). Transfer agreements, according to Jenna Jerman et al. (2017) “mandate a contractual arrangement with a local hospital to transfer patients in the event of a complication even though no hospital may refuse emergency care” (96). This directive has proved challenging for clinics and can cost upward of tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, as well as years of litigation (Crookston 2020; Crookston 2021). Furthermore, the proliferation of religious hospitals across the United States has had a direct effect on clinics. According to Lois Uttley et al., religious hospitals operate one in five hospital beds in this country, and 70 percent of those hospitals are Catholic-affiliated (2016). Catholic institutions follow the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) for Catholic Health Care Services. ERDs prohibit clinicians from providing services such

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as abortion, contraception, sterilization, and in some cases, treatment during miscarriage (Freedman and Charo 2018), resulting in limits on patient care. TRAP laws also disproportionately affect patients in low-income communities (Grossman et al. 2014; ACOG 2014) by affecting the numbers of providers within a state or region (Mercier et al. 2015; Medoff 2009). Since 2012, 145 of 510 independently owned clinics have closed across the United States (Madsen et al. 2017). Between 2015 and 2017, fifty-six indie clinics closed; 80 percent of which provided care after the first trimester, making second and third-term abortion care increasingly difficult to access (Madsen et al. 2017). When a clinic closes, patients must travel greater distances (Maddow-Zimet and Kost, 2022), thereby incurring additional costs; such as time off work, childcare costs, and hotel stays. Patients often find themselves chasing the cost of their abortion when they do not have funds readily available (Grossman et al. 2014; Medoff 2009;). This can cause delays in paying bills for rent, food, and utilities (Jones et al. 2013), creating additional obstacles for patients to negotiate. Many abortion providers believe that compliance with TRAP laws is unnecessarily burdensome for patients and potentially harmful. Such laws can interfere with the trust and rapport in the patient-physician relationships (Mercier et al. 2015, Weinberger et al. 2012) and negatively impact how providers feel about their roles as abortion providers. Laura Britton et al. (2017) found that abortion restrictions in North Carolina “affected the providers’ sense of professional identity by the negative characterization of abortion providers, requiring changes to patient care and the ways providers communicated with patients and lastly, creating conflicts between their professional values and compliance with this new law” (229). Moreover, Martin et al. (2014) reported that most providers experienced stigma surrounding abortion work, with 66 percent of participants in their study citing difficulties surrounding disclosure and 89 percent feeling unappreciated by society. Such stigma may deter individuals from providing abortion care, making access to this procedure for those who need it increasingly difficult. However, 92 percent of participants in the Martin et al. study felt that they made a positive contribution to society, and 98 percent took pride in their work. This negotiation of stigma and pride illustrates the intricacies of abortion work: the emotional labor of being subjected to harassment, judgment, and possible violence is balanced against the actual work of providing reproductive healthcare (Martin et al. 2014). Shortly after Dobbs, physicians have faced restrictions that are causing some to relocate to other states with more favorable reproductive health laws (Shamlin 2023). Furthermore, the Association of American Medical Colleges has reported a 10 percent decrease in applications in states with abortion restrictions, as OB-GYN students are “increasingly steering clear of OB-GYN residencies in states with abortion

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bans” (n.p.). Due to Dobbs, current and future OB-GYN doctors are unlikely to stay in states that interfere with how they are able to provide care, which will inevitably impact patient access. In the aftermath of Dobbs, some physicians, clinic staff, and escort volunteers in this study have found themselves without patients to serve and a clinic to protect. As of 2023, 60 percent of the clinics in this study have been forced to close, relocate, or can no longer perform abortion procedures. This is further discussed in chapter 12. The History of Clinic Escort Volunteers The history of clinic escorts is detailed in Lauren Rankin’s book Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America (2022). According to Rankin, when Roe was passed, freestanding abortion clinics appeared in states where abortion had previously been illegal, and by the end of the decade, there were more than 450 abortion clinics across the country (15). This, Rankin posits, helped to “trigger the emergence of a powerful, committed antiabortion movement, one determined to overturn Roe at any cost” (15). Rankin’s text highlighted stories of escorts at newly opened abortion clinics shortly after Roe, outlining the challenges clinics faced and the tactics of antiabortion protesters. In 1978 at a newly opened clinic in Fort Wayne, Indiana, protesters showed up almost immediately and began harassing patients both verbally and, in some cases, physically. In an especially troubling incident that Rankin details, a twelve-year-old patient and her fifteen-year-old sister were intercepted by two protesters who took the girls several blocks away to a McDonald’s restaurant where they gave the patient a pregnancy test, told her she wasn’t pregnant, and then proceeded to describe the abortion process in graphic detail while likening the medical procedure to murder (16). When Susan Hill, the owner of the Fort Wayne clinic, heard about this incident, she accepted the assistance of a local feminist group that offered to help walk patients past the protesters. What followed were accounts of bomb threats, photographing patients without their consent, verbal and physical harassment, and a blatant lack of police response. As Rankin noted, escorts at this time had no formal training, and there were no resources available on how to handle harassment without losing “your cool” (17). This lack of formal training was foregrounded in a 1993 study where research-escorts at a Midwestern abortion clinic were offered no training before their first escorting session, were handed “a bib [escort vest] to put on and told to go stand where there were other escorts and ask what to do” (DiLorio and Nusbaumer, 418). Rankin noted that escorts had to learn how to “deescalate a potentially

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volatile situation” (17) on their own, positing that these escorts were “pioneers, figuring it out as they went, hoping to just get the next patient in the door and keep the clinic open for another day” (18). This lack of training was common at many clinics during this time and remained so until more formalized policies and instruction were put into place decades later. These coping skills would serve clinics as protester violence increased during the 1980s and became more prevalent. In response to this violence, clinics began to enlist volunteer escorts, often using the National Organization for Women (NOW) and some of its local affiliates to find volunteers (Rankin, 18). Participants in Rankin’s book recall the uptick in violence and harassment by antiabortion protesters in the 1980s, opening escorts and clinicians to the real possibility of harm (18). This possibility increased as antiabortion organizations became more formalized and popular, including Operation Rescue, which was founded in the mid-1980s and continues today. Operation Rescue, according to Rankin, encouraged its members to engage in “civil disobedience for the unborn” and used tactics such as sealing off access to clinics, blockading offices, and getting into physical “tussles” to shut down a clinic (23). As antiabortion groups became more coordinated, so did clinic escorts, with some groups engaging in clinic defense as opposed to policies of nonengagement, as discussed in chapter 3. By the early 1990s, Rankin argued, organizations like Operation Rescue were facing dwindling participation, which was attributed to abortion clinics and national organizations filing injunctions against the organization, law enforcement acting more decisively, and changing political attitudes. Rankin noted that these changes were only possible because clinics were able to stay open and provide medical care, thanks to clinic staff, defenders, and escorts. In a time when clinics “had been left to languish by the federal government and law enforcement,” escorts showed up, not knowing what to expect, without a playbook or script, and figured out on their own how to keep the clinics open. They used what they had—their arms, their legs, their bodies, their voices—to form literal human chains of support and compassion for those who needed to have a simple, legal medical procedure. They were pushed, shoved, beaten, and bruised, but they kept showing up to support patients and to show the community that abortion was something worth supporting, that people who abortions were worth supporting. (48–49)

Since the 1990s, clinic escorting had become more organized, often requiring volunteers to attend formal training sessions, according to the participants in this study. These trainings can, according to a June 2022 editorial in the women’s fashion magazine Glamour, include the “rules, expectations, and best practices to prepare volunteers for potential harassment” while escorting

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at their clinics (Singer, n.p.). New volunteer escorts are often paired with “experienced clinic escorts in their first shifts, shadowing them rather than being just thrown in” (Singer 2022), indicating a marked shift from Rankin’s participants’ experiences. Furthermore, knowledge of clinic escorts has also become more widespread as the topic of abortion has increasingly come under fire, as noted in the Glamour editorial above. Many independent clinics and Planned Parenthood locations noted a significant increase in volunteer interest after the Dobbs decision was leaked in June 2022 (Singer 2022), resulting in training sessions being filled quickly and long wait times for potential volunteer escorts. As shown by participants interviews that took place in 2021 and into late 2022, antiabortion protesters are continuing to find new ways to harass patients and escorts. News outlets have published firsthand accounts of clinic escort experiences after Dobbs including an antiabortion protester throwing eggs and a dead raccoon at escorts in Ohio and a protester colliding into an escort in North Carolina using his truck (Muldowney 2022). There has also been an increase in antiabortion protesting across the nation. Moseley-Morris, Resnick, and Brown (2023) note that Operation Save America (OSA) is known for protesting not just at abortion clinics, but also at providers’ homes. Additionally, the organization has taken to protesting outside of churches for not being antiabortion enough, and the organization routinely includes anti-LGBT rhetoric in their messaging. The organization currently calls for women who have had abortions to be charged with murder and subject to capital punishment (Moseley-Morris, Resnick, and Brown 2023), demonstrating support for the most extreme forms of punishment for abortion patients. In July 2023, one of Operation Save America staged a weeklong siege at an abortion clinic in Atlanta, and escorts with the abortion rights group Abortion Access Front traveled to the clinic to stage counterprotests and escort patients into the clinic (Moseley-Morris, Resnick, and Brown 2023). Counterprotest tactics utilized by Abortion Access Front include humor and mockery (Moseley-Morris, Resnick, and Brown 2023), which is documented on their popular Instagram page. This is one example of how clinic escorts are countering antiabortion protesters through formal organizing, ingenuity, social media, and determination fifty years after Roe became law. STUDY PARTICIPANTS In order to address the gaps in research about abortion clinic escort experiences, twenty-nine escorts were interviewed for this study. Interviews took place via WebEx in late fall of 2021 and into the spring and early summer of 2022. After the June 24, 2022, SCOTUS Dobbs decision, participants were

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asked follow-up questions regarding their reactions to the decision, as well as any plans their clinics had in place for ensuring patient access. Participants continued to provide updates as they saw changes in patient volume, and faced additional state bans and restrictions in the winter of 2023. Participants were recruited via a social media account for clinic escorts. Interviews lasted between forty-five minutes and 2.5 hours. Participants were from fourteen states representing fifteen indie clinics, mostly located in the Midwestern and Southern United States. Three participants lived in one state and escorted at a clinic in an adjoining state. One participant lived part-time on the West Coast in a state with extremely liberal abortion laws and part-time in a Southern state with many abortion restrictions. Two states had several participants from the same clinic (seven and five participants), while most of the clinics in this study were represented by a single participant. One state had a total of four participants representing two separate indie clinics. Several participants had experience escorting at a Planned Parenthood facility and a few escorted at both independently owned clinics and a Planned Parenthood center at the time of their interviews. Two of the twenty-nine participants identified as Black; one participant identified as white/Hispanic and twenty-six patricipants identified as white. Ages ranged from 23 to 77, with five participants between ages 23 and 34; eight aged 35 to 44; four aged 45 to 54, and two aged 55 to 64, and ten participants were between 65 and 77—making up the largest age-group in this study. Six participants self-identified as male, three participants selfidentified as nonbinary and/or queer, and twenty participants self-identified as female. Three participants identified as lesbian; one male identified as bisexual. Twenty participants stated they were married or widowed. Twentyeight identified as Democrats, progressives, or Democrat-Socialists, and many expressed their disillusionment with the current party on many issues, especially abortion. One participant stated that they did not belong to a specific political party. Education level among participants varied from a high school diploma or equivalent to some community college, associate degrees to a four-year degree, law degree, nursing degree, and master’s degree. One participant had a PhD. Eleven participants were retired. The retirees were generally able to volunteer at the clinic more often than the younger participants in this study, many of whom worked part- or full-time and had young children at home. It was not uncommon for this group of retirees to volunteer two or three days a week, depending on how often their clinic was open, which days procedures were performed, and the volume of protesters. Many participants were also involved in other volunteer groups in their cities, often related to animal rescue/shelter organizations. All retired participants identified as white.

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Participant volunteer time at their respective clinic or clinics varied from a few months up to almost twenty-five years. Professions and former professions for the participants in this study varied greatly and included a retired college professor, a schoolteacher, a counselor, a former state legislator, a podcast sound engineer, retired military veterans, a tech adviser, a social worker, a CPA, and a part-time substitute teacher, among other professions. Fifteen participants had at least one child and several participants were grandparents. The majority of participants in this study did not state that they had a personal experience with abortion. Five female participants shared their personal abortion stories. Two of the five participants had an abortion in the 1970s and one participant shared that she had two abortions: one illegal abortion pre-Roe and one legal abortion after Roe. Two participants shared that they had assisted a sister or daughter through the procedure. One male participant shared that he helped a female friend through two abortions several decades ago. The role of religion was a nuanced topic for several participants and most grew up with a Christian background. Only one participant in this study had grown up Jewish and was still actively involved in Judaism. Five participants identified as secular humanists, four participants were agnostic, two participants were atheist/agnostic, and four were atheist. Other beliefs included “generally Christian,” (2); practicing Episcopalian (1); generally pagan (1); nonpracticing Catholic (1); animist/polytheist (1), and a lifelong member of the United Christ of Christ. One participant was part of many religious and spiritual communities including a Buddhist meditation community, identifying as an agnostic humanist and an active member of their local United Unitarian Church. Additionally, one participant identified as a Quaker. Many participants grew up in religious households that included Evangelical Southern Baptist, AME, Presbyterian Fundamentalist Church of God, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. Four participants stated that they grew up with little or no religious ideology in their homes. The majority of study participants escorted at an indie clinic at the time of their interviews. Nine clinics had strict nonengagement policies for escorts, where escorts had little to no interaction with antis at their clinics. Six clinics practiced full engagement, often dividing volunteers into two groups: escorts who got patients into the clinic and defenders who engaged and distracted antis from harassing patients. Through interviews, many themes emerged that addressed the challenges and motivations of abortion clinic escorts. In chapter 2, various clinic challenges that included a high turnover rate for staff and volunteers, the difficulties that arise from the physical location of clinics, a lack of funding for independently owned clinics, and how clinics negotiate ever changing TRAP

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laws are explored. Additionally, escorts at a southern clinic share a detailed description of the physical layout of their health center, providing an example of a near ideal set-up for an abortion clinic. In chapter 3, study participants discuss the benefits and challenges of engagement versus nonengagement clinics, leaving some escorts divided on this topic. Chapter 4 focuses on the personal challenges escorts experience through their volunteerism, which includes negotiating community and family stigma, a lack of confidentiality, and the loss of religious ideology. Chapter 5 considers how race and white privilege impact the experience of clinic escorts, and chapter 6 examines how police presence at abortion clinics can make non-white patients and escorts uncomfortable. As many interviews were conducted before the Dobbs decision was made public, in chapter 7 participants discussed potential outcomes of the ruling and plans to ensure patient access to abortion should Roe fall. In chapters 8 and 9, escorts share stories of Christian antiabortion protester antics that include co-opting language from the Black Lives Matter movement, providing patients with medically inaccurate information, and strategies employed by escorts to manage antiabortion protesters at their clinics. Despite a history of abortion clinic violence in the United States, in chapter 10 participants discuss safety concerns, with many noting that a close relationship with other escorts helps them to feel secure while escorting. Chapter 11 focuses on participant motivations for escorting, which included gratitude for being able to obtain abortion care both before and after Roe, escorting as a feminist act, and escorting as a way to find a like-minded community in Republican-controlled states. Lastly, in chapter 12, participants share their reactions to the Dobbs decision and provide clinic updates into the winter of 2023. This study was approved by the University of Toledo Institutional Review Board (IRB) in the fall of 2021. In order to protect the identities of the participants in this study, participants have been given pseudonyms, and their clinic name and location have been removed. General geographic location will be provided (e.g., Midwest, South, Southeast, etc.). All other identifying information has been omitted.

Chapter 2

Clinic Location and Physical Plant Challenges

The location and physical plant aspects of an abortion clinic directly impacted the challenges clinic escorts in this study experienced. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws have been particularly effective in disrupting patient care at clinics across the country, including the clinics in this study. These TRAP laws “go beyond what is necessary for patient safety” (Guttmacher Institute 2023) and make compliance burdensome and costly for clinic staff and owners, as discussed in chapter 1. For several clinics in this study, anti-choice organizations and Christian-based antiabortion establishments such as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), have bought up land and office space around these clinics, making it difficult for patients to find parking. In turn, this gives protesters more time to harass patients as they enter the clinic. Additionally, CPCs will masquerade as legitimate abortion clinics with the intent to deceive patients seeking abortion care, often keeping patients in their offices for several hours and causing them to miss their appointments. These issues were discussed by several participants in this study and were directly linked to the physical plant issues that indie clinics around the United States must negotiate. CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS Crisis pregnancy centers are, according to Thomsen et al. (2022), “anti-abortion non-profits that masquerade as abortion clinics,” and due to their prevalence, “most Americans have encountered these centers or their advertisements, particularly those for free pregnancy tests” (2). Additionally, Thomsen et al. add that “it is also likely that many do not register that these advertisements are for religiously motivated, fake clinics established by anti-abortion activists, with essentially no governmental or medical oversight. That is intentional. 17

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Deception is central to their strategy” (2). Crisis pregnancy centers routinely set up near abortion clinics with the goal of confusing patients with signs for clinic parking and clinic names that mimic legitimate abortion clinics. Furthermore, crisis pregnancy centers attempt to present themselves as “unbiased, comprehensive health centers” and some “have their staff wear white coats, although they typically have no medical training” (Borrero, Frietsche, and Dehlendorf 2018, 144). Crisis pregnancy centers are also known to lie about the safety of abortion procedures, as well as assert “fake risks of abortion, such as stating that there are links between abortion and breast cancer, infertility, mental illness, and preterm birth” (ACOG Committee Opinion). Lastly, CPCs intentionally overestimate “a person’s gestational age” and suggest “that they are beyond local legal limits for accessing abortion” and downplay “the impact of pregnancy and childbirth on people’s lives and health” (ACOG Committee Opinion). Crisis pregnancy center tactics were discussed by participants in this study, as illustrated below. Caroline from a Southwest clinic stated that a Catholic church bought an empty lot across the street from her clinic. A crisis pregnancy center subsequently set up shop next to the lot, indicating that the clinic was overrun by antiabortion organizations. Caroline stated that, the land across the street from us is owned by the Catholic church. . . . Next to that . . . is a crisis pregnancy center. They have a sign out on the street [that reads] “Women’s Clinic Park here.“ So, they have the PR, they have their good Catholic women standing outside of the crisis pregnancy center, directing women into a false pregnancy center that lies to them. And then we have all the protestors from the different churches out in front of our clinic. So, we have three whammies in this one neighborhood. The [local news] photographer that came out this week, he was like, “wow, this is a little . . . compound back here.’ You’ve got the Catholic church and they have the 40 Days of [for] Life and then they’ll have people there. And then they have the Catholic Bible study that comes to the park. And then you have the people that say their rosary and walk the park. And then you have the little Catholic women that are out in front of the crisis pregnancy center, which gets our tax dollars right across the way. And we [abortion clinic] don’t get any tax dollars because they’ve [state government] decided that . . . women’s health . . . you can’t do it [abortion] with our tax dollars.

Ruth, an escort from a clinic in the Southeast, also had firsthand experience with a crisis pregnancy center deceiving patients. Her clinic was located next to a CPC that has its own parking lot with signs encouraging patients to park there and requiring patients to go inside the center to get a parking permit. She said, “and then of course, as soon as they [patients] go inside, they’re lambasted about their decision and really the idea is to stall them . . .

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so they [patients] missed their appointment and then have to push it back. And of course, they offer free ultrasounds. They lie about how progressed the pregnancy is . . . [this would] mislead patients to thinking they’re not further along than they are and then having to go out of state to seek care.” John, an escort from a Southern clinic, had a similar story. He shared that a CPC located across the street from his clinic advertises itself as a legitimate abortion clinic. This caused patients to get confused, and the CPC regularly kept patients at their clinic for as long as possible, often for several hours, thereby causing patients to miss their appointments. He said, prime example: I met somebody that missed their appointment because they went to the fake clinic [crisis pregnancy center] and I was like, you can reschedule. They was like, yeah . . . but now my . . . other appointment has to be within two days. And they drove from [city name omitted] to [city name omitted] which is like a two and a half, three-hour drive. That’s 180 miles. So, they were pretty upset. Those are some of the tactics that they [antis] like to [use to] persuade patients to go over there [CPC].

Patient confusion about the services CPCs offer as opposed to legitimate abortion clinics is common, as reported by Swartz et al. (2021). The researchers found that study participants had difficulty identifying CPCs as non-abortion-providing facilities from screenshots of their websites (435–36). There were several notable risk factors for misidentification of CPCs; including low health literacy, lack of prior knowledge of CPCs, and lesser ability to differentiate abortion myths from facts about abortion (436). As abortion clinics around the country continue to close in the wake of Dobbs, crisis pregnancy centers will likely set up more facilities—forcing unknowing patients with few options available into their centers where they are lied to by nonmedical personnel. Lack of Parking Opens Patients Up to Harassment Three escorts at the same Midwest clinic discussed how the lack of parking at their downtown clinic negatively impacted patients seeking abortion care. This lack of parking allowed the antis at the clinic the ability to verbally and at times, physically harass patients as they walked down public sidewalks to get to the clinic. Nancy said, “Parking’s not easy. If you don’t know where it’s at—or if we’re not out there—it could be easy to miss. If someone had to come from out of the city or out of state for an appointment, maybe they have trouble finding it.” Taylor added that,

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I would also really like it if we could get a crosswalk near the clinic because directly across the street . . . especially during the week, there is a public parking lot across the street, not free parking because good luck finding that anywhere in [city name omitted] . . . it’s [a public parking lot] at a reasonable price. It’s eleven bucks for twelve hours on the weekend. That’s, you know, not terrible. You can come and go. So, it’s a decent deal. And a lot of patients will park in the lot and then we have to get them across the street to the clinic. Our options are either just jaywalk, straight across four lanes of traffic. They [cars and drivers are] definitely are not going the speed limit. Or walk them down the street, past the antis, outside the parking lot, cross at the light and then all the way back down the block.

Anita said that the parking lot across the street is private property, meaning that neither the antis or the escorts are allowed on it, and while this gives patients a bit of privacy and space, it’s not enough to protect patients from zealous antis. She said, Now the issue is that once you get over into that parking lot, that is outside the bubble zone. So, if you’re a protestor over here, you can come up to those people. Now, the parking lot itself, where the spaces are, is private property, so they can’t go in there. That’s trespassing. And we can’t either. So, we basically like perch, like right on the edge where the parking lot and the sidewalk are. If I’m working over there and . . . there are antis over there, I try my best to . . . just put a smile on my face and, you know, say “Hey, like, if you’re going to the clinic, I can walk with you. I can get you past these people. I can get you across the street.”

Grace noted that her Midwest clinic shared space with a general-use building that taught CPR and first aid training on Saturday mornings which caused the “antis [to] lose their minds because they think it’s like a bonanza patient day” due to the volume of people entering and exiting the building. Grace noted that a pawn shop was located next to her clinic and “depending on how petty they [pawn shop owners] are feeling that day, they [patients] will get towed.” Grace shared that the driveway leading to the clinic was very narrow and opened up to a very busy thoroughfare, which allowed the antis at her clinic to attempt to stop cars from entering or exiting the driveway. She said, It’s worrisome when the antis bring their children because they don’t pay enough attention to how close they are to this very busy street. But that cross traffic means that people have to stop as they exit. And that is the time when they [antis] come in and then they’re blocking the incoming traffic. And so that’s part of our job is to remind them, you cannot block traffic in and out of here. But it’s gotten to the point that the clinic has hired security guards—especially for Saturday mornings—to continue to enforce that. Because . . . our protestors

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communicate with enough other protestors to know our nonengagement strategy. So, they know that once we say once, “you need to stop this,” that they won’t hear from us again, no matter how much fun they have trying to poke and prod at us. So, they [antis] started coming into the parking lot more . . . and so the clinic opted to hire security guards as an additional deterrent.

Providing access to a private parking lot would solve many of the issues that escorts stated above. However, for indie clinics located in downtown areas, this is likely not feasible due to cost and space limitations. In these cases, escorts spent much of their time on the sidewalks watching for patients they could walk to the clinic entrance, while simultaneously protecting them from antis. Clinic Doors Open to Sidewalks The proximity of public sidewalks to clinic entrances was another commonly cited physical plant issue, according to study participants. Many clinics in this study were located in downtown areas, surrounded by other businesses that shared a sidewalk. This gave antis close proximity to patients and an opportunity to draw more protesters into a smaller area. Mark from a Midwest clinic frequently saw these incidents, and noted that this was one of the biggest challenges his clinic faced. “I mean one [challenge] . . . the building opens to the public sidewalk in downtown [city name omitted] so they really don’t have any private property . . . for themselves . . . because it’s a public sidewalk, so anybody can stand there. Anybody can stand out there with a camera and take photos.” Mark shared that the antis were known to pick a favorite “spot” and tried to engage with anyone who they thought might be going to the clinic. Laura, another escort at the same clinic as Mark, shared her dismay at how close the antis could get to patients. “That’s really frustrating. And then the fact that they can follow ’em right up to the door, you know, within a foot of the door. And we’ve got gray carpet there that is clinic property, and they can’t step on that, but they can reach across it. And that’s what they do.” Laura added that the antis liked to try to force nonmedically accurate, Christian-based antiabortion materials on patients who were trying to enter the clinic. She also shared that no noise ordinance existed to limit decibel levels, and that the antis would regularly come with their megaphones and—whatever you call those packs that they strap on and put a microphone on their mouth—and it [the noise] hits up to the waiting room of the clinic. It doesn’t get back into the patient rooms, thank goodness. But for those folks who are sitting in the front,

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they hear it. And we can’t do anything about that because they’ve got a license to speak their First Amendment rights on the sidewalk.

Taylor from a Midwest clinic said that even with a bubble zone ordinance in place, which required antis to stay at least eight feet away from patients entering the clinic, this rarely happened. They said, “Any kind of wiggle room there, antis can and do get very, very close to the door [and] sidewalk. . . . I know the bubble zone says eight feet, but there’s limited space on the sidewalk. It’s much less than eight feet. . . . As an urban clinic, we don’t have a lot of space to play with.” Taylor shared that one positive aspect of not having very much room on the sidewalks was that when the antis brought “giant signs . . . it’s not nearly as bad as it would be if they had somewhere to put them,” noting that the antis often block themselves with their own oversized signs, which made it harder for them to harass patients. Taylor added that the antis at their clinic would occasionally drop huge antiabortion banners from the freeway overpass near the clinic, saying that “sometimes we get groups that totally ignore the clinic and just drop their giant anti-choice signs over the overpass, which honestly . . . kind of whatever. I would prefer they not do that, but if they’re gonna leave the patients alone . . . cool.” Jim from a Southeast clinic shared that while there were benefits of his clinic location that included being situated in a large, multistory office building that was set back from the street and sidewalk and has private, underground parking, antis still found a way to harass patients. Jim said that when those lots were full, patients as well as people going to other offices in the building were bombarded by antis who assumed that any young woman going into the building was seeking abortion care. He said, where our clinic is located, it’s not the full building. It’s on the third floor. . . . One side of the building is very old. It has a couple [of] medical offices in it, but for the most part, it’s . . . administrative offices, but it has a lot of other things as well. There’s a driving school in the basement. There’s a ballet company in the basement. There is a pool company that does lifeguard training and . . . One of the biggest experiences that I had when it came down to escorting was lifeguard training in June one year. And you have all these teenage girls who are coming in for lifeguard training and being yelled at by these protestors and the director of that company really being upset at that . . . her kids coming in crying because these people out front who have nothing to do with what they’re doing are just harassing them.

Ruth shared that after a multiyear battle, her Southeastern clinic was able to enforce a buffer zone that granted the clinic ten feet of clearance in front of the building entrance. She said this had “been really, really helpful and has actually led to some no contact orders for protesters.” She added that while

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this buffer zone had “kind of changed the game . . . [antis are] still a present problem” as they could stand on either side of the zone. She added that despite this ordinance, antis were still “on the sidewalk, clustering everywhere,” impeding patient access. As the above examples show, while bubble and buffer zones could be effective in limiting anti engagement with patients and escorts, they were not absolute solutions. In 2019, the city of Jackson, Mississippi, passed an ordinance to protect patients seeking medical care from “unwanted confrontations outside of the clinic” (Jackson City County, Carroll et al. 2021, 887). This ordinance was applicable to all health centers within city limits and included provisions such as an eight-foot personal bubble zone that prohibited passing material, “engaging in oral protest, education, or counseling,” or pointing a sign toward anyone within one hundred feet from the entrance to a healthcare facility; a fifteen-foot buffer zone around facility property; and limits on sound that can be heard within one hundred feet of facility property (Jackson City County, Carroll et al. 2021, 887). Unfortunately, in November 2020, the Jackson City Council voted to repeal the ordinance due to a series of legal challenges rather than continue to engage in expensive state and federal litigation (Carroll, et al. 2021). Several escorts noted that even if their clinic had a bubble or buffer zone in place, getting local police to enforce these ordinances was another issue. The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, according to the Guttmacher Institute, “prohibits intentional property damage and the use of ‘force or threat of force . . . or physical obstruction’ to ‘injure, intimidate or interfere with’ someone entering a health care facility” (Guttmacher.org/statepolicy/explore/protecting-access-clinics 2023). In these examples, the FACE Act does not go far enough to protect patients from antiabortion protesters as illustrated by clinic escorts. As shown in Jackson, Mississippi, city councils are unwilling to enforce bubble or buffer zones if they are threatened with lawsuits by large, well-funded antiabortion organizations, leaving clinics and patients with few protections against protesters. EVER-CHANGING STATE RESTRICTIONS Gabby from a Midwest clinic stated that one of the biggest challenges her clinic faced was “state legislation . . . it’s always an issue.” Gabby’s clinic was located in a red state and was the only option available for abortion care, making access very difficult for patients. She also cited the lack of comprehensive sex education in her state as another challenge, saying that years ago, she had worked inside the clinic and that her mind was often “blown” at “the questions and the misunderstandings” that patients had about their own

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bodies. Tanya felt that “the state of [Southeastern state name omitted]” was the clinic’s biggest challenge. She discussed a few of the abortion restrictions in her state saying, “the waiting period . . . it hurts my heart that people have to go through this twice. And the laws are changing. . . . The Heartbeat Bill was struck down in one court. Now they’re [state legislators] bringing it back. It did introduce a similar law as Texas, [an] even worse bounty hunter type bill. But luckily, that died in its second hearing.” Paulette, an East Coast clinic escort, cited “funding and legislation” as her clinics’ biggest challenges. As a former state legislator, Paulette had unique insight into how bills are at times, written in ways that could hide abortion restrictions. She said, “I’m not in legislature anymore and I would not have passed this, but the governor signed a budget bill in which he snuck in a ban on all abortions after 24 weeks. Before that, [state name omitted] had no restrictions. And that bill also included a mandate for every pregnant person going in to have a vaginal ultrasound, whether it’s medically indicated or not.” She further added that this bill, “also has a punitive measure for physicians. They just passed a repeal of the mandated ultrasound. . . . Legislation is something we have to stay on top of all the time. . . . That’s where some of my connections come in handy. We can get enough public response that, even within [a] Republican legislature and governor, we can get some things overturned.” Paulette recalled legislators bringing in patients to tell their stories about having later term abortions, saying, there were no exceptions for after 24 weeks, but we just overturned that part and allowed for fetal anomaly or the life of the mother. And we had to have women come in and tell the most heart-wrenching stories of late abortions based on non-viability. You know, this is a wanted, planned-for child that they were planning to bring home in just a few weeks, until it was proven that the child had abnormalities that would not allow it to survive—even for minutes. And when women have to go in front of the state legislature and tell those personal stories of their baby that was already named, the nursery that was already decorated, all of that. . . . This is cruelty. That’s a lot of work, but [state name omitted] it’s a pretty Libertarian-minded state. And they don’t like government into that aspect of life. . . . They don’t like big government. They like it really tiny. So it goes in [side] the vagina.

Many escorts in this study noted the hypocrisy of Republican-led state legislatures who claimed to be the party of small government and promoted personal independence until the issue of abortion was discussed. Escorts noted that when it was time to legislate abortion, Republicans wanted to take any and all bodily autonomy away from women and pregnant people, leaving them with few to no reproductive health options. Jenny from a Southeastern clinic discussed the importance of staying up to date on “the ever-changing stance

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of law enforcement” as well as changing state restrictions. She stated that the escorts at her clinic were often told that it’s “a fluid situation out here [outside the clinic]: something that might have been one week might not be okay the next, because it does seem like between lawsuits, some of the changes in city and county government—we don’t always know what to expect when we go out there as far as enforcement, about keeping people outta the driveway, sound, and that kind of thing.” Similarly, Angela from a Southern clinic felt that “the [state] legislature and . . . Roe v. Wade [Dobbs] in the Supreme court right now, obviously are huge,” in regard to clinic challenges. STAFFING CHALLENGES Staffing and volunteer challenges were another area of concern for escorts. While the majority of the escorts in this study did not and have not worked inside of the clinic, they were aware of the struggles that clinic staff encountered. Additionally, finding regular volunteers to escort was often difficult, particularly for shifts during the week. Many of the younger participants in this study escorted each Saturday, but were unable to escort during the week due to their work schedules. This may explain why so many clinic escorts are retired: their schedules generally had more flexibility. Mark, an escort from the Midwest, was not retired but was able to adjust his work schedule to take every Wednesday off to escort at his clinic. In turn, he worked each Sunday. Mark was lucky in that his full-time job offered some flexibility and was supportive of his volunteerism. No other escort in this study with a full-time job shared that they were able to do this. The ebb and flow of volunteer interest was dependent on political discord. Several escorts, specifically Matt and Taylor from the Midwest, shared that applications for clinic escorts increased dramatically after the 2016 election. These escorts also noted that the majority of those volunteers had fallen off by the time of their interviews in late spring 2022. However, Veronica from the Southwest reported a huge increase in escort applications after a spring 2022 near-total abortion ban was put into place in her state. The search for escorts who were able to regularly volunteer their time at the clinic and stay indefinitely was difficult, but not impossible—as shown by the escorts in this study who had been at their clinics for a decade or more. Several escorts discussed the staffing challenges that go on inside the clinic. Jim from a Southeast clinic felt that having younger clinicians may be useful as he noticed many older staff members at his clinic retiring. He said, “Personally, I think that we need younger clinicians, but that’s just me. And I think that’s a lot of people as well.” He also noted that because independent clinics were often “strapped for cash,” it could be difficult to find

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staff. Low wages, paired with the stigma and harassment from protesters that often accompanied abortion work, could make it extremely difficult to attract nurses and other clinicians who were willing to work at a clinic long term. Jim stated that overall, abortion “isn’t really a lucrative area to be in.” He added that a common tactic of antis was to tell patients that abortion clinics were corrupt and that the doctors and staff worked at clinics to make loads of money, not because they cared about patients. He said, You know, the antis think this [abortion care] is like, a big money maker. I had been working . . . two jobs ago in the nonprofit Jewish community world. And I would say that the abortion world is very similar to it. It’s just with fewer Jewish people, but still a good amount of us. But when it comes down to [it], it’s a lot of work. It’s going over your hours and not making all that much money and watching things kind of fall apart, but also being able to help people out. And even getting people to stay on staff . . . especially independent nonprofits. They can’t offer a lot of money. We’re hardly competitive with . . . getting in nurse practitioners and doctors and all of that.

At the time of her interview, Ruth’s clinic was located in a Southeastern state that had recently passed a near-total abortion ban. Due to these bans and the number of protesters that regularly showed up at her clinic, staffing challenges were particularly acute, and these were only getting worse as more restrictions were being enacted. She said, It was hard enough to keep the doors open before this law; through staffing challenges because, you know, it’s hard to work at an abortion clinic with all the litigation against them. It’s been a struggle for them to begin with. They don’t have the support that Planned Parenthood does from national . . . [the abortion clinic is a] mom-and-pop shop. I know that they are very dedicated and they want to continue fighting. They wanna keep fighting more than any other clinic I’ve ever known. Honestly, I’m surprised at how much [they fight]. They’ve been open for 30 years in this shit, you know? I think they know as much as we do that if they were to shut down, it’s unlikely they could reopen. . . . And I think maybe that’s what our state wants . . . to stall long enough to where they’re out of resources, ’cuz we’re all strapped for resources right now. . . . Abortion is so stigmatized that even progressive organizations don’t wanna touch it.

Ruth further discussed the clinic staff’s dedication to patient access for abortion—adding, “they just don’t have the resources or support that they need to provide the care that they want to. . . . They have an extremely small staff that’s working six days a week out [of] the goodness of their fucking hearts because they care . . . ’cuz no one would work at an abortion clinic if they didn’t care about the patients that they take care of.”

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The overall move toward criminalizing abortion was another challenge that impacted staffing. Georganne from a Midwest clinic discussed the low morale they had noticed at the clinic and among clinic staff due to the upcoming Dobbs decision. They said, “I know that personally at our clinic, staff morale, not for us [escorts], but for the clinic workers, is really rough right now because nobody knows if they’re gonna be out of a job in a little bit.” Georganne’s concerns were not unfounded as many Southern and Midwest states were forced to close their clinics in late June 2022. Staffing and volunteer challenges at abortion clinics were common among participants in this study. At most clinics, staff and volunteers struggled to keep people involved long term. However, several participants in this study had been regularly escorting at their clinic for many years, sometimes even decades, indicating a strong commitment to abortion care for some escorts. PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS BETTER FUNDED The physical plant challenges that clinic escorts discussed went hand in hand with a general lack of funding—an issue that Planned Parenthood clinics didn’t seem to have, as many escorts noted. Indie clinics spent their limited funds on endless physical plant compliance mandates and lawsuits, making it nearly impossible to consider moving to a more desirable location that would be easier for patients to access. Anita and Julia were both familiar with escorting at Planned Parenthood locations in different Midwest states. Both noted how the setup of these locations was ideal, especially compared with indie clinics. Anita described the Planned Parenthood she escorted at years ago, saying, “yeah, they [Planned Parenthood] . . . only have a few escorts because their setup is a lot different. They’re a lot more fortified. They have a separate parking lot. . . . Protestors just don’t have as much access to the door and things like that at that location.” Julia noted that the atmospheres at the indie clinic and Planned Parenthood she escorted at differed significantly. She stated that the Planned Parenthood facility had a wrought-iron fence surrounding the parking area and the entire facility. This barrier limited protesters’ access to patients. Protesters at Planned Parenthood would commonly hang on the fence, she said, holding signs and preaching loudly, in additional to blocking the entrance to the front gate by stepping out in front of cars pulling into the facility. Julia said that this confused patients who might think that antis were Planned Parenthood clinic staff. Julia noted that patients were forewarned about the antis at the clinic when they made their appointments—however, these tactics still caused confusion. She noted that at the indie clinic where she regularly escorted, there was no fence, and the small parking lot was directly in front of the clinic with a public sidewalk right

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behind the parking area. Protesters were able to get much closer to patients, which caused patient distress. Julia stated that the antis covered the three sides of the parking lot in order to attempt to dissuade patients from parking there and in turn, patients would park in non-clinic lots which gave protesters access to them. She said protesters regularly surrounded patients and companions while they parked and followed them down public sidewalks all the way to the clinic, pushing Christian-based, medically inaccurate information into their hands and making promises of financial support for children. Ruth shared that the antis at her Southeastern clinic have publicly said that they will not focus on Planned Parenthood until [indie clinic name] is shut down. . . . I think it’s [indie clinic name omitted] is easier for them to access. So, it’s kind of one of those things where they can pick on the small guy, this is a local independent clinic. They know as much as we all know that if [indie clinic name omitted] shuts down, it’s unlikely they’ll reopen. And they don’t get big money like Planned Parenthood does and also, Planned Parenthood offers other services [such as STI testing].

Ruth noted that if her clinic did shut down, the local Planned Parenthood would be “harder for them [antis] to access . . . because of that private parking lot situation.” Like other escorts in this study, Ruth’s clinic did not have a private parking lot available to patients: they had to walk around the block to get to the clinic and regularly got harassed by the antis who stalked that area. Georganne from the Midwest also discussed the lack of funding at their indie clinic versus Planned Parenthood and how this impacted the clinic location, saying, We have a landlord who is very friendly and supportive of us, but the building is kind of falling apart. We’re on the third floor. We have one elevator that hasn’t worked for a long period of time. I’m afraid that, you know, we’re gonna get to a point where things are not gonna go up to code. Things will leak. We’ll have . . . issues with the air conditioning and heating, which really becomes a big issue. ’Cause we really have to yell and yell to get things fixed because we can’t open up our windows to be able to like let the air in because then you’re letting in the sound [of the antis] and everything . . . so, I would say that’s probably one of the main things out there. We’ve always been looking for new space, but . . . this is the best we get what we pay for because we’ve been there for a long period of time.

They added that “since we’re not with Planned Parenthood, most of our funding comes from [a state supported medical fund]. It’s not the nicest, most up to date clinic. The paint on the building is chipping—that sort of thing. So, they’ve always . . . struggled with resources in that sense.” Georganne noted

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that there were few physical plant issues at the Planned Parenthood facility where they escorted years earlier. Tensions between indie clinics and Planned Parenthood are further discussed in chapter 4. Escorts Are Resourceful Some clinics made use of tall fences surrounding their clinics as a way to keep antis at bay. This was somewhat helpful, however, many escorts reported that antis regularly brought ladders to the clinic, propped them up against the fence in order to see over the top, and used bullhorns to yell down at patients entering the clinic. Antis also routinely leaned their antiabortion signs against these fences, forcing patients to see what many escorts described as “abortion porn” or “fetal porn” signs which were described as “graphic and misleading” pictures of later trimester fetuses. One escort from a Southern clinic shared that when antiabortion organizations such as Operation Save America (OSA) came to protest at her clinic, the escorts rented huge moving vans that they parked at the edge of their lot so that antis couldn’t see patients entering the clinic or the building. Other escorts have reported lining their wrought-iron fences with fabric or colorful plastic wrap as a way to keep antis from accessing patients. Tanya shared that at her Southeastern clinic, they tried various tactics to increase patient privacy and comfort with great success. She said, there is a car at each end of the front parking lot, which is the closest to the clinic doors [that] can hold poles up and we attach fabric to those and those are gates, which we can close. And we also run a big piece of fabric across the front. There’s a hedge in front. So, while we can’t shut out amplified sound, we can give people a modicum of privacy as far as eye contact, stuff like that. We also . . . [purchased] Bluetooth speakers that can produce some, like essentially, it’s a white noise. It’s a loop of a cocktail party chatter that you can’t really distinguish words on. We could run that on a certain level and that sometimes blocks out the nasty preaching from outside.

In these instances, escorts have found creative solutions to address and use the space available to them to their advantage. This illustrates how far some escorts will go to protect abortion access and keep antis from accessing patients. A Better Setup Three escorts from the same indie clinic in the South noted that they felt very fortunate with the setup that they had. They experienced few, if any, physical plant issues. These escorts were the only participants in this study who didn’t

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feel that the physical plant aspects of their clinic contributed to additional issues with antis. They described their set up as “ideal.” A long driveway separated the public sidewalk from the clinic building: this made it almost impossible for antis to access patients. Additionally, the clinic owner bought the large, empty lot adjacent to the clinic for overflow parking. This lot was set back from the public sidewalk, and the lot next to the clinic was privately owned by several businesses that did not allow antis on their property. This clinic did not have a fence around it and at the time of their interviews, escorts did not believe one was necessary. One of the escorts at this clinic commented on the setup, saying, No, they [antis] cannot [get close to patients]. And I mean . . . we do not give them an inch. If they put one toe on the property, we call ’em out on it. But they cannot come onto the property and we have a nice buffer there . . . We’ve got a wonderful parking lot and everything, and . . . we carry umbrellas to shield them [patients]. We play music, we ring cowbells, and just different things [to drown out the antis].

Kathleen from the same clinic said, between the clinic building . . . is an open grass lot. And when the owner bought the building, he insisted on being able to purchase that lot too. So, we don’t have anybody, any antis putting up their crisis pregnancy center next door, but we’re using that [lot] for overflow parking. . . . The last month or two [has been busier than usual], I’ve got 12 cars on the grass. Well here, because they [antis] don’t have access, they can’t get in some woman’s face and shame her because before, when [patients] had to walk through that gauntlet of protesters, everybody shoving literature and screaming [in] faces . . . it became less fun for them [antis harassing patients.]

Angela, another escort at this clinic, added, Now we are in a much better position than some of the other clinics. Like, [city name omitted] is just a shit show and [clinic name omitted] is worse, somehow. Thankfully, our clinic is privately owned and they own the land and the building and the lot next door. So, they [antis] cannot come onto the property. . . . We’re not like in a strip mall setting like [city name omitted] where . . . the entrance is right on the sidewalk.

Angela said that at her clinic, the escorts were quick to let the antis know that their parking lot was not available to them should they purposely or accidentally park there.

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I pull in our parking lot and they, our protestors, cannot come off the sidewalk and that’s one reason we’re there is to make sure they don’t. Cause we’ve had several people pull in and try to park and we’re like, no, no, no, no. Once we figure out where they’re going, ’cuz they go to the sidewalk. We’re like, why are you going there? “Well, I’m here to protest.” You can’t park here. The clinic owns this lot, like this [is] private property. So, we are in a much better position than some of the other clinics for that reason. The man who owns our clinic . . . he’s so smart. And he knew what he was doing [when he set the clinic up].

Angela recalled an interaction with an anti who tried to enter the clinic to give out antiabortion literature; saying, One woman, about two years ago, she pulled in and I happened to be there. It wasn’t even a procedure day, but I pulled in just to see what was going on. . . . I pulled [in] and this woman pulls in and she looks at me and I look at her and she looked so out of place so to speak. And so, I’m like kind of hanging back and didn’t wanna bother anybody. After a minute, I approached her. I said, “Can I help you?” And she’s like, “Well I just wanna be here and go inside and give the girls some literature.” And I looked at it and I realized it was anti [abortion]. I said, “No, you can’t do that. That’s not allowed.” [She responded] “Well, well I just wanna help them.” And I said, “Nope, you need to leave right now.” And she kind of said something stupid again. And I said, “Nope, you need to leave.” And she did. She left. I was probably a little more rude than that. But anyway, that was the gist of what I said to her.

Angela and the other escorts at her clinic said that they could tell the antis were frustrated that they didn’t have more access to patients in order to intimidate them and hand out antiabortion literature. “It’s so funny ’cuz it actually makes them angry, because they can’t get to the patients and they get very loud over it. I would say fifty feet [from the sidewalk to the clinic entrance]. So, our building’s odd. . . . The entrance juts out from the building and they [patients] get to walk behind the ‘L’ to go inside so they can actually stand by the door, smoke a cigarette, finish a cigarette, take a breath” without the antis seeing patients. Angela described the setup at her clinic as “perfection.” In sum, the escorts at this particular clinic felt that the level of harassment they faced from antis was minimal—compared to other clinics that did not have a similar setup. This was especially true for Southern clinics in this study that often faced some of the worst harassment from antis. This Southern clinic was an example of an ideal indie clinic setup: a privately owned lot with a long driveway; the clinic building is set far back on the lot and far away from protesters; there is plenty of private parking for patients; and the clinic is surrounded by privately owned businesses or empty lots that are owned by the clinic and can accommodate overflow parking.

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The escorts at this clinic felt that one of the reasons they didn’t have hordes of antis at their clinic was because it was difficult for protesters to get close to patients. According to Sarah, this made it more difficult to harass patients and therefore, less satisfying for antis. This clinic may serve as an example of an ideal setup for an abortion clinic in an abortion-hostile state. Should more indie clinics open in the future, clinic owners may want to consider the comments given by the escorts at this specific location.

Chapter 3

Engagement vs. Nonengagement with Antis

Abortion clinics in this study typically fell into one of two categories when it came to interactions with antis: those that allowed and encouraged escorts to engage with antis (engagement) and those that discouraged escorts from engaging with antis (nonengagement). A few escorts stated that their clinic could be defined as “semi-engagement”: where they tried not to engage with antis or only engaged with them when patients were not around. However, it was more common for clinics in this sample to follow strict engagement or nonengagement policies. Nine clinics in this study practiced nonengagement with antis and had policies stating that escorts were not permitted to engage with antis at the clinic. The six clinics in this study that did practice engagement with antis often had escorts who walked patients into the clinic as well as escort defenders. Escort defenders’ purpose was to distract the antis from the patients by engaging them in debates, physically blocking antis with signs, or by yelling at antis, as stated by study participants. While all escorts felt that each clinic’s environment was unique and the tactics clinic administrators chose were likely appropriate for each location’s needs, the escorts at nonengagement clinics felt that not engaging with antis was the better option for keeping peace on the sidewalks and staying patient-centered, as discussed below. Lastly, as discussed in chapter 2, the physical plant setup of a clinic was a determining factor in how escorts engaged or did not engage with antis. ENGAGING WITH PROTESTERS Tanya from a Southeastern clinic expressed that she did not fully support her clinic’s policy of engagement with antis. She said,

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We are, unfortunately, full engagement. I mean, you could pick your role and I’m sort of a half and half because of course I was trained in nonengagement at Planned Parenthood. There have been legal and there have been criminal and several charges filed against several of the defenders. I, myself [am] finishing up probation for indecent exposure because a hateful little street preacher who had been coming for a year with her bullhorn, which I think is about 90 Watts . . . spewing the worst kind of hatred, calling my friend who served in the military and combat zones, calling her a traitor, using homophobic language, calling us Nazis, white supremacists because apparently, we are single-handedly destroying the lives of Black people. . . . On the day that I finally snapped, there were no patients around, she was screaming, and I just walked over to about eight feet away from her and dropped my trousers. Unfortunately, she was live streaming, so she had beautiful evidence of me. And the local police didn’t wanna pursue it at first, but she swore out an affidavit. So, I got arrested for indecent exposure. It was a financial pinch, but it was totally worth it. And I think . . . you don’t have to take it. I got a whiteboard after that, so I could like write things on it and hold it up when she was trying to block out what we were saying back at her. But yeah, that was an interesting lesson.

Tanya said that after this incident, other defenders at her clinic “have gotten smarter about their tactics” adding that staying behind the fabric-covered fence is “often the safe thing to do, and it also keeps you calmer inside too.” Tanya noted that when she saw antis harassing patients “it’s hard not to get angry on their behalf.” Nancy escorted at a nonengagement clinic in the Midwest, but said that she felt there were benefits to full engagement clinics, particularly clinics that experienced hordes of very vocal and aggressive protesters. Nancy noted that she had seen the protesters fight among themselves at her clinic, which was a common occurrence according to study participants. She said that this arguing was generally helpful, as it kept the antis distracted from patients. She said, “there have been times when our protesters will start fighting with each other now. . . . They’ll start arguing especially when it’s like . . . a group of Catholic folks and a group of Evangelicals or born-again Christians out there because their own views are so different from each other that they’ll start fighting with each other and then they’re not paying attention to us or the patients.” Based on this, Nancy felt that having escorts and defenders might be beneficial to getting patients in the door. Taylor, also an escort at a nonengagement clinic, echoed Nancy’s sentiments saying that there were “absolutely” benefits to full engagement clinics because “local environments are so different.” Paulette from the East Coast was not the only escort in this study who felt that nonengagement policies might be less effective than engagement policies at abortion clinics. She stated that,

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escorts as a group are people who just want fairness in this society and I know some clinics are nonengagement and I’m not sure how effective they are. If it does the clinic good, then it’s worth doing, but I think escorts are only there because we have not engaged and protesters have had the airwaves for so long. They’ve gotten so bold and aggressive that it really is a fight back level at this point. And it’s all worth fighting for now, ’cuz it’s all on the line. We’re just gonna give it our best shot and stick with it for whatever comes next. But I think escorts are courageous people who are doing it, not for themselves, that’s for sure. . . . I think . . . escorts were only born as a reaction [to antiabortion laws, restrictions, and antis] and now we have to be proactive and define who we are and why we’re out there.

Paulette added that the director at her clinic “is wonderful and she is so glad that we engage,” and stated that the clinic staff “feel a lot safer with us out there,” noting that the protesters’ voices could be heard inside the building. Paulette said that at her clinic, the escorts tried to drown out the voices of the antis, with “their preaching and their Bible readings and their condemning [patients] and ‘don’t kill your baby’ and ‘you should be protecting your baby.’ That kind of language is cruel for no other reason.” Paulette shared that the escorts “engage quite strongly” and that “when they’re [patients] out on the sidewalk, we are all providing a circle with our bodies around them, blocking cameras, using umbrellas, anything we can do to give them privacy and dignity.” Paulette posited that the escorts at her clinic perform different and important roles: one escort was particularly talented at yelling; another was excellent at spotting patient cars coming the down the street; and Paulette said she had “become the comforter who will put my arm around a woman and walk with her down the sidewalk and up to the door and get her through security. So, I hear, sometimes in two minutes, the most heart-wrenching stories and of course, it’s none of my business. And sometimes I don’t hear a word and that’s probably the way it should be. . . . I think we are needed out there. We. Are. Needed.” Paulette added, “it’s a constant battle to reel myself in and [to not] really say what [I want]” to the antis. Jenny was an escort and defender at a Southeastern clinic that was known for having astonishingly large crowds of antis on the weekends when the clinic was open and performing procedures. This number would swell to several hundred people, making the scene at her clinic especially chaotic. She said, “we have escorts and defenders. The escorts are the ones that sign up specifically to be in the parking lot and then defenders are the ones that will be on the street near the driveway with parking signs and engaging with the protesters. On weekends, we normally have I’d say, at least a dozen defenders out on Saturdays and then two to four during the week, just depending on everybody’s schedules.” Jenny said that at her clinic, most escorts were

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“cross-trained” to act in both escort and defender roles which “makes it easy for a volunteer to step into those roles as long as they feel comfortable.” When asked if she felt that an engagement vs. nonengagement approach was more effective, she said, I think it really just depends on the clinic. It depends on their physical layout. It depends on how the police are with them. It depends on their protesters. We found at our clinic that being silent wasn’t working, the protesters got super-duper comfortable being in that space. And the more comfortable they felt, the more of them that came out, the more they tell their friend [about the clinic].

She added that the escorts and defenders “wanted to make it [the clinic] a space where they [antis] didn’t feel like it was theirs.” Jenny said that when asked why the escorts and defenders were engaging with the antis when they have “the right to be out there” she responded by saying, “this isn’t their space. . . . It’s not our [escorts and defenders] space. It’s the patients’ space that we’re all in. Our goal is for the patients to feel comfortable with us in that space, but ultimately for them not to need us in that space. If we could get these protesters to leave, none of us would be there. And then it could just be a normal medical visit.” Jan from the South shared that at her clinic, the long-standing policy of nonengagement wasn’t working anymore due to the aggressiveness and volume of antis present at her clinic. Jan’s clinic was known to be inundated by antis on a regular basis, as many other escorts in this study noted. According to Jan, the clinic owner said, “barring touching them [antis], you do whatever you gotta do to get them [patients] in here. Barring physical contact, you do what you need to do to make sure the patients are good.” Jan said that the confrontations that occurred between the antis and escorts were likely not what people might imagine, saying, “It’s not like you’re standing there screaming at somebody with a patient next to you.” She added that the “confrontations that do happen are between the antis and the patients, especially when these people [patients] feel threatened by them [antis]. I’ve seen guns waved at them [patients]. . . . We do the best we can with what we have to de-escalate everything as necessary.” Jan was critical of what she called the “repro whatever” and the message that nonengagement would keep antis from escalating their behavior and therefore, would be best for patients. Jan responded to this anti-engagement message saying, No, no, no, no. That is not your responsibility [to control anti behavior]. They [antis] came here to escalate everything. You do not put the responsibility on us [escorts and defenders]. Don’t get me wrong, now, if you’re smacking people and doing stupid shit, that’s a different thing. We’re not talking about that. We’re

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talking about being responsible, advocating for your patient, advocating for yourself, advocating for your rights and telling them [antis] they’re full of shit. You use your common sense. . . . You put patients first and you do whatever needs to be done for them. Period. . . . It’s about patients.

Jan felt that the greater good was served through escort engagement with antis, as patients would know that they had someone advocating for them while simultaneously challenging the antiabortion “bullshit that they’re [antis] spreading out there on those sidewalks.” Jan added, “if you put on a vest, you’ve engaged them [antis],” furthering her stance that any sort of pro-abortion presence on the sidewalk was a form of engagement. Jan expressed her frustration at clinics where escorts “can’t even advocate for yourself . . . you know, these people [antis] are up here, this is in COVID and they [escorts at nonengagement clinics] couldn’t even tell ’em to step back. Ooh, you have to retreat. No, we’re not doing that.” Jan noted that many of the antis were not willing to wear masks at the beginning of the pandemic. This was an example of what many escorts felt was one of many hypocrisies of the “pro-life” movement: concern for fetuses but no concern for spreading a potentially deadly virus. Dan from a Southern clinic said that engagement with antis was “very cathartic. If I’m having a bad week, I take it out on the protestors at the clinic.” Dan said that one of the reasons that he engaged with antis, specifically if they had their young children with them, was the hope that some of what he was saying would have a positive impact. He added, There’s always the hope . . . if I can give a reasonable, sound, argument or discussion with somebody . . . maybe it’ll sink in with one of these children, because a lot of the children that are brought to the clinic are raised in almost a cult type setting. They’re homeschooled [and] any interaction with any other kids their age are like-minded families and. . . . They’re not free to go and experience life like most of us did in our formative years.

Several escorts expressed their concern with antis bringing young children to the clinic, stating that teaching kids to yell vulgarities at patients entering the clinic was a form of Christian-based indoctrination. Caroline shared that the owner and attending physician of her Southwest clinic was a “come and get me type of guy” who gave his escort volunteers permission to engage or not engage with antis. Caroline said that at her clinic, the escorts and the physician/owner were “under the same viewpoint that we have been nonengagement for so long and look where it’s gotten us. . . . Let’s be defender[s] rather than nonengaged escorts. I don’t get really rowdy when there’s patients there, we make sure the patients are escorted in [to] the clinic.” Caroline noted that as much as she enjoyed engaging with the antis,

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she was always careful to stay patient-centered, saying, “you know, some of the girls [patients] are in tears . . . and I just try to express to them, you are doing what’s right for you. I’m not here to judge. You do not have to tell me why you’re here. You are doing what is right for you and just know that the people on the curb have nothing to offer you. So that’s what I tell ’em.” Nonengagement Works Well The escorts at nonengagement clinics felt that in many ways, theirs was a better policy, as it helped to keep the sidewalks as calm as could be expected. This belief also applied to a few escorts at engagement clinics, as noted by Veronica, an escort at the same Southwest clinic as Caroline. Veronica said that engagement with antis wasn’t helpful because “I don’t think it’s ever going to stop the protesters. I think it ramps them up, but . . . I’m not going to point a finger at them [other escorts] and say, you shouldn’t be doing that. . . . I don’t want to give them [antis] any reason to be even uglier to the patients.” Anita from the Midwest felt that it would be difficult to remain patient-centered while also engaging with antis. She said, if you’re just standing there on the sidewalk and you don’t have a patient and you know, you’re in a back and forth [with an anti], that’s one thing. But if you’re trying to escort a patient to the door and half of your mind is there, but then half of it is in this conversation that you’re having with this other person, then I think that you’re distracted from your purpose. It’s one thing, like, if they’re trying to get in the patient’s face and you’re like, you need to leave this person alone, but having a philosophical back and forth at that moment. . . . I don’t think is the most productive use of time.

Anita shared that on numerous occasions the clinic escort volunteer coordinator had been contacted by pro-abortion organizations that wanted to stage counterprotests at the clinic. According to Anita, the volunteer cordinator said, I appreciate the sentiment, but it doesn’t go as well as you think. It basically just puts more bodies on the sidewalk, which is more people for patients to have to navigate when they’re trying to get into the clinic. And it really just riles antis up sometimes and sometimes escalates their behavior to a degree that they wouldn’t necessarily have gone to, had they not had that incitement. And . . . I have mixed feelings about that because these people [antis] don’t deserve to be babied. . . . These people don’t deserve to be coddled but we’re also not dealing with professional people. So again, it’s just whatever is going to be the safest and most beneficial for patients . . . that’s, I think, what you need to go for.

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Mark from the Midwest said that the nonengagement policy at his clinic, “works really well for us,” adding that the clinics that have engagement policies may have more physical space to accommodate more bodies. As his clinic was located in a busy downtown area with a front door that opened to a public sidewalk, there was little room for patients, escorts, antis, and the general public to maneuver. He added that nonengagement may “be a little bit more boring,” but his clinic “has had good success with it.” Mark noted that he would approach and engage with an anti if they started taking photographs or filming patients going into the clinic, a common scare tactic used by antis since the 1990s (Ellis 2020; Rankin 2022). I will walk up to them and call ’em out. . . . “Are you photographing? Are you taking pictures? Are you filming?” And then I’ll have words for them, but even then, you probably shouldn’t do it. But I also know when just to stop ’cuz if you start debating with them or get into some sort of conversation, it just never ends . . . they’ll just keep going on and on and on and on.

Mark felt that these conversations were pointless as the antis “are not gonna change their mind . . . and neither are any of the escorts.” Mark said that on the rare occasions when he did engage with a protester, he always made sure that there weren’t any patients around as the sidewalks were already a “chaotic situation” and patients might “already be on edge, some are scared, worried, unsure . . . and someone . . . blasting out words, maybe at louder tones is just gonna unsettle them.” Grace from another Midwest state said that at her clinic, the policy was to give the antis a warning, then not engage with them again. She added that the antis at her clinic knew this policy and used it to their advantage. She said that if “things get bad” and the antis did trespass, “we are in communication with the clinic manager and at that point, it’s her choice whether or not to call the police to deal with it.” Jared from the Midwest felt that at their clinic, any kind of engagement wasn’t helpful, even when it came from angry community members unaffiliated with the clinic. These neighbors, Jared added, did not appreciate the chaos and noise the antis brought to their affluent area. Jared’s clinic was located in a downtown area with many high-end residential apartments and condominiums. They said, “we have a few people from the neighborhood who will sometimes come and engage with the protesters and in my experience, that has rarely been helpful. . . . Having people from the neighborhood come and scream at people [antis] often doesn’t seem to help.” Jared felt that the policy of “aggressive nonengagement” made the antis get “bored” quickly and the ones that showed up “looking for a fight” rarely stuck around. Taylor, an escort at the same clinic as Jared, felt that the nonengagement policy at their clinic was “particularly well suited to me” as they

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were “really bad with confrontation.” They added that “it is super useful to be in a position where I am not actually supposed to do that, where my entire job is in fact, to avoid confrontation. I would be a terrible clinic defender. But if you just need me to turn up and be pleasant . . . to give [patients] somebody to focus on while they walk into the clinic, I can absolutely do that.” Gabby, like other escorts in this study, recognized that some communities had a need for escorts and defenders, but at her Midwest clinic, she felt engagement with antis would be “really inappropriate and really escalates things.” She added that “anytime we have had folks [escorts] where they kind of lose it for a minute, we ask them to stay away and just kind of take a breath and have a talk with them right away because it really does escalate things because now it becomes a game [for antis].” Gabby felt that the antis at her clinic purposely tried to set the escorts off by “trying to get you to react so that they can become the victim and they can catch you doing the bad thing, and depending on how it’s done . . . I feel like it can paint us in a bad light.” This, Gabby added, could be used against escorts who might be in the midst of child custody battles or job searches. She added, I always try to remind people that it’s very likely that you’re being recorded. . . . So even if you think what you said or did was harmless, it is not going to look good if something ends up in front of a judge. And when we continuously have things that end up in front of a judge and it doesn’t look good and when it doesn’t go our way, then it sort of becomes like the boy who cried wolf, right? We don’t wanna stoop to that level, we don’t want it to look like it’s a mutual thing. We wanna take the high ground, we wanna make sure our focus is just on patients and non-engaging. I feel really strongly about that, but like I said, I can imagine in other communities that [engagement] might be what they have to do, so I don’t wanna knock anybody.

Laura felt that engaging with antis empowered and encouraged them, saying, “my experience has been there’s nothing that you can say that will change their mind and they will always get the last word in. So, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got the most specific data point to give them, they’ll always come up with something else. So, it just doesn’t go anywhere and it empowers them. I get really mad sometimes but I just have to bite my tongue or else I get back with my escorts and then I let off steam with they’re not around.” Laura said that at her Midwest clinic, the antis regularly attempted to bait the escorts by saying things like, “I just wanna have a friendly conversation with you, I just wanna understand your point of view” and “it’s rude to not talk when somebody’s asking you a question.” Karey struggled to not engage with the protesters saying, “in my own experience I have found it very difficult to do . . . it’s a choice.” Karey said that, “I think ultimately, nonengagement is

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the more frustrating [response] for the protesters because it makes them feel like they’re not making any [progress] . . . cold shoulder is always the best response.” Both Laura and Karey highlighted two of the most common escort responses to antis at their clinics: understanding that rational, data-based arguments are not going to have an impact on antis and their Christian beliefs, and the challenges of staying quiet when antis are spewing hatred, misinformation, and using offensive language toward patients, companions, and escorts. Georganne from a Midwest clinic had a unique take on engagement clinics, saying, I’m pretty firmly in the nonengagement [camp]. I have some opinions about engagement. I know that there are such things as clinic defenders and stuff like that. I guess the only thing I can think of is like the Marvel superhero concept of like the more superheroes there are, the more supervillains it creates. And then it just becomes like a vicious cycle where the more you yell at somebody, the more people show up the next week to yell back at you. I also think that for a patient . . . if I see two people yelling at each other, it’s gonna be difficult to know who I’m supposed to trust. And if we’re trying to say, you know, this is healthcare, we’re here to help you get inside and receive the healthcare you need, it’s harder to show myself as a rational, helpful individual if I’m engaged in a verbal battle. Also, our antis are kind of dumb. So, they’re not exactly interesting conversations. And they just say the same thing every week. I think what we engage in is a lot of mockery, you know, mockery from afar. We’ll talk about them to each other in front of them, which just makes them so mad because you’re not talking to them, so we have other ways of annoying them.

Escort tactics of dealing with antis via humor is further discussed in chapter 9. Ruth from a Southeastern clinic was “vehemently against engagement,” saying, “I think escalation gets escalation. That’s a very polarizing topic because I will say . . . I’m against engagement at [clinic name omitted]. I trust that other clinic escort programs have their own protocols that work for them and that’s fine, but it would not work in [clinic city name omitted]. I think it would just be loud and I don’t see it ever being a good situation for anybody on that sidewalk.” Ruth noted that the physical plant of other clinics may allow for more engagement, but at her clinic, engagement wasn’t beneficial for anyone due to the downtown location, as well as the front door that opened up to a public sidewalk and was regularly crowded with antis. She said, I think at the end of the day, it’s just disorienting for patients and for each other. You can’t hear when you’re talking back on a megaphone, you might miss

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somebody warning you about a potential risk. We have to be kind of head on a swivel cognizant of things that are going on at all times because we don’t know what these motherfuckers are gonna do, so I think it would just like, be really dangerous to engage.

Ruth, like other escorts in this study, noted that slipups happen—which was to be expected in “this really tense environment” where “everyone’s upset.” She added, “there’s been times where people do engage, but again, we have to be aware of the environment that we’re in, where there’s not a lot of room to just go somewhere, you know? I just don’t think [with] the positionality of our clinic, it would ever work out to benefit anybody, except maybe the antis, because then they’ll get footage of hysterical women, you know, yelling back at them or whatever they wanna coin it.” Ruth noted that the antis loved this type of footage and regularly uploaded it to their various antiabortion social media accounts as a way to show how “unhinged” abortion advocates were. She added, “I just don’t wanna give them more fuel, you know? They know why we’re here. They’re never going to agree with us and we’re never going to agree with them, so why waste our energy on focusing on the protesters when we’re there to focus on the patients?” Like most escorts in this study, Grace from the Midwest felt that each clinic deserved to decide which course of action worked best for them regarding engagement or nonengagement. She said, “every escort group and every clinic has to decide for themselves what their best option is based on their location, their privacy concerns, the volume and behavior of the protestors, and the likely response of police. We are a nonengagement group. . . . We believe very firmly that it works, but we also know it works where we have escorted. That doesn’t mean it works everywhere.” Anita discussed how her Midwest clinic limited interaction with their antis and shared her impressions of antis at Southern abortion clinics. She said, we try to be as non-engaging as possible. Sometimes we get a little snarky with people, but as a rule, we try not to engage unless, you know, they’re violating the bubble zone that we have, then we might engage a little to be like, “hey, you can’t do that.” But otherwise, we try not to talk back. I sort of get the sense that the clinics in the South, especially, do a lot more engaging because like every once in a while, there will be some kind of pro-life whatever convention, conference hosted in [city name omitted] and you’ll get people from different parts of the country that come there. And one of their fun things that they like to do is come protest at our clinic. You know, it’s like a little side conference activity. And I’ve noticed that the antis from the South are a lot more vocally engaged. Like they will just be relentless in trying to talk to us. And I feel like it’s probably because they’re accustomed to that. They’re accustomed to having those back-and-forths with escorts where they are. I even explained to one, one time,

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I’m like, this is how it goes, like, you don’t talk to me, I don’t talk to you and we can peacefully coexist together. In general, I personally would lean toward nonengagement, but I think [that] as long as what you’re doing is still remaining patient centered then I guess do what you need to do to get through the shift.

Trying Not to Engage Trying not to engage with antis was very difficult for many escorts in this study. Angela said that at her southern clinic, the escorts were “semi-engagement,” meaning the escorts tried not to engage with the antis, particularly when patients were around. This, she said was challenging as they’ll [antis] say horrible things and as a distraction, I love to make smart-ass comments. So, they’ll say something stupid and I’ll come back with something stupid. But it’s only like as a distraction or to cover up the noise ’cuz, you know, they say terrible things. So, we are just trying to drown out the noise of them, but if there’s patients around, we completely ignore them, which actually makes them more angry, which makes us [escorts] laugh harder.

Steve from a Midwest clinic shared a regrettable incident that occurred while engaging with a particularly bothersome anti at his clinic, saying that this particular man is “always by the clinic door with a sign” yelling about “abortionpillreversal.com’ and ‘your baby has breath, a bleeding heart,’ and all this kinda stuff.” Steve said that one day he was extremely “frustrated” with this man and “I just stood in front of him and yelled ‘yada, yada, yada’ while he was talking. That’s not very good. I think it creates an upsetting environment for the clients when they’re coming in if we’re responding in those ways.” Steve noted that at this clinic, they had fewer protesters than other clinics, and “we’re from a part of the country where people are very quiet by and large and are not very emotionally expressive. And so, when people are emotionally expressive in public, oh wow! What’s going on here? I would say it’s probably easier for most of us to just say, I’m not gonna engage with people.” Katie from a Southern clinic recalled an incident on a particularly hot day when a “young blonde woman was there, with a ponytail, looking innocent, all-American kind of thing and she spent a good forty-five minutes directing all of her attention to me trying one tactic after other from ‘it’s so hot out there and you’re in the sun’ and ‘you need to leave, you look like too nice a person to be involved in murdering babies’ and escalating to, ‘you are helping to murder babies and you’ve got blood on your hands now’ and all this stuff.” Katie said that this instance stood out to her as it was especially challenging for her to follow the clinic policy of strict nonengagement with this particular anti.

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Caroline was an escort at both a full-engagement indie clinic as well as a Planned Parenthood clinic, which was nonengagement. She discussed her efforts to adhere to the different policies at each clinic, saying that when she escorted at Planned Parenthood, she often engaged with the protesters, even though it went against the policies they had in place. She said, “I sometimes sort of step over the line, but you know, they’re cool with it because I’ve helped them develop their whole program. So, they sort of let me run with it. They’ll sit there and go, you know (puts finger over mouth to indicate silence) and I’m like, okay, I’ll back off.” For Caroline, adhering to the Planned Parenthood policy of strict nonengagement was challenging, and she often failed. As escorts at full engagement clinics have indicated, engaging with antis can be a way to challenge their antiabortion policies and beliefs. Leaving My Clinic? When escorts at nonengagement clinics were asked if they would continue to escort at their clinic if administrators decided to change their approach to engagement, most said that they would likely stay. Taylor from the Midwest said that they “would certainly try” as their “fellow escorts are really important to me and if that is the route that people feel would be most useful, I would try my best. I don’t think I would be as good: I think it would probably take me time to learn how to be effective at that.” Laura said that as long as antis continued to show up at her clinic, she would escort, regardless of the engagement or nonengagement policy. “If they’re gonna be there harassing patients . . . then I would be there too.” Two escorts stated that they would likely leave their clinics should policies surrounding nonengagement change. Jared said that if the policy of their clinic changed and escorts were encouraged to engage with antis, they probably would not continue to volunteer and “would look for somewhere else” to escort, as engagement was not their “conflict style.” Similarly, Leslie said that she “probably would not work in a clinic that had anything other than nonengagement.” She said that as a practicing Quaker, nonviolence is really important to me. And I feel like nonengagement, it’s just the precursor to nonviolence, which is why, again, you wouldn’t call the police or . . . if a client was yelling back at the protestors while you might admire their necklace [as a way to distract and de-escalate] and engage them in a conversation to just step outside of anything that even could be a precursor to a violent situation. And violence also includes emotional violence. And to me, it gives too much credence to the protesters.

Leslie shared that at her Southern clinic, the volunteer escort program was on hiatus as the clinic’s new leadership felt that the “escorts were too

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protester-focused and not patient-focused enough—which I understand. I personally just ignore all the protesters. I stay really alert and aware [but do not engage].” Leslie added that she had heard that some of the clinic escorts had been borrowing the popular anti tactic of looking up people on Facebook, then using that information to engage with antis at the clinic. Leslie said that her clinic had decided that after a hiatus, the escorts would be required to complete a new training that was “less protester-focused.” While Leslie didn’t necessarily agree with such an extreme response to these concerns, she said that “regardless of whether I agree or disagree, I’m going to support them.” Two escorts respond to their clinic discontinuing the volunteer escort program in chapter 11. While the debate between engagement and nonengagement tactics could be divisive among indie clinic escorts, it generally was not. While some escorts felt that the nonengagement or engagement policies of their clinic worked best for them, almost all said that clinics reserved the right to make the best decision for themselves and their patients. These considerations included the number and aggressiveness of antis; the physical plant setup of the clinic; and the relationship each clinic had with local police. Only a few participants felt that policies of nonengagement allowed antis to be on the clinic sidewalks unchallenged and did not feel that clinics should practice nonengagement with antis. Two participants, Jared and Leslie, said that if their clinic’s policy of nonengagement changed, they would likely stop volunteering. Several participants shared that an engagement policy would be challenging for them, but they would stay at their clinic and attempt to fill this new role. This flexibility speaks to the dedication of abortion clinic escort volunteers. As indie clinics around the country close in a post-Roe landscape, some clinics may find it necessary to change tactics from nonengagement to partial or full engagement. With fewer clinics, antis may shift focus to those that remain open, amping up their protest efforts with larger, rowdier crowds. As reported by the AP News in July 2022, hordes of antiabortion activists are now protesting outside of indie clinics in states that have protected abortion access. When the Jackson Women’s Health Organization—the abortion clinic at the center of the Dobbs Supreme Court case—moved to New Mexico in July 2022, antis from around the United States showed up in large crowds to protest its opening (Crowd Protests Relocation of Abortion Clinic to New Mexico 2022). Should big-name abortion abolitionists continue traveling to these clinics and attract large crowds of antis, clinic escorts could quickly become overwhelmed and may need to call in local or regional counterprotest groups. In these scenarios, clinic volunteer escorts groups may decide to rethink their policies of nonengagement.

Chapter 4

Escorting Presents Personal Challenges

Patient and provider abortion stigma has been well documented (see Harris et al. 2011; Foster et al. 2018; Harris et al. 2013; Britton et al. 2017; Debbink, et al. 2016; Ely et al. 2018; Mercer et al. 2015) however, little research has been conducted on the experiences of those standing outside abortion clinics, as stated in chapter 1. Arguably, abortion clinic escorts have the most interaction with antis and are often the “face” of an abortion clinic. When asked about any personal challenges escorts experienced for their volunteerism, several themes emerged that included a lack of confidentiality on the sidewalks; badgering by antis; the emotional labor of escorting; community stigma surrounding abortion clinic volunteerism; hedging about volunteerism; and the loss of religious community due to harassment by Christian and Evangelical antis. ESCORT HARASSMENT AND LACK OF CONFIDENTIALITY Many escorts stated that they had learned to not internalize or react to the verbal harassment they experienced. This sentiment was particularly prevalent for those at nonengagement clinics. Anita from the Midwest said that she was often asked by friends and family how she reacted to the antis who called her names. She said, “I’m actually not a confrontational person at all. I’m a very sensitive person, and if I feel that there is even a centimeter of truth in criticism that’s given to me, I will be upset and cry. But I know that there’s nothing true in what they’re [antis] telling me. I’m not going to hell, I’m not a baby killer. I’m not any of these things that they’re saying to me.” Anita said that the harassment did impact her, however, when antis were “shitty” 47

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to patients—particularly the patients who were seeking abortion care due to fetal abnormalities or other health-related issues. She said, I get upset when I see a patient crying or when I see a patient being affected by what they’re [antis] saying. I’ll always remember this one time, there was a couple in their early 40s. . . . The woman had gotten the procedure [abortion] because . . . the pregnancy was a risk to her health and her and her partner . . . were just devastated. And one of our worst antis was there. . . . And these anti dudes who come sometimes they’ll just like . . . pinpoint these toxic masculinity pain points. [They’ll say] “Why don’t you be a man and how can you let your woman do blah blah?“ And he [patient’s partner] was like . . . “We don’t wanna be here. Like, we have to do this, you know?“ And that’s what makes me upset . . . when you have people who are already having a bad day and their day is made worse by this person who feels like they have a calling and who feels like they are “counseling” someone.

Like Anita, Angela from a Southern clinic also experienced personal verbal attacks from antis. She shared that it was not uncommon for the antis at her clinic to single her out: they would tell Angela how unattractive they found her as a way to irritate and demean her. She said, “they [antis] would tell me ‘oh, you’re so ugly. No man would ever be with you, no wonder you’re single.’ And they’d always be like, ‘no man would ever wanna be with you. You can’t even get a boyfriend.’” Angela, who was married to her husband for seventeen years and had three children at the time of her interview, said that she had learned not to let these personal, vitriolic attacks affect her. She said that the antis had come up with a nickname for her: “Floppy,” which was, according to Angela, because she didn’t wear a bra, and the antis at her clinic were especially offended by this supposed infraction. Angela also shared that when a new volunteer at her clinic who was “younger than me, she’s gorgeous, she’s beautiful,” started escorting, the antis would try to pit the two against each other. Angela shared that the antis would yell at her, “oh finally! Someone who’s pretty! She’s prettier than you, Floppy.” She stated, “I’m not here to get anyone’s approval . . . this isn’t a beauty contest. I have been called so many things that has so many insults. I don’t care anymore.” Paulette from the East Coast shared that she once received a death threat when a local newspaper published an article about her abortion clinic and used her name and picture. She said, “a local newspaper years ago, once came down and did an article and used my picture and identified me, which he [reporter] told me he would not. And I got a phone call about . . . they were gonna come chop my head off. It didn’t scare me, but I thought, well, there are people in the world who are so opposed to abortion, that there are no limits. . . . It’s a learning thing all the time.” Paulette stated that the threat did not deter her from volunteering at her clinic, adding “It’s like, wow, there are a lot

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of things I don’t approve of, but I wouldn’t threaten to chop somebody’s head off over it. My husband thinks I was born without a fear gene. So, I don’t have any personal qualms about doing this [escorting] and the thing is, I’ve been a [anti-war] protestor for over 50 years myself.” Paulette shared another death threat she had received from a pro-life protester via Facebook Messenger in the fall of 2022. This threat stated that she would “be dead soon,” advising her to “stop wasting your [her] time on me with all your fb[sic] comments and please talk to Jesus. You will be meeting him soon and there is still time for you to repent. . . . I love you.” Paulette’s experiences with death threats shed light on the hypocrisy in the present “pro-life” movement that many escorts commented on: protecting the “unborn” while simultaneously threating the lives of those who are living. Additionally, Paulette’s examples indicate that escorts are subject to harassment outside of their clinic sidewalks via their social media accounts, phones, and email addresses. Taylor from the Midwest noted that like Paulette, escorting at the clinic came with the potential loss of anonymity, saying “another thing that we have to be very, very clear with new escorts. . . . We can’t guarantee that you’re going to stay anonymous. We’ve had a couple people either choose not to proceed or drop out because they don’t wanna be that public with their image, which is fair. But we also don’t actually have any control over it. Our faces end up on the internet. I’m on there somewhere.” Having their faces posted on Christian and Evangelical antiabortion Facebook and YouTube channels was a common occurrence for escorts in this study and will likely continue for as long as escorts are outside of clinics. Taylor said that at times, they did worry about backlash for their volunteerism in their “more anxious moments” but at the time of their interview, they were still regularly escorting. Another way antis liked to reinforce a lack of confidentiality at the clinic was by using escorts’ names and asking them questions about their children or places of work to show that they were being monitored and investigated. Gabby from a Midwest clinic said that some of the antis “take it too far and are creepy and are looking you up [on social media and search engines] and trying to find out information about you or they’ll make comments to you where they’re trying to be intimidating or at least that’s what I’m assuming they are attempting to do. . . . I’ve obviously never given them my name but they’ll be like, ‘hey Gabby, how are your three kids?’” She recalled an instance where one of the regular antis at her clinic “mentioned my kids by name once, which was not cool, that made me uncomfortable.” She noted that while this particular anti may be “harmless . . . if he is sharing that information with other people who are not harmless, that’s where I get concerned.” Escorts reported they tried to maintain confidentiality by adopting nicknames or pseudonyms and avoided disclosing personal details such as where they

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worked with other escorts when they were on the sidewalks and within hearing distance of antis. Katie from a Southern clinic said that during her escort training “we were told to keep our names secret from the protesters and in some cities, people have been tracked by these antis and they’ve tried to cause ’em problems at work and all that kind of stuff.” Georganne noted that their “face is everywhere online. . . . I have a [description omitted] tattoo: there are pictures of me with a circle and like zooming in on my tattoos. So regardless of whether or not I was posting, my likeness is everywhere on these pro-life [state name omitted] [sites] and [other] places.” As states around the country continue to implement bounty-like policies that encourage residents to sue clinics, doctors, nurses and even those who assist patients by providing transportation (Picci 2021), confidentiality surrounding abortion procedures is becoming more salient. Escorts may find themselves subject to costly lawsuits should these policies continue to spread in antiabortion states. Escorting Is Draining Some escorts noted that they experienced mental and physical fatigue after an escorting shift. Taylor said that escorting “can get very draining,” even though the escorting shifts at their Midwest clinic were only about three hours long. They added that on the days when the antis arrived at the clinic early and if they were particularly loud, “I’m done for the rest of the day no matter how much else I might want to do stuff, if it’s bad enough, I kind of just need to curl and up and recharge and also nap because I wake up at 5:30 am to get to the clinic, which is very early.” Taylor shared that if they need to cancel plans with family or partners, they were generally very understanding saying, “they [friends and partners] understand if I just say ‘real bad morning, can we meet up tomorrow?’” Jared also felt that after an escorting shift, taking some time to sleep or “cool down and kind of release the adrenaline and anger that I have kind of built up and kept kind of pushed down while I’m there” was necessary. Jared stated that while they had never been injured . . . I have been hit, pushed, attacked. So, while I would never say that I have . . . needed to recover from an injury or something like that: the threat of violence is there in both those small ways but also [in large ways]. Our windows [at the clinic] got shot out once, and things like that. So, there is a piece of [my]mind that is always rolling on that.

Michelle Wolkomir and Jennifer Powers’s seminal 2007 study of abortion clinic employees explored ways that workers effectively coped with different types of patients, finding that abortion clinic workers must negotiate the

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emotional labor demands that come with working in such an environment. Clinic escorts were not part of Wolkomir and Powers’s study, however, as evidenced by study participants, emotional labor is part of their experience should be further explored. Escorts Openly Discuss Abortion Clinic Volunteering Most escorts shared that they were vocal about their volunteerism on social media, with friends and family and sometimes, even strangers. Angela shared that she was very open with her volunteerism, especially on Facebook. She said that her mother was “absolutely horrified, terrified” by her work at her Southern abortion clinic. Additionally, her sister was “appalled” that she would volunteer at an abortion clinic and be open about it on social media. Angela said that when she first started escorting, she was selective about who she disclosed her volunteerism to saying, “I didn’t wanna hurt any feelings, I didn’t wanna step on toes. And now I’m like, I don’t care.” Angela has three children and said that they were all very aware of her involvement at the clinic—saying that in her home, they are “very open with every conversation . . . so they have heard my stories.” Angela felt that her children were currently too young to escort with her, but when they were older, she would allow them to accompany her if they wanted to. Additionally, Angela’s husband was fully supportive of her work at the clinic. However, she noted that it did take some time for him to understand the importance of this work. She added, “I admit in the beginning he was like, ‘what are you doing? Like, you’re doing what?’” Nancy stated that as a licensed counselor she “assumes that everyone in my line of work was pretty open to stuff like that [abortion] being counselors or social workers, like understanding the need that folks might have to have an abortion.” Nancy said that while her social media settings were private, she was open about her volunteerism and views on abortion with those in her life. Nancy shared an incident she had with a coworker that made her realize not all people in the counseling/social work sector feel that abortion should be an option available to clients in need. Nancy worked in a community mental health setting with clients of all ages and backgrounds. After an interaction with a female client, who had a very limited understanding of reproductive and sexual health, Nancy felt it would be helpful for her organization to “be talking to people about safe sex and protection. How to use condoms, obtain birth control, PrEP . . . and Plan B.” Nancy wanted to put together a team of nurses and occupational therapists who could “compile all this information and [decide] who would potentially be comfortable talking about it,” adding that after discussing this plan with her team, one of her nurses came to her and disclosed that she wasn’t “comfortable talking about Plan B [with clients]

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because life begins at conception.” Nancy said she was very surprised by this, telling the nurse she “would make sure she’s not involved . . . not only for your own personal preference but also because I now don’t trust what you would say [to clients].” Nancy felt that this particular nurse should have been able to provide accurate medical information to “this very vulnerable population” without inserting her Christian beliefs that are not backed by science. She said, “I was still conflicted [about talking to her supervisor]. . . . Nurses are people and they have outside lives but like . . . you’re a nurse, you should just give the [medical facts].” Julia said that as she got older and saw more abortion restrictions and the increase in antis at her Midwest clinic, “it’s harder and harder to keep my mouth shut.” Julia added that she was “also at the point in my life where I don’t care what other people think. This is who I am. This is what I believe. This is what I do. If you have issues then oh well.” She said, “and it’s been eight years of listening to the same thing: of listening to misinformation; listening to judgment; to the bullying, to the cruelty . . . these people who are ‘Christian’ say the cruelest things to patients, to companions, to escorts. I don’t care what they call us, but man, what gives you the right to say those things to these people [patients]?” Julia said that she was transparent on social media about her clinic volunteerism, sharing that one of her “very good friends is very Catholic” and they have both made the decision that they wouldn’t get into discussions about abortion because they are at “very different places” with this issue. For Julia, avoiding the topic of abortion altogether seemed to be the best way to maintain the friendship. Mark said that while he was very open with his involvement at his Midwest clinic, he was simultaneously careful to make sure he didn’t “push” his beliefs on someone else. He said that if the “conversation comes up, if somebody was to approach me about it [escorting] and asks about it . . . yeah, I’m very open. . . . [however] I’m not going to force you to listen to anything.” Mark noted that he had gotten “much more comfortable” talking about abortion and volunteering at the clinic, saying “now it’s just normal for me.” Mark didn’t feel that he faced any real challenges by volunteering at the clinic, other than dealing with extremely cold weather and “maintaining self- control when something really shitty is happening or that you see.” Mary, also from a Midwest clinic, was very open with her volunteerism, noting that both she and her husband were small business owners. With most of their clientele either online or located on the East Coast, the possibility of any sort of retaliation for this volunteerism was very low. Mary said that she had not experienced “any professional or economic detriment” for her clinic involvement, adding that she mostly hung out with “lefties” and that “because Facebook is such a dreadful cesspit of capitalist patriarchal misogyny, I try not to engage in it very much, full stop. But when I do, I am blatant about

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it and that was probably [due] to the election of Trump. Again, [I] must not let things fall by the wayside, not letting things go unchallenged.” Mary shared that her husband’s family was from Europe and that her Canadian sister was “likewise quite liberal,” adding that Canada “is for the most part, a much more sensible country” when it came to abortion. Mary stated that her involvement at the clinic “is easy for me” and said that she had recently been having discussions about “putting your privilege to use where you can,” and felt that clinic escorting was a way to do this. She concluded, “I am able, I have the time, I don’t mind being recognized.” Like Mary, Kathleen from the South said that she experienced no personal challenges from her volunteerism, saying “outside of dealing with the weather and infuriating the protesters? No. There’s no negative aspect. It did [upset] my ex-husband. That’s one of the main reasons why he’s my ex-husband.” Leslie was the only escort in this study who lived on the West Coast for part of the year and spent the other half of the year in a Southern state with heavily restricted abortion access. For Leslie, it was important to inform the West Coast people she interacted with about abortion restrictions in other states. “I used to be active on Facebook and when I was there, I talked about my escorting. I do talk about it. I feel like it’s important to talk about, particularly for people here in [West Coast state omitted] to know what women in [Southern state omitted] live through to understand what it’s like not to be in the bubble.” Katie, an escort from the same Southern clinic as Leslie, said that she kept her Facebook settings private, but was open about her volunteerism in other ways. “I’m not ashamed of the ideas I have about abortion. And I feel the more abortion is discussed and the more some of my maybe more conservative friends, friends that I have from the high school that my kids went to . . . if they see me—someone that is a good, close friend of theirs— escorting in an abortion clinic, maybe all of a sudden there’s a brick missing in that wall of ‘abortion is bad.’” Katie noted that a few of her Facebook friends were interested in volunteer escorting after seeing the pictures she posted of antis harassing patients. “We never show pictures of any patients or anything like that, but when the street preachers come and there’s all these horrible men with these great big signs that say, ‘God Hates Feminists’ he ‘hates wussy men,’ he ‘hates the Catholic Church’ . . . they [Facebook friends] see us surrounded by all of this ugliness and this ridiculousness and it shows what really happens, you know?” Katie added that now that she was retired and her children “aren’t in a Catholic school. . . . I don’t have to keep things private. I don’t have to do that anymore.” Similarly, Jenny from a Southeast clinic didn’t feel that it was necessary to hide her clinic volunteerism from her Southern Baptist family. She shared that she didn’t get “too much pushback,” outside of a cousin who often sent her Instagram messages saying she was “a baby killer and that kind of

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stuff.” Jenny said that she never responded to the messages from her cousin, although this cousin still liked to comment on Jenny’s stories and tell her that she’s “going to hell” for her volunteerism. Jenny noted that she rarely saw this cousin at family gatherings, thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this cousin was a nurse and was very vocal about refusing to be vaccinated, which Jenny found problematic. “I thought that behavior sounded crazy. . . . If we already hadn’t kind of fallen out, her behavior over the pandemic would have kicked it over.” Jim from a Southeast clinic felt that his “privilege of [being] a white cis man in his fifties” was part of the reason he experienced few challenges for his clinic involvement. Jim was unique in that years ago, he started as a clinic escort and at the time of his interview, worked inside the clinic as a paid employee. Jim felt that his “community, the people I surround myself with are very much aligned to where I’m at as well.” He added that he didn’t always disclose that he worked for an abortion provider when “introduce[ing] myself in certain company.” Jim said that he’s not “afraid that people, that the antis are going to come and harass me and try to find out who I am,” which may be an example of the privilege he cites. The relatively calm environment at his clinic also includes a very positive relationship with local police and neighbors, which likely contributed to Jim’s comfort. This is further discussed in chapter 6. Georganne, an escort from the Midwest, stated that there was a progression in how they discussed their volunteerism, saying that when they started escorting at Planned Parenthood several years ago, “they [Planned Parenthood] made it sound . . . [like] I was going to die if I told anybody I was an escort. I thought I was gonna get like kidnapped or something. They [Planned Parenthood] really strike the fear of God into you” [when going through escort training]. This caused Georganne to stay silent about volunteering at Planned Parenthood for quite some time. This changed when they moved to a different state and starting escorting at an indie clinic: they were told by the escorts there that “you don’t have to worry about that [violence] quite as much, it’s [a] ‘don’t be stupid’ [approach at the clinic].” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Georganne started to escort more and regularly shared their escorting experiences on social media, adding that they had attended a Catholic high school and that their social media was full of “Catholic people on my timeline.” They added that they didn’t care if people unfriended them, but was surprised by the reaction I got, which was mostly positive. People tell me they look forward to me posting every week. Somebody I went to college with, their uncle is one of the antis [at this clinic], which in an interesting one, but I had my husband’s cousin reveal to me that she had an abortion. I’ve had classmates

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who I was not close with in high school who have revealed they had an abortion, who felt comfortable coming to me and telling me in an Instagram DM because of the content I’ve posted.

Georganne expressed gratitude for the support they had gotten for their volunteerism. They had also provided a virtual safe space for people to share their own abortion stories, sometimes for the first time. Caroline from the Southwest was used to being highlighted in local news outlets, as she had been escorting at her clinic for almost a decade. She said she had several negative experiences while escorting that included harassment by antis and unhelpful police who were unwilling to enforce ordinances, adding that she tried “not to let it get me down.” Caroline shared that she recently appeared on the front page of her local newspaper for a story about abortion clinic escorts, featuring a “picture of me with my finger in this guy’s [antis] face.” She thought this was “hilarious” and was considering having this picture framed and hung in her home as a point of pride. Lastly, Veronica said that her now adult children knew that she had been an escort at her Southwest clinic for almost three decades, and shared that her late husband used to accompany her to the clinic on Saturday mornings. Veronica said that she “loves it when there’s more men on our side. . . . It’s generally just women and I think it does speak something to the men on the curb [antis] with it [male escorts].” She felt that male escorts likely made the patriarchal, dominating male antis at her clinic “a little bit more confused . . . they [antis] see us [women] as a threat. . . . They’re not going to support strong women with values that could be different than theirs or feelings that could be . . . their own.” Veronica added that she hoped that the male escorts were “bothersome” to the antis and that their presence made it more difficult for antis to harass patients. Community Stigma Participants who resided in smaller communities that were abortion-hostile and had a solitary or few abortion clinics reported an additional challenge that participants in larger cities with many abortion clinics did not: the possibility of community stigma and how that might impact other areas of participants’ lives. Gabby from a Midwest clinic said that “some of the things that I get sometimes nervous about is being in a small community. We are in a state where pretty much everybody knows everybody and you can be connected in so many ways.” Similarly, Karey—also from the Midwest—noted that other escorts at her clinic had experienced the community stigma Gabby spoke of. Karey noted that while she had not “run into any of these [antis] in the wild [because] many of the protesters do not live in town”: she recalled that two

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escorts had been confronted by a protester while at work. This anti lived in town and regularly stood outside their local police station holding “Blue Lives Matter” signs. This anti got so verbally aggressive with the escorts at their place of employment, that the police were called. Unsurprisingly, this caused a scene and made the escorts feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, these instances were rare, but may become more common as harassment of escorts by antis increases. Dan from a Southern clinic shared that while his friends and family were very supportive of his volunteerism, he had the misfortune of working with one of the clinic’s semiregular protesters. He said that “we both manage to keep work and what’s outside of work, outside of work” adding, “you know, he’s not my favorite person in the world, but I have dealt with him at work and we both conduct ourselves in a professional manner.” He described working with this anti as “awkward,” but added that his two decades in the military had taught him that his “personal opinions and activism and stuff” had to be divorced from the workplace. While Dan had not experienced any issues with this particular anti while at work at the time of his interview, as abortion clinics around the country close—and tensions between pro- and antiabortion activists increase—this fragile peace may fracture. Ruth from a Southeastern clinic shared a troubling experience at her clinic that showed how far some antis would go to shame escorts. Ruth revealed that her “dad is a family friend with one of the protesters” who was an active member of the Southern Baptist Church in her community. She said that this relationship and the stress that it caused her while she was escorting lead Ruth to feel that this specific “situation was . . . illuminating, [in] how detrimental it was to people’s own mental health.” Ruth, like most escorts in this study, was told to use an alias when escorting in an attempt to keep some level of anonymity while at the clinic. She said, “when I had the training, people say you can go by an alias, but you may be out[ted] [anyway], you’re on a public sidewalk. . . . We’ve got a bunch of media. With any peak story about abortion which obviously has been a lot in the last few years,” local news stations would immediately go to the clinic to interview escorts and clinic administrators. As Ruth’s indie clinic was located in a state with few abortion options and some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, it was often bombarded by news outlets looking to interview clinic escorts and staff— thrusting them into the spotlight and making confidentiality for those staff and volunteers nonexistent. Ruth shared that when she started escorting, she went by an alias, mostly because I wanted to protect my dad. He’s antiabortion, but he’s still my dad. At the time we had a good relationship and I didn’t recognize this protester, but he recognized me and he had private conversations with my dad about me being at the clinic. And of course, I didn’t tell my dad I was

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doing this [escorting]. I wasn’t living with my dad. There was no reason for him to know, it was my own thing. So, one day I’m minding my business on the sidewalk and he [anti] calls me out by my name and tells me, you know, you went on this mission trip to Haiti with my sons [names omitted] and I know where your dad taught, and I know your mom [name omitted] and I know your girlfriend [name omitted] and named out my entire family and . . . he . . . threatened me [that] if I didn’t get coffee with him, he was going to expose me.

Ruth said that after this exchange she called her dad and “was like, what the fuck?” Her dad assured her that he didn’t agree with what this man was doing or with the protesters outside the clinic as a whole. He also added that he didn’t “agree with abortion.” Ruth returned to the clinic the next week and as she did not comply with the antis’ demand for a coffee date, this anti got on his microphone and talked about . . . some issues I had been dealing with in my youth. He brought up personal information about me and my family and then months later, he took to Facebook and essentially doxed me and my entire family. [He] wrote out this whole long post about my dad and naming every single family member I have including my sister who has no part in any of this, linking private conversations my dad had with him saying where my dad had pastored at . . . the whole lot.

Ruth noted that this particular anti was known for “targeting” specific escorts—using threats, intimidation, and doxing in order to dissuade escorts from volunteering. She said that kind of overly aggressive harassment was “very weird, and they [he] shift their gaze . . . to the new people that they really want to intimidate, [to] make [them] go away. But they haven’t made me go away. So, they’ve kinda loosened their grip on me.” She added that this incident, among others, had put a strain on her relationship with her parents; saying, “my parents would say one thing to me about, ‘it’s your life, you’re a grown woman, do whatever you want’ kind of thing. In the same breath, talking bad shit about these protesters and acting like they were appalled by it, but behind my back they were having conversations about how they were embarrassed of me for escorting and being gay, which had nothing to do with escorting.” Ruth said that when it came to being gay and escorting at an abortion clinic, these “offenses” were considered equally problematic to her parents. Despite this fractured relationship, Ruth said that “if anything, I’m happy for it because I’d rather know how they really feel than not . . . to have it come through a protester to [be] the catalyst of my complicated relationship with my family . . . kinda sucks.” Ruth said that her involvement with reproductive justice in her state had introduced her to friends and she felt like she had a good community of supportive and like-minded people. “While

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there have been times where I felt isolated because of doing this work, it has only . . . afforded me more friends and relationships.” Hedging about Volunteerism Few participants in this study stated that they hedged or downplayed their volunteerism, indicating a subtle change from previous findings (Crookston 2021). Still, some participants were highly selective in their volunteerism disclosure. One participant stated that while he felt proud of his work at the clinic and “invigorated” by it, he had not disclosed his clinic involvment to his parents—mostly because he did not want them to worry about his safety. Matt said, I have never told my parents about this and my parents are not antiabortion. I have not told my parents because if they knew what I was doing, my mom would freak out that I might get shot or assaulted . . . When I’ve told them [my parents] when I’ve gone to . . . Black Lives Matter marches, protests, and they were like just be careful. . . . Unfortunately, we live in a world where people who don’t like abortion will get violent . . . We’ve seen evidence of that.

Tanya from a Southeastern clinic said that she was selective in disclosing her volunteerism. She recalled going to an escort conference with a group from her clinic and their Uber driver asking what they were in town for. She said, “and I think the four of us decided to vague it out a little bit ’cuz you’re kind of trapped, you’re kind of a trapped captive audience with an Uber driver.” Tanya went on to say that as the oldest sibling in her family with no living parents, no children, or other relatives that live close to her, she was generally open about her role as a clinic escort and defender. She did state that when it came to Facebook, she did post abortion-related materials, “but not as much as I would in the private groups.” Both Tanya and Matt exemplify the nuanced space that abortion clinic escorts must negotiate: often being the most public faces of the clinic while simultaneously trying to keep some facets of their volunteerism private. Grace from a Midwest clinic was the only Black woman in this study and felt that keeping her volunteerism confidential was especially challenging due to her race. As one of the few non-white women escorts at her clinic, she was often targeted by antis who regularly co-opted social justice language, specifically related to race. Grace worked at a four-year university and had to make sure that her “university parking pass is hidden so that the protester who has identified himself as an adjunct professor in our [name omitted] department doesn’t come find me on campus.” Grace shared that one of the clinic escort volunteer cofounders at her clinic was “doxed by a coworker who knew the protesters. They knew her name and they called her by name, which

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left the escort feeling uncomfortable and targeted. Jared was very open with their volunteerism on social media, but said that when they taught undergrad students, “I tell them that I volunteer at a medical clinic. I think [this] is a little bit more about . . . a boundary, in terms of that relationship.” Steve shared that while he was very open about his long-term allyship with the LGBTQ community in his Midwest city that has gone back several decades, he admitted that he was not as open about his involvement with the abortion clinic on social media. Steve wasn’t sure why he was less open about the issue of abortion and stated, “I have a lot of Facebook friends and some of them are from high school and I know some of them are Catholic. . . . I do find that I hesitate on Facebook . . . even though I think I should say something . . . maybe this [interview] will inspire me to start doing that.” Steve posited that maybe his hesitation to post about abortion issues on his Facebook page was a “fear of rejection” whereas “the gay and lesbian issue has been so important to me for so long that I just feel like, if you’re gonna reject me on that basis, that’s just too important to me.” Tensions between Indie Clinics and Planned Parenthood Every participant in this study escorted at an independent (indie) clinic. Two participants escorted at both an independent clinic and a Planned Parenthood location at the time of their interviews. Four participants had started their escorting career at a Planned Parenthood facility before moving to indie clinics, giving them unique insight into how these organizations differ. Several participants discussed the tension that existed between indie clinics and Planned Parenthood establishments as challenging and at times, contentious—specifically when it came to funding. Escorts were often involved with local abortion funds that assisted patients in accessing abortion care, noting that many people didn’t know that these existed. Grace stated that because Planned Parenthood had “household name recognition,” people were more likely to donate to Planned Parenthood instead of local abortion funds they may be unfamiliar with. She said, “when somebody with a big name and a big platform wants to throw a big fundraiser, they’re not donating to independent clinics or the National Abortion Federation (NAF). They’re donating to Planned Parenthood. And that organization is figuring out how to resource itself and how to shift resources around to keep itself sustainable.” Grace shared that she had previously worked at a Planned Parenthood call center in her Midwest state (noting that she had been fired from that job) and saw firsthand how the organization dissuaded patients from indie clinics, even when they were closer to the patient’s home and could help patients access abortion services more quickly and easily. She said,

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In my attempt to break into paid repro [reproductive justice], I did work for the local [Planned Parenthood] affiliate as a contact center representative for a few years. And it was enlightening about the internal workings of the organization and how decisions get made. And it was disillusioning. . . . Prior to that [the established call center], all the calls had been answered individually at the clinic level, so we were the first centralized contact center at that time for [Midwestern state omitted]. Having spent years doing advocacy at the statehouse and organizing protests and guest escorting in [city name omitted], I knew there were more resources available to the people who were calling us than what they [Planned Parenthood] put in my binder [of abortion resources]. Our direct supervisor hired most of us intentionally knowing how passionate we were for this work, how compassionate we would be to the callers, and the fact that we would not stop until we found answers and resources. So, he always encouraged us to bring whatever we had to the table until he got told by higher-ups . . . that he needed to rein us back in and back to what they had told us was available in the binder, which usually did not include referring to a lot of independent clinics that might have been closer to the people who were calling us than the next Planned Parenthood [health center]. It was really weird, but I do know that like, rather than just telling a patient, “Hey, listen, you obviously wanna do this like faster than what I can get you in for, there’s another clinic in the same city,” I was supposed to schedule them an initial appointment in [city name omitted] and a second appointment in [different city and state name omitted].

Here, Grace highlighted what many other escorts in this study felt was a disconnect between Planned Parenthood and independent abortion clinics around the country: while escorts understood and appreciated all of the services that Planned Parenthood provided patients, many felt that independently owned clinics were often overlooked and unsupported by the larger Planned Parenthood organization, despite the crucial role they play in abortion access (Black 2021). Additionally, Grace saw firsthand that Planned Parenthood was not interested in recommending indie clinics that could provide abortion services faster and closer to where patients lived. Grace felt that this policy created additional barriers to abortion access for patients, which have been well documented by abortion researchers (Jones et al. 2013; Joyce et al., 2009; and Greene- Foster 2020). Grace stated that she saw indie clinics being “pushed out of the conversation by the focus on the big names,” saying that the indie clinics, “didn’t feel like they had an equal vote or voice at the table” when larger policy issues were discussed. She added, It’s [Planned Parenthood] not looking at the other service providers in the communities they’re in and going, “how can we all support each other” so we can get through this . . . our clinic, the clinic across town, they’re left to figure out how to fund these updates and upgrades and train their staff with whatever

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$5 they’ve got in their back pocket. ’Cuz this [abortion care] isn’t a moneymaking operation.

Grace’s suggestion that Planned Parenthood work more closely with independently owned clinics was one that was echoed by other participants in this study who stated that they would like to see the larger organization support the smaller, indie clinics that are often located in the same city or state. Planned Parenthood’s tactic of “sending out a national blast fundraising email about something that’s happening in a state they’re not in” did not sit well with Grace. She added, So instead of them [Planned Parenthood] saying, you know, if this is an issue you’re passionate about, donate to this [indie] clinic or like this abortion fund in the state or like the city where this is happening, you’re sending your money to their headquarters in [Washington] D.C. and then they allocate it. I mean they really could do a better job of connecting and supporting the independent clinics that are picking up seventeen-, eighteen-, twenty-two- . . . week abortions and they don’t really seem like they do that.

Georganne from the Midwest was equally dismayed with Planned Parenthood and said that they also wanted to see more support between the national organization and indie clinics. Georganne stated that they had heard a lot of criticism of the organization from people who worked in the corporate levels of Planned Parenthood, saying, I think that Planned Parenthood is really important insofar as like a national voice, [a] continued voice about abortion. I think that a lot of independent clinics have a lot of not-great feelings about Planned Parenthood. However, they’re happy that Planned Parenthood isn’t involved in them [independent clinics]. I think independent clinics are important in the same way that the consolidation of a bunch of businesses being owned by a couple people is not great. I think that independent clinics are great because they offer an alternative, and it’s just nice to have other options. Not that people are really shopping around when they’re looking for an abortion provider, but I personally feel a sense of pride escorting at an indie clinic.

Ruth discussed the disconnect she saw at her Southeast clinic which was located a few miles away from a Planned Parenthood location. Ruth was unhappy to see that more money was funneled into Planned Parenthood than the indie clinics in her state that constantly struggled to stay open. She said, And it’s not like they [indie clinic] don’t want to do these other services [STI and cancer screenings]. They don’t have the capacity to, and it’s mostly because . . . they [indie clinics] provide 60 percent of the abortions in the entire

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country. I read an article where like [clinic name omitted] gave care to over three thousand patients in 2021 [and] Planned Parenthood did 380 for abortion care [in the state].

Ruth further added that indie clinics “pick up the slack” and do so “with way less resources,” often providing abortion care for several more weeks into a pregnancy. Ruth discussed the restrictions that indie clinic staff must negotiate that negatively impact patient access, saying, They’re [indie clinics] constantly fighting everyone around them. All the odds are stacked [against them] and [they are] still giving people what they want. I always like to tell people too . . . the people that seek abortion care aren’t abortion advocates. They’re not activists, they’re regular people who just want an abortion, and some of them are even anti [abortion]. So, I mean, when you go to a clinic and they have a mandatory twenty-four-hour consent law, where like you have to wait twenty-four hours before you go see them, and then there’s a mandatory narrated ultrasound, and then there’s this and that and this and that all designed by the state. And you’re there for seven, eight hours . . . and you’re pissed off because you just want to get your abortion and go home. They [patients] don’t always treat the staff that kindly because they’re used to going to their dentist and signing a form and getting their wisdom teeth taken out, you know, which is a comparable procedure [to an abortion]. Our state has added all these restrictions . . . so they [clinic staff] get a lot of frustration from everybody, including their patients. They [patients] just don’t understand, and don’t really have a reason to understand, because again, they’re not activists. They’re not here to prove a point. They just want medical care.

Ruth also felt that “institutionalized stigma” of abortion care was a huge barrier for her clinic, in addition to the “nonprofit-industrial complex,” saying, I’m just gonna call spade a spade. Planned Parenthood gets a ton of resources and money and all this stuff, you know? We saw [that] McKenzie Scott just donated $275 million to the Federation of America, which I will clarify is different from the [Planned Parenthood] health center. However, anytime a bad [abortion] ban goes down, they’re getting an influx of money . . . so they can operate a little bit differently. They can kind of, you know, bounce back because they have the capacity to provide other services, and also hoard the wealth that they have to not support the independent clinics. I have lots of thoughts and feelings about that, but I mean, that’s the reality.

Veronica from a Southwest clinic was also frustrated that Planned Parenthood was more likely to receive donations than the local abortion fund she supported in her state. When asked why this happened, Veronica cited two main issues: Planned Parenthood was a well-known name around the United

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States—as echoed by other participants in this study—and secondly, Veronica felt that there was less stigma attached to Planned Parenthood, as they also provided non-abortion services: The big name is Planned Parenthood. And for the longest time Planned Parenthood would not do any kind of procedures in [state name omitted]. . . . I think it’s [Planned Parenthood health center] maybe been open a year, but they were finally able to start doing the procedures [abortion]. It’s a bigger name and people that are shy about what they’re supporting . . . if someone asks, they can always say, oh, well I support the birth control that Planned Parenthood does, and the women’s [wellness] checks. . . . People to this day are still very shy and quiet about saying that they’re pro-choice and that they support financially or in any other way, a woman’s choice to have [an abortion]. It’s still not considered something you want to share. Me saying I had an abortion when I was, you know, nineteen, twenty years old . . . most women aren’t going to say that, but I’m old. My kids are grown and gone. It’s not going to bother them. I’m more outspoken about it, but it’s just . . . there’s still a stigma to it. And I sometimes think there always will be. And so, I think it probably affects how people give their money.

As abortion restrictions and bans become more prevalant around the United States, many independent clinics will be forced to close, and the reliance on Planned Parenthood centers will increase. As Ruth noted, Planned Parenthood centers were often able to provide many more sexual health– related services than indie clinics could due to funding issues. A 2021 study by Anna Newton-Levinson et al., found that 60 percent of women visiting Planned Parenthood health centers did not have a regular source of care and almost 40 percent experienced instability in insurance—indicating that Planned Parenthood may be better positioned to assist lower-income patients with preventative and sexually transmitted infection related care. However, when patients are seeking later-term abortion care, indie clinics are more likely to “pick up the slack,” as Ruth stated, giving patients more time to get medical treatment. A 2021 essay in Ms. Magazine by Steph Black found that while indie clinics made up only “25% of facilities, they provide 58 percent of all abortion procedures across the country.” Black noted that out of the six states in the United States with only one remaining abortion provider, five of those providers were independent clinics—reinforcing the important role that indie clinics play in abortion access. While 80 percent of indie clinics offered both medication abortion and procedural abortions, only 48 percent of Planned Parenthood locations were able to offer patients both options (Black 2021). Additionally, 61 percent of all abortion clinics that provided abortion after the first trimester were independent clinics and 81 percent of the very few patients who sought abortion care after twenty-two weeks did so at indie

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clinics (Black 2021). Black noted that if indie clinics continue to close, access to abortion—particularly after twenty-two weeks—would become out of reach for many patients. Antis Ruin Christianity for Escorts Several escorts stated that seeing so many hate-filled “Christians” outside their clinics had turned them away from participating in a formal religious community. This was yet another personal challenge attributed to abortion clinic escorting. As stated in chapter 1, it was not uncommon for the participants in this study to have grown up in a Christian household, and few had continued to participate in any kind of formal religious community as adults. Some escorts reported that one reason they were not part of a religious community was because of the tactics they saw the antis engage in—all while evoking the name of God, Jesus, and Christianity as a whole. For other escorts, religious practices and beliefs that were homophobic, transphobic, and sexist had negatively impacted their experiences with Christian based religious groups. Veronica said that one of the biggest challenges she faced at her Southwest clinic was the “frustration that there’s such a . . . judgmental group representing Christianity . . . that it just goes so against how I was raised and how I look at that. So probably the hate-mongering that goes on, that’s probably the hardest part [of escorting].” Veronica noted that at her clinic, the majority of the protesters belonged to small Baptist churches and many were “Pentecostal, very male-dominated, mostly men. . . . When the women come [they] are there to please the men.” Veronica said that the antis that bothered her the most were “the subservient women. I feel more frustration and sadness over them than I do the men that are standing there, spouting the stuff because . . . at least they made the choice to do that. But these women are there because they’re under the control and power of those men. And so, I feel more for them then I do the men.” At her clinic, the antis regularly handed out Bibles to patients and “little sacks that . . . have their false information . . . like abortionpillreversal.com and all that kind of crap.” She said that like many antis across the country, offering to “take care of” or “adopt the baby” were common phrases hurled at patients. Veronica said that she found out that what antis really did with the babies they claimed they would be delighted to adopt is “they just take them in and hook them [the baby] up with DHS [Department of Health Services],” which was very different from what the antis stated they would do and, according to Veronica, these children end up in the foster care system. Veronica was one of the few escorts in this study who was still involved with her childhood religion, the United Church of Christ, which she described as “the first denomination . . . that had gay ministers, women

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ministers,” and had “been involved in supporting women’s choice from the get-go . . . we’ve always been very supportive of Planned Parenthood clinics, anything like that.” Caroline shared that she grew up going to the First Presbyterian church in her Southwestern hometown and took her children to the same church may years later. She said that now she considered herself “probably borderline agnostic/atheist,” adding that “especially the religion I get from the curbs, from the antis, you couldn’t hog-tie me and take me to church with them. They [antis] have a very rigid view of religion.” Angela who grew up in what she descripted as the “cult” of the Institute in Basic Life Principles church, also known as the Quiverfull movement, said that when she was an adolescent, she started to question what she was being taught. She said that as an adult, she had done “a complete 180 in regard to how I was raised. And I’m like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no. We’re not doing this. We’re not continuing this cycle.” Angela said that in her religious community, there was a male leader and “whatever he said was the end of all things. And you didn’t debate him at all, never questioned his word from God.” She described her childhood as growing up in two cults: the cult of being homeschooled and the cult of the Quiverfull movement. Angela said that when she was in her early twenties and met her husband—who had also grown up in the same religion—they both agreed that this cult-like community was not “clicking” with their values. They decided to leave, stating that they would not raise their children in the “cult” they grew up in. It was no coincidence that Laura left her religious community around the same time that she started escorting at her clinic. According to Laura, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)—the religious community she had been part of for many years—was unwilling to state that as a whole, they supported and encouraged “LGBTQ folks to serve in the ministry.” This, according to Laura, “was it for me,” and she left her church. Laura added that the longer she had been away from the community, the “more comfortable I’ve become with who I am and what I believe and that I don’t need someone telling me what I should believe.” When asked what the ELCA’s stance on abortion was, Laura wasn’t sure, but did state that this likely depended on individual congregations. She said, “we have ministers who are escorts with us, so there’s area ministers who lead their churches in the pride parade with rainbow flags. There are some more liberal congregations, but they tend to be smaller. It’s not these big ones that have the heavy-hitter fundraisers because they’re the ones who actually dictate what goes on.” Laura said that she now identified as a secular humanist—saying that for her, this idea encompassed the belief “in the good of humankind, that you don’t have to pray to a God to be kind to people. You can do that without having a faith background. I love

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nature. I find my spirituality when I’m out on a walk in the forest or the park or even just walking outside and hearing the birds.” Leslie from a Southern clinic—and the only Quaker interviewed in this study—also attended a Unitarian Universalist Church. She said that her religious community had “been known to admit atheists, Jewish people, anybody who says ‘hey I can kind of go for your philosophy.’” Leslie said that one of the hardest parts of escorting was “having people attest to their faith about why abortion was so wrong. And me feeling like . . . it’s kind of like pulling the plug on my bathtub full of faith, which I rely on to rest and relax in, you know?” She further added that, her “faith bathtub” is really important to me that I can climb in and relax and rest and heal and get cleansed. And [it] often feels like those protesters pulling the drain on that resource for me personally, by their quoting of Jesus and the Bible. And that can be tough for me. . . . [I] really had to work on that the last year and a half or so. And I feel like I’m kind of on the other side of it now, but it was a struggle. I keep a spiritual journal where I write down Biblical quotes and other quotes and thoughts and whatnot. And sometimes I hear that same thing come out of somebody else’s mouth, or even if it’s not the same thing, the fact that they think that they’re so Christian, I feel like I just need to take a literal bath after standing next them on the corner. . . . How could we both be drawing from the same source? Are we drawing from the same source? And am I tainted by drawing from the same source? Is my water contaminated?

Leslie shared that she felt very grateful for the pastor at her Unitarian church. She often kept his words regarding God in the back of her mind when escorting and listening to antis yell about a vengeful, punishing God, saying that her pastor’s words “helps me kind of divide it out a little” so that she was able to separate her beliefs from those of the antis outside her clinic. Leslie also felt that talking about her volunteerism with the “church ladies” and their acceptance of what she did gave her the sense that “there’s room in faith for my position, for my action, for testing the waters . . . has been really helpful.” Several participants in this study felt that the hateful rhetoric that they heard on the clinic sidewalks had negatively impacted their religious beliefs. Some added that they were so disgusted by the Christian ideologies co-opted by antis that they didn’t think they would ever join a Christian-based community again. Judaism and Abortion Only one participant in this study identified as Jewish, and had continued to stay active in his childhood religious community into adulthood. Jim explained that his denomination was called Conservative Judaism, and was

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“very ironically, very progressive . . . I would say it’s as middle-of-the-road as you could possibly get: it’s not reform, it’s not Orthodox. It’s a denomination that does care very much about bodily autonomy and abortion rights and advocacy.” He further added that his denomination had been “organizing women for clergy since 1984, ordaining LGBTQ clergy since 2006 . . . it’s something which is really egalitarian when it comes down to a lot of different ways of taking a look at it.” Jim added, I would say that [for] the most part, you’re gonna find that over the entire spectrum of the Jewish community, really for the most part, it’s politically liberal or politically progressive. So, for example, I don’t think the numbers have been out about the Trump/Biden election, but when it came down to Clinton/Trump, it was about 82 percent of Jewish people identified as voting for Clinton. So, we’re talking about like a pretty big . . . leaning progressively.

As the only Jewish participant in this study, Jim had a distinct perspective about the relationship between his religion and abortion, saying, “when it comes down to more of the traditional Orthodox side of things, Jewish law actually says that if the life of the mother is in danger, and actually describes this pretty much in detail that, if the life of a pregnant person is in danger, then you can pull the baby limb by limb out and that the life of the mother absolutely takes precedence over the life of the unborn.” This idea is in polar opposite to the beliefs of the Christian antis outside abortion clinics who state that the life of the “unborn” or “preborn” takes precedence over the life of the pregnant person. This made Jim’s religious perspective very different from other clinic escorts in this study, as his religion fully supports abortion and contraception—ideas that most Christian participants in this study did not grow up with. Jim added, there are also other types of verses . . . that . . . have really mentioned how important abortion advocacy is and how important contraception is. There’s an organization, the National Council for Jewish Women, that came up with a new arm called 73 Forward . . . which is an abortion advocacy organization specifically for the Jewish world. I think that that’s something you find within Judaism . . . you really find that an overwhelming number of people really feel that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. While that’s actually true amongst all people who are religious anyway, overall, I would say that even more so when it comes down to the Jewish community, it really becomes very progressive.

Jim added that when it came to negotiating faith and abortion work, “It’s not hard to do when you’re Jewish. . . . This is a value that we hold true. And I should say, unless you really get to the very, ultra-Orthodox world, you’re

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gonna find that value is really shared amongst a lot of different [Jewish] people.” When asked about the lack of Jewish protesters outside abortion clinics, Jim said that he had been working on this question and had recently contacted Bethany Mandel via Twitter, who he described as “an ultra-conservative” who “hates Trump,” and is “very much antiabortion.” He asked Bethany about any Jewish antiabortion organization that regularly protested outside of abortion clinics and harassed patients. The only one Bethany cited, according to Jim, was one which really focuses on adoption. And that they’re [this adoption-focused organization] saying, look, this should still be a personal choice for people to be able to do, but especially . . . if the mother’s life is in danger, but we just wanna make sure that people know that adoption is out there. And that’s probably as extreme as they got. . . . They’re not going to go outside of abortion clinics. They’re not gonna go outside of IVF centers. They’re not gonna do anything like that. That’s really as far as it’s gonna go, because I think the Jewish community realizes that if you outlaw abortion, then you’re going to outlaw [the procedure] in certain cases where it really is mandatory. Which would be, for example, with sacrificing the health and the life and the mother.

Jim shared that one of his favorite rabbis to follow on social media was Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, who, according to Jim, “had done a lot of writing about Judaism and abortion. She’s explained a lot about why Judaism really feels like having abortion access is a value.” Jim added that he “used to pride himself that Judaism . . . when it comes down to religions, [is] the most progressive when it comes down to sexuality . . . and then I went to a Unitarian Universalist Church and their sex-ed curriculum was really amazing.” Jim attended a clinic escort training at a Unitarian Universalist center in Washington, DC, and when he asked where the men’s restroom was, the people at the church said, “we have one men’s room upstairs, but everything else is all genders. . . . Our synagogue would never do that. You have all the stalls there and everything on the vanity where the sink is, you have pads and tampons on one side which we have in our synagogue, which is wonderful— and condoms on the other side, which we would not have in our synagogue. They’re [Unitarian Universalists] just awesome.” While Jim was the only Jewish participant in this study, further research about Jewish abortion clinic escorts is needed. Most clinic escorts in this study stated that they had been negatively impacted by Christian antiabortion protesters at their clinics in various ways and for some, this had caused them to leave their churches and religious communities. Few escorts reported that they were part of religious or spiritual communities that supported abortion

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access and LGBTQ rights, indicating that these two causes were closely linked for many participants. Christian antis at abortion clinics are further discussed in chapters 8 and 9.

Chapter 5

Race and Clinic Escorting

Only three participants in this study identified as Black or biracial. Two participants identified as Black, Grace from the Midwest and John from the South. One participant, Georganne, identified as white/Hispanic, but did not feel that they could “give a good or accurate statement as to the experience of a non-white escort” for this study. The twenty-six self-identified white participants were asked why they thought there was a lack of non-white escorts at abortion clinics, and three themes emerged: protesters used racialized language against non-white protesters as further discussed in chapter 8; BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) people didn’t have the time to escort due to differences in socioeconomic status; and lastly, Black and Brown escorts were likely disproportionately targeted by police—which influenced volunteerism, as further discussed in chapter 6. Taylor, a white escort, shared that they had seen all three of these issues at their Midwest clinic, saying, I think because we do have some escorts of color, good for them, but I think that it is partly an economic thing. People who are economically secure, which is correlated with whiteness . . . you are more likely to be able to have three hours to stand out on a sidewalk. I think it’s also related to what we were talking about earlier where yeah, this is dangerous. If you are starting from a higher baseline of privilege, it’s easier to be able to accept that risk. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the pro-choice movement is led by . . . I shouldn’t say overwhelmingly white [people]. There are absolutely fantastic orgs led by women and people of color that are doing the work but . . . the spotlight tends to go to the white folks. So, I think there is also a perception thing there. The people who are able to turn up are more white than not, the people who get the attention are more white than not, which means that if someone is not white and looking to get involved, that’s kind of a deterrent. So, I think it’s a confluence of things obviously . . . given . . . that a lot of the protestors are also white and it does get pretty freaking racist out there against patients.

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Jared felt that their white privilege made it much easier to be an escort at an abortion clinic; Yeah, it’s a lot easier of a position for people with relative privilege to do. . . . I have heard Black escorts talk about how much more harassment they get from the antis. And so, I think . . . it is difficult and . . . dangerous, but also a really kind of emotionally wearing job. And I have to imagine that . . . it is way harder if you are not protected by also being white.

Sarah from a Southern clinic noted that the white antis at her clinic were particularly racist and liked to hurl racial stereotypes at Black patients. She said, “Oh, they’re [antis] horrible . . . even [first names of antis omitted] are the worst ones we’ve had. I mean, the things they yell are just . . . ‘don’t be a deadbeat dad like your dad.’ They yell at people with children who are there with them ‘they’re killing your baby brother or sister.’ . . . They [antis] told one girl [escort] at a rally down at the courthouse about George Floyd [being murdered],” arguing that his murder and abortion were similar. Anita from the Midwest wasn’t able to offer solutions on how to involve more people of color in abortion clinic escorting. Rather, she discussed the often-troublesome structures of organizations such as Planned Parenthood that had helped to sow distrust within communities of color. She said, I know that there’s some criticism of some . . . big women’s advocacy groups from people of color, like NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), I think has done some questionable stuff like Planned Parenthood has done some stuff that’s drawn some criticism. So, I mean, it might be a distrust thing too. And it could be too that, you know, those people . . . while they are pro-choice, are also engaging in activism in other areas. And then maybe they don’t have the time to devote to that [abortion clinic escorting] work as well.

Laura from the Midwest felt that discomfort with police was likely a contributing deterrent for BIPOC escort volunteering, saying I think because, well, one thing that became apparent to me is that the folks of color, the Black people who escorted, if we have any instances where we have to call the police. . . . We have to keep that in mind that it could be an issue for them. And we did have one instance where we did have a Black patient and thankfully [escort name omitted] was there who was a Black escort and he calmed him down . . . because the protestors were gonna video his wife coming out of the clinic. Yeah. So, he didn’t take kindly to that. And so . . . the other protestors called the police, but they [patient and companion] were gone by the time they [police] got there.

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In this example, Laura highlighted the challenging relationship that escorts had with local police and the ways escorts negotiated the comfort and safety of their BIPOC patients and escorts with general safety concerns. The complex relationship between escorts and local police is further discussed in chapter 6. WHITE ESCORTS ARE CONSCIOUS OF THEIR WHITENESS White escorts shared their concern that they often did not look like the majority of the patients at their clinics—leading some to worry about the optics of appearing “white-saviory” while escorting. Anita felt that her abortion escorting network did not do a very good job of reaching non-white people “for whatever reason,” while simultaneously noting that white people “probably try to be sensitive about not tokenizing people when they recruit too.” She further stated that, “our patients are primarily people of color and I do worry that it [white escorts] come off like a little white saviory, you know?” Nancy felt that escorting at her Midwest clinic was a way to use her privilege and advantage as a white woman to help protect abortion access. She said, this probably sounds a little naïve and hopeful, but I would like to think that it is because of intersectionality, right? Like we know that most [patients] who have an [abortion] may be low income or lower income and of color . . . so using that kind of [white] privilege and [class] advantage that we have to do something like this . . . and that kind of goes along with the privileges, right? We don’t have that level of harassment, discrimination, racism as white women or white men. . . . Some of the antis that come out to our clinic will specifically point that out and just say that it’s [escorting] a bunch of racist white folks trying to kill Black babies.

Karey from the Midwest felt that her white privilege allowed her to have more energy to devote to social issues, saying maybe that we have the time and energy to devote to causes that aren’t directly linked to our day-to-day survival. You know . . . [it’s] because of this white woman entitlement that I’m allowed to live so much of my life worry free. I sort of have this emotional leftover energy to dedicate to something outside of my own life. And I think also that white people are very concerned about losing [abortion access], right? If there’s . . . you know [the possibility that] all white people . . . might be affected by this [Roe overturned], then it gets white people more excited.

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Georganne shared that during a national abortion conference they attended, the topic of non-white escorts and the unique challenges they faced were discussed—indicating an awareness of the impact of race on clinic escorting. We have had Black escorts in the past . . . and this is a conversation that I’ve been told that at like national escorting meetings and stuff like that, they talk about a lot. It’s really hard for Black escorts at our clinic in particular, but in clinics in general, because you’re right on the sidewalk. The antis target new escorts regardless [of race], and they love it. If they’re male or if they’re Black, those are the two favorite things to attack: masculinity and race. It’s one of those things that you can, as much as possible, try to step in and like prevent or circumvent, but the more we get involved and even try to talk to the new escorts of color, it sometimes inflames things worse and there’s only so much you can prepare somebody for. And I’m obviously not a BIPOC individual, but I don’t know if I would wanna spend my Saturday being screamed at for four hours more than everyone else. And it’s been really frustrating because most of the people that we assist are people of color. And when we have people of color show interest in being escorts, it’s very exciting because we want escorts to look like the communities that they’re serving, but it’s such a tall order to ask from BIPOC individuals who are already asked of so much in their day-to-day life. Anybody who even tries it I’m impressed by, but . . . there’s not a lot of retention of [BIPOC] people.

Taylor felt that escorting was a way that they could “use my white privilege as a force for good,” echoing other white participants who also shared that volunteering at an abortion clinic was a way to use their privilege to help others. White escorts in this study were acutely aware that race negatively impacted clinic escorting, which deterred BIPOC escorts. White escorts had witnessed and recalled the targeted, racialized harassment Black clinic escorts were subjected to by both white and occasionally, Black antis. Antis’ use of racialized language is discussed further in chapter 8. Two Black Escorts Share Their Experiences One of the reasons Grace gave for participating in this study was the knowledge that “Black abortion clinic escorts are exceedingly rare.” When asked why there seemed to be so few Black escorts she said, I think there’s a lot of things that contribute to that. At the root of it all is racism, but it takes different forms. You know, there’s the fact that Black people are working more hours and weirder hours to make a living. And so, they’re not available when the clinic is open. There’s access to the political circles that this volunteerism comes from. You know, [for] most of us, this isn’t the only thing we do and we found it through some other political activism or organizing and

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some of it is very grassroots. We’ve got a few anarchists in the group, and a wide variety of views and perspectives, but the privilege to have those perspectives publicly also plays into it. My family knows what I do. I don’t hide it, but when they [antis] scream at you, “we’re gonna find out who you are and we’re gonna tell your family so that they know that you help murder babies” . . . [the] threat of disconnection from community is intense. Especially at this point, anybody who is Black has to be willing to walk into a circle of people that will almost certainly be almost entirely white and be comfortable there. And be comfortable that those people will protect them the same way they would protect each other if violence happens. And the racial makeup of protestors means that when Black escorts do show up—much like Black clinic workers and Black doctors—they are racially targeted. The day both me and the other Black escort were out there, [antis yelled] “Why are you letting them murder your community? You’re the racist.” And that’s happening everywhere.

John from a Southern clinic and the only Black male interviewed in this study shared his experiences dealing with racist protesters as well as racist police officers. As the sole Black male at his clinic, John noted that he was often targeted by the antis. He shared his experience of being arrested—and the lawsuit that followed—in chapter 6. In addition to being arrested, John had experienced other forms of harassment not reported by white clinic escorts: racialized slurs that attacked both his race and gender, and the coopting of social justice language to fit an antiabortion agenda. He said, One of the things that comes to mind is they [antis] have said that “Black lives only matter in Hollywood. They don’t matter here.” Last year I was going to a lot of Black Lives Matter rallies and because I’m also . . . an activist in the movement: of course, they [antis] see my newspaper articles and I have been stalked by a lot of them, which is another tactic that they use. They do stalk people. They stalk not only clinic volunteers, but they do stalk the patients. They take pictures of their [car] tags . . . and take pictures of them, which we have umbrellas out there to chill them from taking pictures and reporting them. I’ve heard them say that, you know, the reason why Black people are killed more . . . it’s because of gun violence. Which, what does that have to do with [abortion]? So, they say things, [supposedly] they mean it for love, but they want to incite violence, basically.

John shared that throughout the years, Black escorts had volunteered at his clinic but at the time of his interview in late 2021, he was currently the only Black volunteer. He said that “when things got kicked off with the BLM movement, when Trump got elected, they [antis] definitely knew [where I lived]. I’ve even been told that ‘I saw you in the newspaper’ [by antis], and that they [antis have] say [sic], you know, the old saying goes . . . you know that [dead] men don’t talk,” which John took as threat on this life. Lastly,

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John said that in addition to being race baited by white protesters, Black antis have called him “a traitor to my country and my race.” Both Grace and John had experienced similar racist slurs from the mostly white antis that surrounded their Midwest and Southern clinics. Additionally, both escorts reported that on the rare occasions when Black antis are at the clinic, race was central to the harassment they experienced. In these instances, Black escorts were specifically targeted for their race, indicating that there were additional layers of harassment that must be negotiated for this specific group of clinic volunteers. The experiences of non-white clinic escorts are an area of inquiry that is under-studied and should be centered in future research. Antis Use Racist and Sexist Language All escorts interviewed for this study reported that the antis at their clinic targeted non-white patients and escorts with racialized language. Additionally, escorts reported that antis had co-opted anti-racist language from the Black Lives Matter movement to fit their agenda. Both white and Black antis used these tactics—however, all escorts reported that the majority of antis at their clinics were white, indicating that white antis felt comfortable using race as leverage in order to attempt to dissuade Black patients from accessing abortion services. All escorts in this study noted that these attempts were overwhelmingly unsuccessful, as noted by Carroll et al. (2021). Anita recalled that there was a time where “Black unborn lives matter” was a popular sign to have. They’ve [antis] called us racist and they’ve said that we’re trying to kill Black babies and that when we approach patients . . . we only approach the Black people who are walking on the street, which is not true. I approach anybody in sweatpants. That generally is a good indicator of who would be coming in: people in pairs and people in sweatpants.

Matt, also from the same Midwest clinic as Anita, described a “vaguely racist” sign that a group of white women antis regularly carried at his clinic. The signs had “pictures of only Black babies with incredible little Afros and curly and curly hair.” This inspired the escorts at this clinic to assign a nickname to this specific group of white women antis: “vaguely racist.” Matt added that “I think they [antis] definitely believe Black people are getting most of the abortions [based on] their speech and their imagery.” Taylor from the same clinic further described these signs saying, “one of them is a caricature of like a seventies era [person] . . . what has to be a Black woman with like the exaggerated facial features and a hoop earring and a giant Afro.” Jared noted that when all of these signs were put together, the message was that “Black people [were put] in the role or child or victim,” which they felt was offensive.

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Another example of racist stereotyping demonstrated by the antis at this clinic was, according to Taylor, “the assumption . . . that Black couples who come in are not married.” While the majority of the patients at this particular clinic were Black, this stereotype according to Taylor, “absolutely also happens to folks who I should say, look Brown or Latina.” Taylor shared that the antis assumed that everyone going into the clinic was also low income saying, “the assumption is also that they are economically insecure. I have had a dude pull out a wad of cash and wave it in an anti’s face and ask, ‘do I look like I need financial help?’” Taylor said that the antis at their clinic “get real ugly, not necessarily in terms of racial slurs . . . but the base assumptions these people [antis] are working from are really offensive once you start picking into them.” They shared that “Black genocide” was another politically charged phrase yelled at their clinic. Taylor noted that this term was most often voiced by the few Black protesters at their clinic. This was a departure from other escorts in this study who reported that white antis at their clinics felt comfortable using this language toward Black patients and companions. Taylor said that these specific Black antis were “sort of framing abortion as a tool of racist institutions” along with comments about Margaret Sanger and her history with the eugenics movement in the early 1900s. Tanya felt that part of the racist language and imagery that she saw at her Southeastern clinic had “a pretty good link to white supremacy” and “the replacement theory” that she had seen become more popular among white, right-wing antis in recent years. When asked to expand on these ideas she said, Well, I did a training on that . . . it’s about the replacement theory that white people are being [out] populated by people of color because white people are seeking abortions and soon the country will be all brown. And, where are we gonna be with that? They [antis] tried to hijack the Black Lives Matter movement, or to imply that abortion was erasing [Black people] . . . ’cuz of course, Margaret Sanger, that’s the easiest thing to bring up. You know, at one point, if you Googled the number one killer of Black people in America, it would come up as Planned Parenthood because the homeschooled [antis] kids would sit home and make that link over and over again, so that it was the top link on the chart. Yeah. So . . . it’s combination of white supremacy and misogyny that is behind things and why there are women on the front is because they need to appease their male protectors, I think.

Grace, a Midwest escort and the only Black woman interviewed in this study, said that when she showed up to escort, “they [antis] make it about race really quickly.” She discussed a specific Black female anti who will step to me and try to make it about the fact that we are both Black and how could I do this? But the only time she didn’t, it was because there was a new

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[city name omitted] clinic escort who was Black that she had never seen before. And so, she took it to him instead. Especially [because] he’s a man. So, there’s like the double thing there of . . . you’re Black and you’re a man and you’re gonna let people murder these [babies].

Grace said that typically, Black antis would use the same rhetoric as white antis—saying “a lot of it is very similar to what the white protestors talk about. You know, the genocide of the Black race and, you know, Margaret Sanger was about genocide and, you know, Planned Parenthood was all about exterminating Black people and not letting them have enough numbers to be in power.” Mark, another Midwest escort, added, “I don’t think I’ve heard like racial slurs or anything like that, but there is language . . . like some of the protestors . . . will yell out something like ‘Black babies matter’ or things like that [at Black patients]. Or they’ll say something about abortion being racist or killing off their own race or something like that.” He noted that the majority of patients and protesters at his clinic were white, which was likely why he did not hear blatant racialized language as reported by other escorts in this study who volunteered at clinics located in more diverse cities. Mark also shared that he saw the antis interacting very differently with white patients versus non-white patients at his Midwest clinic. He said, There’s some things from some protestors that are directed to our patients of color that the white patients aren’t gonna hear. . . . There’s one older protestor who’s fairly regular, and we’re starting to wonder if she has some mental health issues, but like she had went [sic] off . . . not using racial slurs, but using language, about you know, a Black woman that she wouldn’t say to a white woman. We’ve got one escort—one male escort—that’s Black. I know he had come back and was saying stuff about it. And I’m a little naive. I think when it comes to . . . something that he’s gonna hear, something that’s gonna have a different impact to him than me probably. And he’s also probably gonna be more in tune with it or pick it up or it’s gonna stand out in the verbal mash that we sometimes hear, where for me, it might get mixed up with all the other words and . . . it doesn’t sink in, like it would for him. There’s definitely things that are said and directed towards patients of color that the white patients aren’t gonna hear.

Jared said that they had been called a “Nazi” by antis, “because you [escorts] just want to kill Black people.” Jan recalled antis yelling “Mommy I can’t breathe” at Black patients shortly after George Floyd was murdered in May 2020. Jan also noted that in her Southern state, connecting abortion to Black genocide had been very effective, with billboards proclaiming this all over her city. She said, “I cannot communicate enough how much money and organization is involved with these people [antis].”

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Katie shared that in pre-COVID-19 times—when patients could bring a companion to their appointment at her Southern clinic—it was common for antis to use toxic masculine messaging to harass male companions. She said that antis would regularly shout that “a real man wouldn’t let her [the patient] go in there,” “she’s [patient] going to kill your baby,” “they’re [abortion clinic staff] killing all the babies, don’t let them kill your Black baby!” Katie noted that when President Obama was in office, antis would yell, “you could be killing the next Obama!” She added, “well, these people hated Obama . . . give me a break! And then when he was out of office, it was, ‘you could be killing the next LeBron James!’” Katie felt that it was “freaking racist” to name drop an extremely wealthy Black athlete’s name—sarcastically saying, “that’s what everyone hopes for their child [to be wealthy and famous]. Not that they will be well educated.” She also recalled antis using sexist language that encouraged male companions to physically assault their female partners in order to keep them out of the clinic. “And they’ll say, ‘you need to go get your woman out of there, go drag her out of there and like, take charge of her. Don’t let her think on her own!’” She shared an incident that involved one of their regular protesters, who she described as an “old white guy in his eighties” who was a “true terrorist.” According to Katie, this anti was particularly nasty and vocal that day, focusing his attentions on a young Black male companion who became enraged at the anti’s sexist and racist language. Katie said, “I’m sure [anti name omitted] perceived [the young Black male companion] as being dangerous . . . because he was Black. And the guy you could tell, he was erupting and [anti name omitted], I think he felt threatened. And [anti name omitted] pulled a gun. We had never thought [anti name omitted] had a gun, never in my wildest [dreams].” Katie said that the escorts immediately surrounded the companion and moved him away from the gun-wielding anti and calmed him down. She said that historically, this man had always been one of the most “physically aggressive” antis at her clinic, “chasing after patients, trying to push pamphlets in their face, trying to push past us or things like that,” however, she never thought that he would threaten to shoot a companion outside an abortion clinic. Katie noted the hypocrisy of this anti, who claimed to be “pro-life.” Karey described the antis’ behavior toward non-white patients as a “bizarre form [of] very old school racism that I have only ever experienced in books and [the belief] that people of color somehow need help making decisions for themselves. You know, that they are like children in that way.” Karey discussed a specific older white woman anti who “had some interesting ideas about 9/11 and how that connected to abortion which I never asked about.” This anti was known for yelling “they just want to kill your Black baby” as Black patients entered the clinic. Karey noted that on rare occasions, a small group of indigenous antis would protest at her Midwest clinic, but these

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incidents were few and far between. She did not recall race-specific language being used in those instances. The escorts in this study, the majority of who self-identified as white, were acutely aware of the race-specific challenges BIPOC escorts at abortion clinics experienced. White escorts shared their stories of hearing white antis hurling racialized language at non-white escorts and patients, also noting that Black antis used similar language. This, they felt, created an additional level of hostility and chaos on sidewalks that were at times ready to explode with tension. White escorts in the study felt that escorting was a way to use their white privilege, believing that they were less at risk for arrest or potential violence should police get involved in altercations outside of their clinics. For the two Black escorts in this study, being targeted by antis for their race, in addition to often being the only person of color at their clinic, contributed to additional feelings of unease that white escorts did not report.

Chapter 6

Police Presence at Abortion Clinics

Police presence at abortion clinics was not a new trend; yet it is not frequently written about in academic publications. According to a 2002 study, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade “intensified the anti-abortion movement and shifted it into a national arena,” that encouraged antiabortion groups to alter the political landscape in the hopes of overturning Roe (Kenney and Reuland, 356). Kenney and Reuland, in addition to author Lauren Rankin (Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America, 2022), noted that by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the once peaceful protests that took place outside of clinics began to change. Antiabortion activists became increasingly willing to employ “extreme tactics” that “intensified conflict and violence” (356). This resulted in both pro-choice and pro-life groups engaging in a “contentious relationship” that “ensures the vitality of the opponents’ positions” (356). Kenney and Reuland posit that “antiabortion-related violence has had a profound impact on the provisions of abortions and the protests that center around them,” resulting in clinic closures, physicians no longer performing abortions, and patients being escorted into clinics whose sidewalks are often swarming with anti-choice protesters (356). In their 2002 publication, Kenney and Reuland employed a three-wave survey that was administered to 512 major city police chiefs during the latter half of 1996. 53 percent of respondents represented small jurisdictions with populations between 50,000 and 100,000, while 29 percent of survey respondents represented mid-size populations between 100,001 to 250,000. Lastly, 18 percent were represented by larger jurisdictions with populations of more than 250,000. Three hundred ninety-five agencies (77 percent) from forty-five states participated in the survey. The state of California had the most returns (n=59); thirty-four responses came from Florida and Texas, and twenty-two departments in New Jersey participated. Kenney and Reuland note that responding agencies were evenly distributed geographically with one hundred responses each from the East, South, and Western states and 81

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ninety-five agencies from the Central states. Of the participating agencies, 30 percent indicated that they did not know of any healthcare facilities in their jurisdiction that provided abortions. Kenney and Reuland stated that ten agencies declined to answer the question, “suggesting that they might be unaware of the availability of abortion in their jurisdiction” (358). Kenney and Reuland categorized incidents surrounding the abortion debate into four groups: demonstrations; nonphysical harassment; civil disobedience; and violence—noting that these categories are useful as they separate those activities that are legal and protected by the Constitution (demonstrations and nonphysical harassment) from those that are not (civil disobedience and violence) (356). Kenney and Reuland found that these terms were not consistently supported by various stakeholders such as the National Abortion Federation (NAF) that “distinguished among violence, disruptions, and clinic blockages—while Operation Rescue leaders prefer the terms ‘biblical obedience and submission’ rather than civil disobedience, and ‘suffering on the cross’ instead of harassment” (356). These authors posited that the differing definitions of ‘violence’ create challenges when trying to report incidents at abortion clinics. Kenney and Reuland provide a comprehensive list of how each incident is described in their 2002 study. Demonstrations are defined as: Peaceable protest demonstrations that involve participants picketing with signs or engaging in prayer at abortion clinics, office buildings, or churches. This often can include calling out to members of the opposing faction represented at the site, and verbal exchanges that can lead to heated debates between participants. Although these activities are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, demonstrations can also lead to minor violations of the law; such as trespassing, impeding traffic, and repeated noise violations. To control these activities, many localities regulate demonstrations with injunctions curtailing the physical boundaries of the protest and require special permits for the participants. (357)

Several participants in this study noted that antis were required to secure permits to protest on the sidewalk, and buffer or bubble zones around the clinic were often in place, but were not always enforced. Nonphysical harassment, another common tactic used by antis, was defined by Kenney and Reuland as follows: As used in this context, harassment includes letter-writing campaigns, phone campaigns, distribution of Wanted posters, informational contacts with schools and employers of abortion providers and their families, and following members of opposing factions, short of stalking. These activities are fully protected by the Constitution when the intent is to gather and disseminate information to educate others about the activities of opposing group members. Of course, threats or

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intimidation are not legally permitted. Localities also may regulate these activities with injunctions and permit requirements. (357)

In the early fall of 2022, media outlets reported that abortion providers in Utah were sent cease and desist letters penned by a group of Utah Republican lawmakers that threatened legal action, even though a judge put Utah’s abortion trigger law on hold (Houck, 2022). As shown, nonphysical harassment, such as letters and email, are still used by some antiabortion protesters. Kenney and Reuland define “civil disobedience,” giving examples of the tactics employed by anti-choice organizations. One such group is Operation Rescue. It was started in 1986 and is “one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the U.S.” whose stated goal is “to use all legal tools available to us to expose abortion abuses, demand enforcement, save innocent lives, and build an Abortion-Free America” (Who We Are). Kenney and Reuland posit that, Operation Rescue and other groups have engaged in civil disobedience to blockade abortion clinics with methods such as passive resistance (e.g., chaining protestors to cars or doors), the placement of impediments (e.g., cars) in front of clinics, and disruption of clinic activities by physically damaging the facility or contributing properties. Although these activities typically involve crimes against property, rather than against persons, the potential for violence is clear. Before the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) legislation, these activities were restricted by state and local laws forbidding trespass, resisting arrest, and vandalism—and protesters actively sought arrest on these largely misdemeanor charges. More recently, these civil disobedience tactics have been designated as federal offenses involving stiffer penalties, longer sentences, and felony sanctions for second-time offenses. (357)

Clinic escorts discussed the impact large Christian antiabortion organizations had on clinic operations in chapters 8 and 9. Lastly, Kenney and Reuland define violence as such: In this context, violent attacks against people include both threats and intimidation, as well as actual acts of arson, bombing, acid attack, assault, stalking, and murder. Often flowing from the harassment and civil disobedience efforts described earlier, these violent activities are illegal and prohibited by various state and federal statutes. For the purposes of this article, illegal activities covered under civil disobedience and violence were considered as abortion-related violence. In addition, while the behaviors defined in the categories of demonstrations and harassment were not violent, their potential to become so, and their role as a medium for promoting violence, made them a concern as abortionrelated conflict. (357)

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The National Abortion Federation released their 2021 statistics on violence and disruption against abortion providers in 2022. The report found significant increases in stalking (600 percent), blockades (450 percent), hoax devices/suspicious packages (163 percent), invasions (129 percent), and assault and battery (128 percent) compared to recent years. Additionally, study participants noted the increase in protester activity shortly after the Dobbs decision as further discussed in chapters 8, 9, and 12. Another form of harassment that Kenney and Reuland did not discuss in their 2002 study was the common practice of antis filming escorts and patients and posting these videos on religious and antiabortion social media accounts. It is fair to assume that this trend had not yet materialized in the early 2000s as social media and video platforms were still relatively obscure at the time: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter would not become widely available until several years later. This attempt at outing, according to the participants in this study, was used as a way to intimidate patients and shame them out of having an abortion, indicating that confidentiality around this form of healthcare is not ironclad. Study participants reported that antis would also regularly take pictures of patients’ license plates as another intimidation tactic. With states such as Texas encouraging citizens to inform on—and even sue—those who assist with abortion care becoming more common (Reynolds 2021), patient confidentiality is under attack. In their study, Kenney and Reuland found that ultimately, the police surveyed “appeared to underplay the significance of demonstrations that had become so routine in many communities that they had come to be seen as little more than minor annoyances that could be handled individually with subjective standards,” leaving both Pro-Choice and Pro-Life stakeholders feeling that “police responses were unpredictable at best, and negligent at worst” (367). These findings were often repeated by escorts in this study. The Feminist Majority Foundation National Clinic Violence Survey (2018) reported an increase in violence and harassment in the past four years. The survey cited a lack of police enforcement as problematic and a major contributor to clinic harassment. This survey found that almost 25 percent of clinics surveyed in 2018 experienced one or more incidents of severe violence or threats of severe violence. These included blockades of clinic entrances, stalking, facility invasions, death threats, and physical violence. The Feminist Majority Foundation National Clinic Violence Survey stated that “effective law enforcement response continues to be essential in preventing severe clinic violence and harassment” adding that “clinics rating their experience with local law enforcement as “poor” or “fair” were almost twice as likely to experience high levels of severe violence and harassment than clinics rating local law enforcement as “good” or “excellent” (2018 National ClinicViolence Survey 2).

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The Feminist Majority Foundation National Clinic Violence Survey findings support study participants' experiences with law enforcement. Participants in this study shared their interactions with local police, which were often fraught with feelings of frustration at a lack of consistency in enforcing laws, fear for non-white patients and escorts, and police showing preference to anti-choice protesters. RELATIONSHIPS WITH POLICE ARE INCONSISTENT Participants’ experiences with police varied from clinic to clinic in this study. However, several themes emerged in regard to the relationship between clinic escort volunteers and local police. The majority of participants felt that their local police were relatively useless and unwilling to enforce protester infractions for issues such as bubble or buffer zone violations and noise ordinances. Only a handful of participants felt that their police force did a fair job of enforcing laws and local ordinances and these were often tied to highsocioeconomic-status locations. Additionally, most participants complained about a lack of consistency on the part of law enforcement, saying that some officers were more willing to intervene than others. Only one participant described their police department as very helpful and willing to consistently enforce laws related to clinic entrances, harassment, protesting, and noise ordinances. Jim, an escort from the Southeast who worked inside his clinic monitoring security stated, I was on the phone with . . . the captain of operations. . . . I just had an introductory phone call with them. . . . We’ve had a very positive, strong relationship with [city name omitted] police department for a couple reasons. Number one is we’re really a very, very small municipality. So, I mean, everybody seems to know what else is going on there. The municipality also is a very . . . white, liberal . . . municipality and also the median income, it’s pretty high when it comes down to it.

He added that, The clinic’s been around in [city name omitted] for twenty years. The clinic director had been able to get involved with [city name omitted] police pretty early on and has invited [city name omitted] police to be able to do a tour. We’ve done evacuation drills with them. They’re responsive because I think we have that relationship with them. So, for example, I have the captain’s cell phone number in my phone and he said, you know, call up at any time if we have issues with . . . certain laws, like, if we’re trying to figure out clarification about sound

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levels, they’ve just said, “hey, just give us a call and we’ll come out and . . . we’ll assess the situation.”

Jim was the only escort interviewed in this study who shared that he had the personal cell phone number of the police captain in his area. This may be due to the fact that Jim was working inside the clinic as a paid employee at the time of his interview or because of the liberal political environment and highsocioeconomic-status location of the clinic. He stated, “if you take a look at the building and you take a look at Google maps, take a look at the houses around it. . . . We’re talking about houses that are gonna start at $800,000 and go up to about two mill[ion dollars].” While this relationship stands out from what other escorts reported, not all officers were as helpful and supportive as this city’s police captain. Jim shared that for the most part, the officers are pretty impartial and are able to kind of remain calm and rational about things. We have had maybe one or two officers who made it passive-aggressively clear that they didn’t wanna be there, but only passive-aggressively clear. But for the most part, the officers are . . . just very professional and are able to help us out when we have those complaints. It’s very rare that they’re called in by the antis, but it does happen at times.

Jim gave an example of a pedestrian assaulting an anti outside of his clinic. The antis called the police, who showed up, took statements, and, according to Jim, were able to find the perpetrator of the assault and charge them. Jim said, “they [police] want the peace.” He stated that he had seen how police responded at other clinics around the country first hand, and felt that his clinic had a positive and unique situation compared to other clinics where police were more likely be “aggressive” and “side with the antis.” Jim also believed that, “we do have . . . I wouldn’t say a fear, but a respect for the police by the antis. And I think that helps out that they [antis] . . . usually will comply with . . . what is legal because of that.” Jim felt that the regular antis at his clinic knew that police would enforce local ordinances, therefore, the antis generally followed these directives, which helped to keep the sidewalks outside the clinic relatively chaos free. He also noted that it was common for neighbors to call the police for noise complaints against the antis, adding that this additional layer of surveillance had made the antis mindful of the rules regulating noise levels. Escorts who had been volunteering at their clinics for many years spoke about the changes they had seen with police relationships, noting how mercurial they could be. Kathleen, a Southern escort who started at her clinic in 1988, stated, “It’s ebb and flow, depending on who’s in charge, the relationships are better or worse. They are relatively respectful. There have been

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occasions where they’ve been downright helpful, but there’s others that, you know, it’s obvious that we’re bothering them and they wish we weren’t here, but they do their job.” Veronica, who had been at her Southwest clinic for almost twenty-five years, also felt that the police only “sometimes” enforced the law; supporting statements repeated by almost every escort interviewed for this study. She stated, It depends on who we can get . . . supportive officers and then we’ve had some that weren’t. . . . We had this one gentleman named [name omitted] who is particularly obnoxious and last week I believe he was written a ticket because he kept stepping out into the street and blocking and stopping cars. And so, this police officer wrote him a ticket. Now the next one that could have pulled up there has just as big a chance that they would have just, oh, given him a warning, you know?

Veronica, like each participant in this study, shared stories suggesting there didn’t seem to be a standard for how police officers would handle law- and ordinance-breaking antis. This inconsistency led escorts to believe that police were unlikely to enforce laws and ordinances, as shown in the Kenney and Reuland (2002) study. In their findings, Kenney and Reuland discussed the issue of inconsistency in police enforcement at abortion clinics, stating that “smaller agencies were more likely to be aware of state statutes addressing threats, assaults, harassment, and physical obstruction of healthcare providers and patients” while “larger agencies showed greater awareness of statutes addressing the physical obstructions of clinic entrances” (363, 364). Kenney and Reuland noted that when examined more closely, there was “considerable variation in responses . . . suggesting that uncertainty existed” with law enforcement (364). Seventy-five percent of the 180 agencies experiencing abortion-related incidents reported that they preferred to respond to incidents using “a routine approach involving the patrol officer assigned to the area involved” and “typically a supervisor was dispatched to such scenes” (364). Furthermore, Kenney and Reuland stated that a lack of formal training may be a contributing factor to the varying responses of police at abortion clinics. The majority of agencies in their 2002 study did “not indicate that any special training had been conducted for departmental personnel, nearly 28 percent (n=50) had offered some form of roll-call training or officer briefing on the provisions of the FACE Act, state statutes, or local ordinances that regulated activities at health care facilities” (364). Additionally, thirty-six agencies had “offered in-service training or had issued general or special orders (n=32) to guide officers’ decision making” with thirteen agencies (7 percent) incorporating such information to entry-level recruit training (364). Kenney and Reuland also found that the agencies that reported the “availability of

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in-service training for officers on the provision of ordinances regulating activities at healthcare facilities were also somewhat more likely to report using ordinances against blocking sidewalks, excessive noise, and obscene or annoying phone calls” (364). For agencies that provided in-service and roll-call training, officers were more likely to make use of noise ordinances when available. Overall, trespassing and loitering statutes were “the legal measure most often in place—and the statutes agencies most regularly used— to regulate abortion conflict and violence” (364). Additionally, “prohibitions against blocking sidewalks and requirements for parade and demonstration permits were also noted for their effectiveness” (365). In sum, Kenney and Reuland found that the more training officers had, the more likely they were to enforce local ordinances and to uphold statutes of the FACE Act—a request made by the majority of escorts interviewed in this study. Race and Police Presence All of the participants in this study indicated that they were aware of how police presence could negatively impact patients at the clinic—many of whom were BIPOC. As a result, escorts rarely called the police. In addition to concerns for patient safety, most escorts did not feel that calling police would be beneficial and would, in fact, make most incidents worse. Anita from the Midwest stated that the clinic administrators made the decision whether to contact the police or not, saying It’s sort of like whether they [the abortion clinic] want to or not. And because many of our patients are people of color, we just really hesitate in calling the police. . . . If they’re not gonna be effective . . . it’s not worth putting our patients in a position where they’re going to feel triggered or uncomfortable. So, a lot of times when the police end up being called, it’s actually by the clinic itself and it’s for like a noise complaint. Because a lot of times, if the antis are really rowdy on the sidewalk. If they have like a voice amplifier of some kind . . . you’ll hear that in the clinic waiting room.

Similar to Jim’s clinic that was located in a high-socioeconomic-status neighborhood in the Southeast, Anita’s Midwest abortion clinic was located in what she referred to as a “very bougie neighborhood,” near an upscale condominium complex. Anita noted that “sometimes those residents will just get fed up. They’ll call the cops.” She shared that in the ward where her clinic was situated, the alderman was not particularly interested in or supportive of the clinic. This was in stark contrast to a neighboring clinic that housed a Planned Parenthood facility, which, according to Anita, had a very supportive alderman who had “advocated with local police in that area about . . . being

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really vigilant about enforcing things. The alderman and where our clinic is, I guess doesn’t really care all that much.” Here, Anita provided a critique on ways police presence in her city could be influenced local politicians and their personal beliefs about abortion—indicating an additional hurdle that abortion clinics must negotiate, particularly when the clinic was at odds with the personal beliefs of community elected officials. Most participants shared stories of interactions they had with local police and protesters that occasionally included patients or companions. Anita talked about a regular protester at her clinic: a twentysomething Latino man who liked to spew “toxic masculinity” statements at male companions in the hopes of instigating a physical altercation that he could record and upload to his personal YouTube channel. In one instance, Anita witnessed the anti as he verbally and loudly harassed a male companion who was walking across the street to wait for his partner in his car. This companion repeatedly told the anti to “leave me alone, you need to back off” as the anti continued to follow the companion and proceeded to yell at him through the car window. The companion told the anti that he didn’t know “if he had a gun in his car” which caused the anti to take a picture of the companion’s license plate. When the companion saw the anti at the back of his car, a verbal altercation took place which escalated when the companion punched the anti in the face. Anita noted that on this particular day, “all hell was loose . . . this [fight] was happening across the street. But then on the clinic side, like there was this whole group of evangelicals from out of town and they were just being like very, very extra.” The young male anti then called the police, who, according to Anita, “took their sweet time showing up.” Anita and another escort stayed with the companion across the street and “we were like if the police get here, we’ll stand here. We will film everything. . . . We’ll help keep you safe, essentially.” After a very “benign” interaction, the police were called across the street as “things are escalating.” Anita noted that “the antis love police. They love them. They love talking to them . . . [however] if they don’t feel that the police are sufficiently enough on their side, then they start to act negatively toward them. Like I heard an anti-choice protestor yell, ‘defund the police,’ which was not on my bingo card.” Anita was not sure exactly what was occurring across the street during the punching incident, but she noted that eventually, additional police showed up and began to arrest several antis. She stated that “it was just sort of astounding because the guy who actually assaulted someone is across the street, just hanging out, like nobody cares.” Anita, like other white escorts interviewed, posited that her race and gender likely de-escalated interactions with local police. She added, “I don’t know, maybe it’s because like the majority of us . . . in terms of the escorts are white women and because we whip out our camera phones so quickly, but

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like we don’t really have interactions with the police that are above . . . the level of mundane.” Matt, another clinic escort from the Midwest, shared that, “we don’t want to call the police. We never want to . . . and in my experience when the police show up [they] listen, they’re like ‘everybody simmer down.’ They stick around for twenty minutes, then they go. I’ve got nothing good to say about the [city name omitted] police . . . but they at least they show up. And they do it in a very even-handed manner.” Jared, who escorted at the same clinic as Matt, acknowledged that police presence might negatively impact patient experiences, which contributed to reservations about calling the police to intervene in situations. “I would say the vast majority of patients at our clinic are Black and Brown. And so . . . with kind of the understanding of police violence against non-white people we’re just hesitant to have police standing out front of the clinic.” Mary from a Midwest clinic stated that the 2020 murder of George Floyd made her “question the function of police,” further saying that she had “never really interacted with them” and likely still “had vestiges of that little child indoctrination” of police as infallible, noting that many of the escorts she volunteered with were “hugely contemptuous” of police. Georganne discussed their experiences with police at their Midwest clinic, as well as the first clinic they escorted at, which was located in another Midwest state. While they were escorting in a neighboring state, Georganne noted that the clinic relationship with the police was exceedingly hostile, likely due to the fact that the head escort was a Black male. The police were very hostile to us. They did not like us. Our head escort was a Black man. We generally just had him fall back whenever the police came, but they [police] were like, no, no . . . they made the Black man speak on behalf of it [the clinic]. And 99 percent of the time [police] sided with the antis, even when they were blatantly obstructing traffic, that kind of thing. So, in [city name omitted], it was very blatantly racist. They targeted our Black escorts. And he was used to it, but it was still upsetting to watch. And it was understood in [city name omitted] don’t call the police. They’re not gonna help you. In [city name omitted, current escort clinic location] . . . the police have been helpful. I had a situation where a patient accidentally punched me. Oh, they were swinging for an anti and I was in the way. [She] was also a Hispanic woman. So, I’m not gonna get this woman of color arrested . . . because I was in the way of her fist [she was] hitting somebody who was harassing her. . . . I’ve had to learn a lot more about how do I deal with the police when they’re called—we try not to call the police. We generally don’t . . . we don’t get the police involved. It’s usually the antis who are very trigger happy to call the police. They accost them [police] when they come, which is very strange, but they will usually call the police.

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Georganne shared a rare example of clinic staff calling the police when a male companion accosted his girlfriend in the lobby of the clinic. The clinic staff kicked him out, and the escorts then formed a human barricade in front of the clinic door, which Georganne described as a “dangerous situation for us [escorts].” The man yelled at the escorts that he was going to come back and kill all of them. Georganne stated, “So that was the only time where we called the police and I’ve been like, yeah, okay. He said, he’s gonna go get his gun. That’s an okay time to call the police.” The escorts in this study were particularly aware and cautious of police presence at their clinics, indicating an understanding that police presence many negatively impact those who are seeking abortion care, particularly for non-white patients. Many escorts felt that their white privilege protected them from police violence, with one escort noting that she feels safe at her clinic despite being outnumbered by protesters—something she attributed to her “weird sense of white woman entitlement.” Race and safety are further discussed in chapter 10. Escorts Foster Good Relationships with Local Police Many escorts shared that they felt it was important to foster a positive relationship with local police, with several escorts noting that they respected the challenging job police have to do. Some escorts shared that while they didn’t feel that local police were especially helpful in enforcing laws and ordinances at their clinics, they still made efforts to cultivate constructive relationships with city officers. Angela from a Southern clinic stated that while she couldn’t speak for how the clinic felt about local police, she said that when called, police did show up. She said, “you know, we don’t fight [them] because they’re just doing their job.” Angela noted that the antis at her clinic would call the police for any perceived infraction, sharing that the police were once called because of a T-shirt she was wearing that an anti found “offensive.” In another instance, an anti called the police to complain about the clinic watering the grass seed that had recently been put down on the front lawn near the sidewalk. Angela shared, They [antis] tried to have me arrested for a T-shirt that I had on. They tried to have us arrested because we were watering the grass and we were not spraying the sidewalk, but we actually purposely had made sure the water was not spraying [the sidewalk]. We had just put . . . out new grass seed. So, we needed to water. And we had purposely made sure . . . the water was not hitting the sidewalk . . . the water was hitting the ground and then splashing onto the sidewalk and that made them angry. And they called the police . . . It was this whole thing. However we feel about it [police showing up to the clinic] . . . [I have] to say, we have a decent relationship with the police.

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Angela felt that it was important to have a good relationship with the local police department and that the escorts at her clinic all worked to ensure this, saying, “we don’t be hostile with them. You know what I mean? ’Cause we may really need them one day.” Mark, a Midwest clinic escort spoke about the importance of keeping favorable relationships with local police, stating that while on the sidewalk, he was representing the clinic and he would not want to do anything that would jeopardize the relationship that existed between the clinic and police. While Mark felt that local police did a fairly good job of remaining neutral, he did say that he found it frustrating that the antis outside his clinic seemed to get away with behavior that would be unacceptable outside any other locally owned business or medical facility. This statement was one that was frequently made by other participants in this study: the frustration that abortion was treated differently than other forms of healthcare, and the disruptive behavior the antis were able to “get away with” outside of abortion clinics. These frustrations highlight the complicated positioning of abortion in the United States and echo Kenney and Reuland (2002) who found that police agencies “differed in their awareness of state and local provisions for abortion-related conflict” (363). Mark said, I’ll say that the clinic has a very good relationship with the [city name omitted] PD and I think they work hard to maintain that. I know the escorts want to maintain that. I know I wanna maintain a good relationship with the [city name omitted] PD. I think they do a good job in town. . . . Police forces over the last couple years . . . [have] had some rough times . . . but the old [city name omitted] PD, I think does a pretty good job. They do stay really neutral. It does get frustrating sometimes because there’s definitely things that I think happen on the sidewalk where if it was going on a block over, or a couple blocks away in front of some other business or in some other locations or at the local shopping mall or something like that, I don’t think would fly.

Mark noted that the clinic had cameras set up on the outside of the clinic and that police would review this footage when they were called. Mark recalled a 2016 incident in which a protester was charged with blocking access to the clinic—which he said was a rare occurrence. Katie said that compared to other clinics in the South, the police that came to her clinic were “as helpful as they can be,” further sharing that “we’re [the clinic and escorts] very lucky with the relationship that we have with them.” Laura shared an incident where she was pushed by an anti. While she felt this specific incident was mishandled by police, overall, she felt that the police at her Midwest clinic were helpful. Laura attributed this positive relationship to the other volunteer work she did in her city that had put her on committees

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with the chief of police. “I think for me overall, I’ve had good interactions with them and I’ve had interactions with some of the downtown police officers . . . and I have a good working relationship with them. And I also have a good working relationship with the chief of police while I’m on the [committee name omitted].” Laws Are (Sometimes) Enforced Some escorts discussed the police response bias that they had witnessed while on the sidewalks. This favoritism showed up in various ways: such as overhearing comments made by the police, officers openly stating that the escorts likely exaggerated offenses perpetrated by the antis; police not speaking with clinic staff or volunteers about incidents; police not regularly and consistently enforcing local ordinances and laws; and lastly, police officers engaging in prayer sessions with antis while on duty. Paulette from the East Coast felt that the police response to antis breaking local ordinances depended on two factors: which officers showed up, and who called them. These observations were supported by many of the participants who had been escorting at their clinic for years, regardless of location. Paulette shared that on the rare occasions when escorts did call the police, the police come sometimes three or four cruisers at a time. We don’t like to call ’em because I’ve heard them say to each other, “we’ve [the escorts] got a vested interest.” Some of them have said they are pro-choice, some of them have said they don’t like abortion. And we always say, “that’s fine. And I bet you never have to have one. So, you’re pretty lucky.” So, it’s kind of a mixed bag. They will of course enforce law, but they don’t like to enforce city code. . . . You’re not supposed to lean signs on the parking meters or the bus stop sign or whatever, but they don’t care about those things. What they do is iffy. So, we don’t call unless we absolutely need to. The protestors sometimes call [the police on] us, [sometimes they] call the police on themselves.

Paulette shared a particularly funny story of an anti who had set up an encampment on the sidewalk in front of the clinic that included a table for his “display items, dog food bowls, [and] a dog bed.” When someone at the clinic told him he wasn’t allowed to do this, he called the police department to complain about being told he couldn’t block the sidewalk. In turn, the police showed up and told him to take everything down. Paulette added, “they’re [antis] not smart and [when] we just leave them to their own devices . . . they dig their own holes.” Julia, a participant who regularly escorted at two separate Midwest abortion clinics in two different states, including a Planned Parenthood health

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center and an indie clinic, commented on the differences in police response at these locations. She stated that police reaction was very individualized . . . there was a situation at Planned Parenthood in [city and state omitted], where the police were called by the protestors and the first officer who came was very much supportive of the protestors. You could just . . . tell from demeanor, from the nature of the interactions with them, versus the interactions with the escorts. [The] second responding officers in that same situation . . . seemed to be very much more open to really understanding what the situation was instead of coming in there, having already decided whose side he was on.

Julia further noted that the response time at the Planned Parenthood clinic was much faster than that at the independent clinic, despite being established in the community for much longer than the Planned Parenthood location. Julia stated that the police let the Planned Parenthood administration know that officers “were always kind of keeping an eye out on the clinic because they’ve known that it’s been the source of some problems . . . the interactions that happen there. So, they tend to keep an eye on it as they’re doing their patrols or they increase drive-bys in that area more.” The potential difference in policing at independent clinics versus Planned Parenthood locations is an area that requires more inquiry. Grace shared that her Midwest clinic had received enough credible threats that the FBI contacted the clinic administration to let them know what was going on. She said, “it [the threat] was enough that like the clinic heard about it from their FBI contact and all that stuff. And the police actually did show up and somebody actually almost got a ticket. Almost.” Despite this threat, Grace stated that local police rarely got involved and were often intimidated into leaving the clinic by protesters. [The almost ticket incident was] “better than what usually happens, which is they [police] sit in their cars and sometimes it looks like maybe they’re recording the protestors . . . but as soon as the protestors try to engage them, they drive away.” Leslie felt that the police were biased and needed to do a better job of consistently enforcing the law at her Southern clinic. She said, “I’ve also seen the police come and the protesters go over and lean in the window and chat for a little bit, and then they pray together and I was like, oh jeez. And I’ve also seen the police come and be completely professional, you know? So, I just think in general, it’s a dicey move to call the police unless you really have to. And I wouldn’t hesitate if there was violence or some kind of real escalation going on. I’d probably run first and call later.” Sarah, who had been escorting at her Southern clinic for more than ten years, commented on the police officers she had seen come and go. “You know, at times . . . we’ve had a couple

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of people in charge of the permits . . . police officers that we did have a decent relationship with. And I mean, they did their job. We maybe didn’t always like their decisions, but they did their job, but then we got some that you can just tell they’re biased and they, you know . . . they don’t do anything.” Jared expressed their frustration with the majority of police not enforcing the “bubble” zone around their Midwest clinic. They noted one officer in particular: “a sergeant who does [enforce the bubble zone] . . . the first time I saw him show up the antis started targeting him.” Jared felt that the only reason this particular officer enforced the bubble zone law was because the antis “made him mad enough that he decided that he was going to do this because he often shows up alone, which is also not a great precedent in terms of like selectively deciding which laws you’re going to enforce based on someone making you angry.” Jared also said that because the majority of officers would “not enforce the rules . . . the antis will get worse because they feel like, ‘ah, we’re not going to be punished’” and this created even more chaos on the sidewalks outside of the clinic. John shared that one of the police officers that often responds to incidents at his Southern clinic goes to the same church where one of the regular antis preaches. This in turn, caused skepticism among the escorts that this particular officer would enforce the law, which in turn, contributed to a distrust of local police. Two escorts, Gabby from the Midwest and Caroline from the Southwest, shared that on the rare occasions when they had called the police and female officers showed up, their experiences with them were more positive as compared to male officers. Gabby said, “we had a [female] beat cop for many years . . . who was very progressive and very involved in different social justice issues. I really, really liked her . . . and I actually did a women’s leadership program with her a couple years ago. She’s no longer the beat cop.” Caroline stated that There are a couple women [officers] that are good, but . . . the problem is the protestors know how to argue with the police. They know how to . . . push the envelope. They know how, and then they’ll sit there and say, if they don’t like what the police is [sic] saying [the antis will say] . . . “let me speak to your supervisor.” So, then the supervisor has to come out and usually the supervisor is a male. So, then he comes out and says, “I’ll give him a warning,” but that’s it, you know? So, you’re like, a warning? Doesn’t do it. They’ve had a million warnings. . . . Every once in a while, we get some relief. . . . The police that are in the area where Planned Parenthood is, they’re fabulous. So, it, it all depends. And there’s a female sergeant [at that location] and she’ll go over there and say, “this is the way it is guys. You’re limited to the sidewalk” . . . [and] they argue with her, “Why can’t we be in the street? We can be in the street, you know?” And she’s going, “The law says you can’t be in the street.”

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Caroline felt that this female sergeant handled the protesters at the Planned Parenthood in a consistent and fair manner, which helped to keep the disorder on the sidewalks to a minimum. “So, she [the sergeant] sits here and tells ’em the way it is. And, so we don’t have any problems with [antis] pushing the envelope at Planned Parenthood . . . but they push really hard at [independent clinic name omitted].” Caroline and Gabby discussed two important aspects of police relationships at abortion clinics that should be explored further: the potential difference in female police officers’ response to escorts and antis at abortion clinics, and differences in police interactions at independently owned clinics versus Planned Parenthood establishments. Lawsuits Deteriorate Relationships with Police Consistent with the findings of the Feminist Majority Foundation’s 2018 National Clinic Violence Survey, the clinics in this study that experienced the most aggressive protesters reported a “poor” or “fair” relationship with police. Three clinics in this study had escorts who stated that their relationships with police were particularly poor. Two escorts shared stories of anti-choice organizations filing lawsuits against cities that had tried to enforce buffer or bubble zones. This was often met with officials stating that these ordinances would not be enforced as a way to avoid further legal action that could be costly and time consuming. As a result, escorts believed that these lawsuits helped to deteriorate the relationship between their clinics and police, as further discussed below. All three clinics who reported “poor” or “fair” relationships with local police were located in the Southern and Southeastern regions of the United States. All three states had Planned Parenthood establishments, some of which offered abortion services. Unsurprisingly, these states had some of the most restrictive abortion policies in the country before Roe was overturned. Jan from a Southern clinic stated that “fundamentalists have sort of sued the city into submission,” further stating that a lawsuit was brought after a “banging-ass buffer zone law” was put into place at her clinic. According to Jan, the buffer zone included a ban on amplified sound and a bubble zone that required antis to stay fifteen feet from the clinic’s entrance. Jan said that she was very pleased with these stipulations and felt that if enforced, would help with patient access and safety. Unfortunately, shortly after this buffer zone was put into place, a well-known antiabortion activist from out of state filed a lawsuit stating that this buffer zone “chilled his free speech rights.” Jan stated “and that suit had standing enough. There was another suit too, filed by the locals.” Jan noted that the buffer zone was drafted in order to protect the neighborhood that houses the clinic, not the abortion clinic itself—although this would have helped with the pandemonium on the sidewalks outside of

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her clinic. At the time of her interview, there had not been a ruling on this case. However, Jan stated that the buffer zone had not been enforced and she was told by local police that the clinic “were [sic] an island on your own.” Jan shared that when escorts at other clinics in the country talk about buffer or bubble zones outside of their clinic as a remedy for harassment by antis, she often responded by saying, “it ain’t nothing but words on paper, unless you have enforcement.” As stated by Jan, this Southern clinic could not rely on local police officers to assist them. She added, “you cannot count on any sort of . . . police help should an emergency arise. They’re not coming.” Tanya from a Southeastern state felt that the relationship her clinic had with police was “bad.” She shared, It’s really bad. It’s bad . . . the clinic owner who is married to the doctor . . . when she calls the police, they say, “eh,” because they won’t enforce noise ordinances, which can work both ways. They come and they say, “blah, blah, blah, blah, both sides, blah, blah, blah” and we keep trying to say, this is not both sides. We are not counter-demonstrators. We are hospitality people invited by the clinic to make the experience more comfortable for the patient. We are not counter-demonstrators. So, and of course . . . It’s kind of an evangelical part of the country. So, all the protestors have to do is in invoke Jesus and the cops all back off . . . and a lot of them agree with them anyway. So yeah, no, we do not have a great relationship with the police.

Tanya stated that the city where her clinic was located had also experienced several lawsuits that had made police officers apprehensive about stepping in to enforce laws and ordinances. Tanya discussed one of the main antis at her clinic—an abortion abolitionist who had brought suits against both the clinic and the city. She noted that this specific protester had “AHA [Abolish Human Abortion organization] stickers on her car for the abolitionists, meaning the people that would like to see us [escorts] dead.” Tanya said, The city of [city name omitted] has an attorney that is terrified of lawsuits and our protestors . . . are very well linked up with the Thomas More Society, which would love to do nothing more than . . . pursuing . . . civil suits against both the clinic . . . and there’s also a civil suit against the clinic for sheltering us and some of the defenders by name.

Antis at this clinic found that filing lawsuits had been an extremely effective way to fight any sort of ordinance that would limit protester activity. Additionally, lawsuits that included clinic escorts by name would likely impact volunteerism going forward. Ruth from the Southeast shared that once a “safety zone” was established and enforced at her clinic, relationships with city police improved. However,

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Ruth noted that their local police “never answered calls” before the safety zone was established. She said it was common practice for police to make the hostile situation with protesters worse, saying, if the clinic called the police, they would talk to the anti first, and not even bother to follow up with the clinic that called them . . . there’s been some times where the clinic has called them. They’ve shown up, not followed up with the clinic, instead . . . got distracted by an unhoused person and instead just bullied them into moving when they were completely minding their own business.

At the time of her interview, Ruth noted that there was a specific liaison assigned to the clinic who “coordinates with the clinic for any violations with the safety zone,” adding that this person had been “been one of our best allies . . . but he’s just one person.” Ruth posited, “what we’ve seen happen is that every so often they’ll rotate assignments and then another liaison will come in and they won’t be as friendly. So, it’s really determined on who the liaison is and how good of a relationship they have with the clinic . . . but it’s only a matter of time until he’s reassigned, is my cynical thinking about it.” Here Ruth is highlighting the mercurial relationships clinic staff and volunteers have with local police and the resultant impact on what goes on outside the abortion clinic. Several participants in this study discussed police rotating assignments, with several noting that when effective police officers were reassigned, antis quickly went back to disregarding laws and ordinances related to noise, blocking clinic doors, sign placement, and how close they got to patients. Police Are a Last Resort Every escort in this study stated that they were hesitant to call the police and rarely do so. This was for several reasons including the belief that police could escalate mundane situations into headline-making events; the discomfort it could cause their BIPOC patients; and ultimately, that police would rarely enforce FACE laws, bubble and buffer zones, and other city ordinances, as discussed earlier in this chapter. Grace from a Midwest clinic stated that the majority of escorts at her clinic identified as police abolitionists, “so we’re generally not going to call the cops. . . . We let the clinic manager know what is happening and that’s her choice whether or not to call the police and bring that presence to the clinic. It’s not something we’re likely to do unless we’re really violently engaged.” Thankfully, these incidents were rare—but this may change as abortion restrictions become more commonplace throughout the United States, as many participants speculated. Taylor discussed how they weighed the pros and cons of calling the police, saying,

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If it gets to the point where we have to call them. . . . I would like for them to actually be a resource, I do not want us to [call them] every single time something happens . . . every single time something happens, I hate having to run the calculation of, is it worth rolling the dice? Are we gonna get one of the cops that, you know, is at least sympathetic or neutral or are we gonna get one of the ones who’s gonna be a jerk? I hate having to add that calculation on top of . . . how bad is this? Are my people [fellow escorts] in danger?

Leslie felt strongly that police should only be called in the direst of circumstances. For her, the clinic’s policy of nonengagement with antis also included not calling the police. She shared, I feel like the police are not much help. They certainly come when we call them, which is more than other clinics can say. And there are a lot of clinics where you’re just totally on your own, no matter what happens. I personally feel like that whole policy of non-interaction and for me, the deeper values of nonviolence, do not include asking the police for help, unless it’s really, really necessary. I feel like it often escalates the situation instead of de-escalates. And what we’re there for is to de-escalate. I saw a beautiful thing where one of the women on the porch of the clinic was yelling at the protestors. And one of my co-escorts said, “whoa, I really like your necklace. Can I see it?” And kind of just broke the chain of the negative interaction. That was a really a powerful piece of de-escalation that I think is far more valuable than calling police. I think that when police get called, it escalates the situation and it really goes against [the policy of] don’t interact with the protesters, don’t feed it, and don’t interact. It doesn’t mean to me just simply don’t talk to them. It’s zero energy to you [anti] . . . all of my energy is for this woman [patient].

Leslie’s concerns about police presence and escalation at her Southern clinic were repeated among escorts in this study. Participants shared stories of trying to calm patients and companions outside of clinics, warning that the antis would call the police for any perceived infraction. Additionally, escorts shared how much thought was put into police presence at the clinic—indicating an acute awareness of patient needs and comfort. Antis Try to Get Escorts Arrested Another common tactic of antis outside abortion clinics, according to study participants, was attempting to have escorts arrested, often for incidents that could be considered accidents such as tripping while walking in crowded, disorganized public spaces. Additionally, escorts reported incidents of antis calling police for the most ridiculous occurrences. This trend was in opposition to study participants who stated that calling the police should always be a last resort. This contrast of escorts who avoided calling the police and antis

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who frequently called the police added to the fraught environment that has become the norm outside of abortion clinics. Mary from a Midwest clinic recalled one of their regular antis calling the police after he fell to the ground, yelling that he had been pushed over by one of the escorts. This particular anti who “loves to call the cops,” has adopted the tactic of walking backward in front of patients who are trying to enter the clinic. In this case, Pastor [name omitted] tripped over one of the escorts and “immediately whipped out his phone and summoned the police to arrest her for assault.” According to Mary, the police showed up, “trooped inside and went up the stairs and viewed the [surveillance] video and came back . . . their response was the delightful, ‘the interaction was not as described.’” Similarly, Katie, an escort at a Southern clinic, discussed a specific anti who liked to call the police often; saying that this particular woman regularly felt that “somebody’s infringing on her rights somehow” at the clinic. While many of these incidents were labeled as “ridiculous” and “frivolous” by study participants, some escorts had firsthand experience of how litigious antis could get when backed by local law enforcement. John, a bisexual veteran from the South and the only Black male interviewed in this study, had a particularly complex relationship with local police. He shared that, “I would say from being out there, the police, they don’t do nothing. There is a very high lack of support for reproductive justice in [city name omitted].” John shared that he had been assaulted by two antis in 2017 while walking around the clinic to pick up trash before a shift. According to John, two white antis— a husband-and-wife duo—pulled up next to him in their car, rolled down the window and proceeded to verbally harass him about his work at the clinic. After this encounter, the antis drove away but continued to verbally harass John at the clinic over the following months. John stated that the antis would yell at him, saying that he’s “not a real man,” that he was “going to hell,” that he wasn’t a “real Black man,” in addition to calling him a “murderer,” “monkey,” and “slave.” Strangely, these two antis also took to calling John “Rick James;” a nickname that both amused and confused him. John’s response was to “thank them for my legendary status.” He recalled an incident when another anti “slipped up and . . . did say the “N-word.” Several months later, John arrived at the clinic in the morning and noticed that the antis were particularly amped up and unusually aggressive and vocal. As he walked around the clinic, he saw a woman filming him and the patients that were parking at the clinic. As noted in chapter 4, filming and photographing patients and escorts has been a common harassment tactic of antiabortion protesters for decades (Ellis 2020; Rankin 2022). John noted that as he got closer to this anti, she started to verbally harass him—saying that she was going to post the video on Facebook. As John approached her, he told her not to film the patients and he opened the umbrella he was carrying to block

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her when her husband came charging at him “like a linebacker,” yelling that John needed to “stay the hell away” from his wife. After a brief altercation that involved John’s personal property being destroyed, both parties called the police and one officer suggested that John immediately file a complaint at the precinct. John and another escort who witnessed the incident filed their reports later that day. Several weeks later, John was back at the clinic when the police were called about a noise complaint. One officer asked John for his identification—which he felt was very odd, but he complied. Ten minutes later, the officer came back and arrested John for harassment in the third degree. He was strip-searched and made to stay in jail for twelve hours and was told that the husband and wife antis were pressing charges against him. John later found out from an officer that there was no reason that he had to sit in jail for twelve hours when their policy for this type of charge is a maximum of six hours. John speculated that the antis likely had a friend at the police department who was willing to violate the law to keep him in jail for as long as possible. John and another Black escort at the clinic were later named in a $125,000 lawsuit against the clinic that was later dismissed. John noted that the anti’s attorney attempted to claim that John’s time in the military had made him mentally unstable, which was why he so “violently” attacked the antis. John stated that his incident did not scare him enough to stop escorting, but it did cement how litigious the antis at his clinic were. This incident also cost John considerable time and money, and he indicated that he did have some level of PTSD from this dispute. Escorts were aware that they could become involved in lawsuits should incidents with the antis outside their clinic escalate. While this possibility made most escorts uncomfortable, it was not enough to keep them from volunteering at the time of their interviews. Community Support Several escorts shared that they felt supported by the people who lived and worked near their clinics, despite the often-contentious relationship that existed between clinics and local police. Nancy from a Midwest clinic said that it was common for neighbors to thank the escorts for their volunteerism, occasionally bringing them gift cards or hot coffee on particularly cold days. Neighbors, knowing that their complaints were often acted upon, also showed support by calling the police on antis for infractions such as blocking sidewalks and noise complaints. Most escorts felt that the police were more likely to take calls from neighbors more seriously and act on violations of city ordinances when neighbors complained. Nancy stated, “Oftentimes they’re [neighbors] just walking by. They’ll thank us for being out there.

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Neighbors have called the police on the protesters at times because when we call, they either don’t show up or they’re not helpful.” Similar to Jim’s Southeast clinic, Nancy explained that her Midwest clinic was located in a higher-socioeconomic-status neighborhood with many upscale restaurants and homes. These incidents indicate that when abortion clinics were located in or near higher-socioeconomic-status areas, police were more likely to enforce city ordinances. Paulette, an escort from the East Coast, explained that the clinic she volunteered at was, like many clinics in this study, located in a downtown area that was surrounded by small, locally owned businesses. She felt that when business owners called to complain about antis making too much noise or blocking sidewalks, police were more likely to respond to their concerns than those of the escorts. She said, “when the local businesses call for crowds and noise, they’re more responsive. And it depends on the officers who respond.” Paulette’s clinic was located directly across the street from a popular children’s bookstore and many of the evangelical antis liked to set up “gory pictures,”—commonly referred to by escorts as “abortion porn”—on the sidewalk where children could see them. Paulette noted that the escorts regularly “try to just also wander over and stand in front of them [the signs] so that the kids aren’t traumatized looking at these images.” She noted that her community was very supportive of the clinic, recalling a “really bad day” when the antis were particularly “loud and vicious,” prompting the owner of another independent bookstore near the clinic to make a very public $3,000 donation to the health center. This infuriated the antis, especially when the business owner indicated that he made this donation because of how disruptive they were to his community. Paulette shared that the owners of the coffee shop next door to the clinic regularly invited the escorts in for free coffee saying, “anytime, come in. It’s on us. And I mean, even though they suffer with the protestors out there, they really know the work . . . of the health center is so well regarded in the community.” Paulette discussed how much the support of her community meant to her and her fellow escorts saying, we appreciate it. We appreciate it so much. And we as escorts very often say, okay, let’s as a group after escorting, let’s go over here and have lunch together. And they always say, “it’s on the house.” We say “no, no, you’re a local business. And we support you. Like you support us.” Just the emotional support is worth everything to us, you know? Even people . . . will jump out of their cars and ask, “can we take a picture with you?” and ‘you guys are great’ and it’s . . . really is rewarding. And meanwhile, the other people [antis] are getting car honks and [middle] fingers.

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Not all participants in this study enjoyed support from their local communities. However, escorts that did report this community support were more likely to feel that the police in their area enforced laws and ordinances. Solutions Kenney and Reuland (2002) provided tangible solutions to ways that the relationship between clinic staff, escort volunteers, and anti-choice protesters can be improved, many of which were echoed by the participants in this study. Kenney and Reuland noted that the majority of the interactions between police, anti-choice protesters, and clinic escorts occurred during regular demonstrations, stating that, “consistent and impartial procedures were especially important if the police were to win the trust of the advocates involved” (367). The lack of trust that escorts had for their local police was evident when participants overwhelmingly stated that calling the police was considered a last resort. Additionally, the vast majority of participants did not feel that police would enforce infractions such as blocking sidewalks and noise ordinances. Kenney and Reuland further stated that in order to be effective, police responses to abortion-related conflicts needed to address a range of activities that included verbal exchanges, placards, and signs (367). Kenney and Reuland found that advocates for both sides routinely came into contact with each other and admitted to saying inflammatory things; with pro-life advocates attributing these verbal exchanges to the “need to dissuade patients from having an abortion and persuade clinic staff to change careers” (367). Pro-choice advocates attributed these verbal exchanges to the frustration of living and working in an environment made hostile by antiabortion protesters. As clinic escorting has become more visible, necessary, and organized at clinics around the United States, the majority of the participants in this study noted that they made an effort to not engage with antis. This was often a requirement for volunteerism at clinics—indicating that attitudes about engaging with antis may have shifted since Kenney and Reuland’s 2002 study. As noted in chapter 3, many participants stated that their clinic practiced strict nonengagement with antis: meaning that in almost all circumstances, escorts were not permitted to engage with protesters in any way. Clinics that had both escorts and defenders or clinics that practiced engagement with protesters regularly verbally interacted with antis, as was discussed in chapter 3. In regard to safety concerns, Kenney and Reuland posited that although seriously violent acts such as arson, bombings, and shootings were less prevalent than other forms of conflict and violence, these remained a concern for both police and the pro-choice community, stating that “the potential for violence shaped reactions to even more routine events while danger—real and perceived—could take a heavy toll on clinic employees who might

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begin to feel that they live their lives under siege” (367). Despite the uptick in abortion-related state restrictions and the increased aggressiveness in protester rhetoric particularly during the Trump administration, the vast majority of the participants in this study did not fear for their safety and few took any safety precautions, which is further discussed in chapter 10. In sum, Kenney and Reuland argued that the unpredictable nature of abortion-related violence made it difficult for police to prevent these incidents and that “police departments that maintained regular contact with advocates and kept participants apprised of security tactics were the most able to allay stakeholders’ fears” and were more likely to have “established networks in the community that alerted them to events or people prone to violent acts” (367). As discussed in this chapter, the relationship between abortion clinics and police had room for improvement: the most pressing issue was regularly enforcing laws and city ordinances in order to keep the sidewalks outside of clinics as conflict free as possible.

Chapter 7

Roe v. Wade Overturning Roe?

Interviews for this study took place in the late fall of 2021 and into the spring and summer of 2022, with some participants providing brief updates into the winter of 2023. The topic of the upcoming Supreme Court case of Dobbs v. Jackson and the implications this would have on clinic operations was a topic of great concern for participants, particularly for those whose interviews occured before June 2022. All participants felt that this ruling would negatively impact abortion care for patients around the country, particularly for those in Midwest and Southern states that already had numerous abortion restrictions and trigger laws in place. The bulk of the interviews for this study were completed before Politico leaked a copy of the first draft of the majority opinion penned by Justice Alito saying, “we hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled” (Gerstein and Ward 2022) in early May 2022. ROE WILL BE OVERTURNED Most participants in this study anticipated that Roe would be overturned which would lead to trigger laws immediately going into effect in Republicancontrolled states. A May 2022 New York Times article by Jesus Jiménez stated that “thirteen states across the country have signaled their readiness to ban abortion by passing so-called trigger laws, which would effectively ban abortions almost immediately after a decision from the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade” (n.p.). Escorts stated that the Dobbs ruling, paired with state trigger laws would force abortion clinics in some states to abruptly terminate services and likely close, leaving desperate patients without care. When the Dobbs opinion was announced, several indie clinics in this study were forced to close immediately, as predicted by study participants. 105

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Clinic escorts were not at all surprised that Roe may be overturned in 2022. Additionally, many participants stated that they had been waiting for something like this to happen, even before the Politico story came out in early May of 2022. Ruth, a Southeast escort said that It’s [Roe] absolutely going to fall . . . only 32 percent of people believe that Roe is going to fall in the summer and that scares the shit out of me. I think best case scenario, which is bleak . . . is that they [Supreme Court] determine a new precedent for viability, which will probably be fifteen weeks. ’Cuz that’s what they’re arguing. I am of the belief that with our majority, with our state legislatures, this was all kind of orchestrated together. I don’t think it’s just like two separate agendas happening. I absolutely believe they’re going to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Jim from the Southeast stated, the protections from Roe are gonna be overturned. I think there’s a lot of people who don’t understand that this is imminent, that this is gonna happen. And then in certain places in the United States . . . abortion is just not going to be able to happen legally. So yes, Roe is gonna go down. And when that happens, I think that we need to make sure that we have that availability.

As patients are increasingly forced to travel out of state to receive care, some states have attempted to enact laws that would criminalize traveling across state lines for abortion services. Caroline, from a Southwest clinic, was deeply distressed to learn that Missouri was attempting to pass a law that would make it illegal for patients to travel out of state to have an abortion. “One of the laws that they’re trying to push in Missouri is you cannot leave the state to get an abortion. One of our bookstores, our local bookstores here in [city name omitted] put an ad out that said, ‘Don’t make us move the Handmaid’s Tale out of the fiction area.’” Restricting patients’ out-of-state travel was a concern held by most of the participants in this study and rightfully so as several states have put forth bills to make this a reality in 2023. Caroline believed that these extreme abortion bans and restrictions created the feeling that “there’s some sort of race to see who can just ban abortion in all cases first instead of precedence. That’s what it feels like right now.” Caroline specifically cited the Texas bans that were quickly followed by Kentucky and Oklahoma as examples of “lawmakers racing to abolish abortion in their states as quickly as possible.” Veronica from the Southwest had been escorting at her clinic for close to twenty-five years and said, You know, I’ve never been so worried as right now. My biggest worry is that they’re going to go to basically giving it as a [state] option and then [state name

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omitted] got—as they call it, the Trigger Law—to immediately become illegal. And that’s why we’re so worried . . . the main folks on the escorting [social media page] we’ve already talked . . . when that happens, we’ll just start putting together a way to transport women to where they need to go to have it safely taken care of. . . . In all this time, I’ve never been so worried as I am right now.

Grace from the Midwest discussed the decades of planning that the Republican party and other antiabortion organizations had put into attempting to make the United States an abortion-free country, saying They [antis and Republicans] started with a group of people looking for political power, looking to maintain political power and they looked out and they saw the future and they said we need the thing that’s gonna make everybody vote for us, even when everything else we do is horrible to them. And they found the thing. And the thing is Roe. And they organized an entire fundraising mechanism and they turned out pipelines to lawyers and judges and politicians and they bided their time. Standard Democrats get so winded, they win and then it’s hard. And then they’re like, “no.” And then they stop working for a while and then it gets really bad for a minute. And they’re like, “oh no!” And we’re [abortion activists] like, but we’ve been here this whole time telling you this is bad and that this has been bad and that it’s gonna get worse and that you should still be here working with us to deal with this right now, before it becomes this arbitrary line in the sand that you think you’ve drawn.

Grace, like many other participants in this study who identified as a Democrat, was disappointed in the lack of leadership and action from party leaders when it came to protecting abortion access. For Grace, the best-case scenario in Dobbs would be “them [Supreme Court] capping it [abortion] at fifteen weeks and leaving the rest of it the way it is for individual states. I can see ’em getting the whole thing. I can’t see ’em doing nothing.” She further added that for antiabortion activists and organizations, Dobbs was “literally the moment these people trained for, it’s the reason they went into law. It’s the reason they took the clerkships they did and took the jobs they did, and ran with the people they did just to get to this moment.” As a self-proclaimed “pessimistic person,” Grace felt that abortion restrictions had come too far and that at this point, there were no good options available. I would much rather prepare for the work and then be surprised by the possibilities that still exist, than assume that this one election will stop something from happening. And we’ll be fine to still not really have access another day. There is no winning, even if by some really seemingly unlikely chance they’ve pushed back everything that’s come in front of them and they leave the state of abortion [as is] in this country . . . exactly as it is today . . . [there] is virtually no abortion access in Texas.

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Jan from a Southern clinic felt that Roe had already been decided, saying, “It’s too late. That work should have already been done and we did not do it. So, we are now at the whim of whatever they [Supreme Court] decide to come back with. And a friend of mine pointed out to me yesterday that I was talking to . . . these people are looking for entry for 14th Amendment (guaranteeing all U.S. citizens equal protection of the laws) protections for a fetus.”1 For Jan, overturning Roe would be the starting point for eventually granting citizenship to fetuses, thereby further criminalizing abortion. She added, “That’s the goal. And there’s a fifty-state strategy. . . . Do you think they’re [antiabortion activists] going to let Illinois sit there and kill babies? No, the hell they aren’t.” Jan also felt that states with a lone abortion clinic and numerous abortion restrictions were indicative of a post-Roe society. “And the reason I say that is looking over what we have right now and how bad it is. I mean, we are post-Roe. Now we [state name omitted] got one ass clinic. Texas has got whatever the hell going on over there, [in] Idaho they’ve stopped that [abortion ban] today in court . . . but we ain’t barely pay attention [to abortion bans and restrictions].” Taylor from the Midwest was also unsurprised at what seemed to be an onslaught of abortion restrictions in recent years saying, “Most of the people I’ve talked to are very skeptical [even] before that Politico story came out and now . . . at least among my community, I don’t know that any of us realistically thought we were going to be able to retain Roe. So, in a way, not much has changed for us.” Kathleen from a Southern clinic said, “I think Roe is gone. I think we’re hanging on until the end of June when we get that decision and I think Roe’s dead.” Kathleen discussed a law in her state that would “outlaw abortion from any time the woman knows that she’s pregnant,” adding, “now, why would you have an abortion if you didn’t know you were pregnant?” commenting on the often-nonsensical language proposed in abortion restrictions. She said, “But yeah, the minute the Supreme Court says Roe is gone, abortion will not exist [in this state].” Tanya from a Southeastern clinic added, “Unfortunately, I think it’s [Roe] going down. I think that’s one of the reasons they decided not to take up the Texas law . . . in my heart of hearts, I’m afraid that Roe is going down.” Angela from the South said she was “terrified. I’m absolutely sick because you know, I assume . . . [state omitted] has preemptively passed a bill and governor [name omitted] has already signed it . . . so [state omitted] is poised to outlaw abortion. [The antis] . . . they’re just all giddy over shutting down this clinic or all clinics. But there’s a group in town . . . and there’s a group . . . somewhat north [state omitted] and they are hyper-focused on the [city name omitted] clinic, and that is their life goal [to shut down the clinic].”

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Nancy from the Midwest watched in horror as the Trump administration stacked the lower courts with conservative judges for four years, saying “you know it started with Mitch McConnell not letting Obama put his nominee in [for the Supreme Court] and then . . . for four years, they stacked the courts.” Nancy said that she knew that Roe being overturned was a possibility and that if it didn’t happen in 2022, it likely would in 2023. Karey from another Midwest clinic felt that rolling back Roe had “been a long time coming” saying that when “Chief Justice Roberts was put on the bench” she felt that Roe was in trouble. She added that, It also kind of feels like it’s something [overturning Roe] that Republicans have been campaigning on that is . . . a thing that they don’t actually want to win on because the reality of it is so destructive across the board for everybody. . . . Historically, if you look at the political history of abortion, and the way conservatives have used abortion, it really only became a political matter after Desegregation. So, it’s this replacement for white supremacy, essentially that you can’t really say out loud anymore, but white people who think that they are decent . . . [they] won’t vote for a racist, but they think that abortion is somehow a more moral issue. So, I think that this is a way to capture the fundamentalist vote. But again, if you follow through on that campaign issue [banning abortion] . . . nobody benefits from it. And we have international examples of what happens to countries when abortion access is limited. So, it doesn’t really make sense to me that we feel like we have to have this experiment and see what happens. Like, we know what happens: societies are essentially torn [apart] . . . poverty rates are increased, child welfare goes down. If we look at Romania, it’s not that long ago that abortion access was completely restricted . . . and so you had this massive increase of children who just weren’t wanted. Not children that couldn’t be cared for, but you just didn’t want them. So, you had orphans, just wandering around train stations. So, the idea that there’s this argument that in a country that has such high maternal mortality, and such a failure of a social safety net for children . . . even if those things existed, we still shouldn’t be forced [to have children]. The people who are making these decisions, what they lack is empathy first and foremost, but just a basic understanding of biology, you know? If you don’t know what an ectopic pregnancy is, I don’t think that you should be legislating about it. . . . What are the actual scientific consequences of this decision? We have case studies out there. We know what happens.

Karey is citing Nicolae Ceauşescu’s 1967 Decree 770 that restricted abortion and contraception that was intended to create a new and large Romanian population. According to a 2005 essay by Michael Leidig, the number of abortions in Romania was declining, but still the highest in Europe—with the average Romanian woman having three or four abortions in her life. Additionally, Romania had the highest rate of deaths in women caused by abortion.2 For Karey and other participants in this study, the outcomes of a

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post-Roe society were clear: patients would still have abortions and some would die from unsafe methods. Additionally, children would be unwanted, uncared for, and would live in poverty. Roe Is Constitutionally Protected Some of the older participants in this study said that they thought the issue of first- trimester abortion had been decided in 1973 with Roe v. Wade. Many participants remembered being in high school or their early twenties when Roe was passed, recalling how happy they were at the time and feeling as though the issue of access to safe and legal abortion was settled. Julia from the Midwest said, It’s mind boggling, you know. My perspective is I can’t believe this is where we are. Again. I thought this was a done deal. I thought it was settled and a done deal. . . . I can’t believe we’re protesting the same shit [fifty years later]. This should be done. It should be over and done. . . . The fact that there was a time when only married women could get birth control . . . unmarried women couldn’t have birth control. They couldn’t get it. . . . And that goes along with women [who] couldn’t get their own credit cards. I mean, that’s not been that long ago. . . . And, you know, just realizing what this all means.

Despite her skepticism, Julia still had some small hope that the Supreme Court Justices would be reasonable and consider the consequences of a post-Roe country. Her interview took place before the Dobbs decision was publicized. She said, Although there are some extremist judges on the Supreme Court, [I hope] that they will truly listen and understand the impact of what would happen if they did overturn it. So, my hope is that sense and reason is gonna take charge in that decision. And they’re not just gonna go with, “oh yeah, we’re Republican, so we wanna overturn that [Roe]” because that’s the big . . . noisiest push in the country . . . is from the vocal antis.

Leslie from a Southern clinic recalled the time before Roe, saying, I think another thing that motivates me [to escort is because] when I was in high school and in college, we couldn’t get a legal abortion. . . . It was the coat hanger scene and although it didn’t impact me, it certainly impacted a number of my girlfriends. And I saw a number of people who were just [the] brightest have to drop out of high school because you also weren’t allowed to attend school if you were pregnant. It [was] just over. It was ugly in my day and age. Then along came Roe v Wade. Whew. So, I dread it being overturned because I happen to

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remember what it was like before Roe v. Wade. And it was not pretty. Unplanned pregnancies are not going to go away.

Kathleen from the South expressed her frustration that so many young women were not aware of the abortion restrictions Republicans started enacting since Roe. She said, “I was a senior in high school when Roe came down, we fought it for ourselves in the seventies. We fought it for our daughters in the nineties. I’m fighting now for my granddaughters and it’s time for another generation to pick up the mantle and realize what life is gonna be like when they don’t have the right to choose what’s happening in their body.” When asked why she thought so many younger women weren’t as invested in fighting for Roe as women of her generation were, she said, “[you know] the old saying you don’t miss the water ’til the well runs dry? It’s just . . . they’ve [younger women] not known a time when they didn’t have the right to make a choice. And I don’t think they realize what it’s gonna mean when they don’t have the right to make a choice.” Like Kathleen, Caroline from a Southwest clinic was frustrated that younger women weren’t more involved in protecting abortion access, stating that this population did not know a world where abortion was illegal. Caroline was hopeful that if Roe was overturned, it would motivate women who might otherwise be unwilling to believe that abortion could be made illegal in most of the United States to become involved in protecting access. She said, I think they’re [Republicans] going to do it [make abortion illegal]. I wish they wouldn’t, but this might be a blessing in disguise . . . not a blessing to the women that get caught in this, but it’s gonna wake up a whole bunch of women. And if they [women] don’t come to realize that the Republican party doesn’t have their back, I don’t know what we do. . . . There’s some of the women that come in for abortions, they’ll act like their circumstances [are] the most unique circumstance ever. And they really don’t support this [abortion], but [say] “it’s okay for me to do this because my circumstance is unique” and you’re like, “no, it’s not unique.” . . . We’ve even had protestors’ children sneak in the back door because they’re pregnant. They can’t tell their dad ’cuz the dad’s out front and we’ve had to sneak patients in and you know, [it’s] sad. But it might be what gets us some active people, some younger women being active in politics.

Katie shared that she recalled doctors in her town performing illegal abortions pre-Roe at an upscale hotel in her Southern city, saying, It’s hard to imagine before [Roe] back in ’69 or maybe ’70 before Roe . . . there was a group of doctors in [city name omitted] . . . who were still practicing doctors, practicing physicians. They were set up somehow at a big hotel here in [city name omitted]. . . . It still had people coming in who were maybe traveling

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and coming in [to a] very nice hotel, but in some parts of it, these doctors were set up in a suite of rooms and they performed abortions in this hotel. . . . And I know two people who went there.

All participants noted that overturning Roe would not get rid of abortion, it would however, stop safe abortions from happening, as was seen prior to 1973. Older participants shared their frustration at younger women who didn’t seem to be paying attention to how fragile abortion access in the United States was, often citing examples of illegal abortions pre-Roe that women born after 1973 may not have been aware of. Traveling for Care Another post-Roe issue that participants discussed was the distance patients would have to travel for care—with Southern and Midwest participants regularly citing Illinois as a sanctuary state that would continue to provide care should Roe be overturned and trigger laws cause clinics to close immediately. This lack of access and increased cost would prevent some patients from receiving abortion care altogether, in addition to states like Illinois becoming overwhelmed by the sudden influx of nonresident patients. Leslie, like all study participants, knew that low-income women would be impacted the most, supporting findings from many abortion researchers (see Jerman, et al. 2017; Jones and Jerman 2017; Jones et al. 2013). She said, “they’re [patients] going to have to go a long way to get any help. And I think we’re going to see more women die from self-done abortions and illegal abortions.” Katie noted just how far away Illinois was from her southern state, saying that she had read something recently that the closest place for women to go would be Illinois. That’s a long way off, isn’t it? That’s really far. I was part of discussions one other time when we were waiting to see what the SCOTUS was going to rule and got to talking about . . . driving people to other states . . . then all the liability issues come up, and I don’t know. All I know is Illinois is a long way off. . . . Who’s going to step up?

Jim shared that at his Southeastern clinic, they had seen patients all the way from Texas—noting that these patients were able to get partial funding through the National Abortion Federation (NAF) to help with travel expenses, and worried that this funding would quickly become exhausted when too many patients overwhelmed the system. This scenario was already happening to patients in Louisiana and likely, to patients in other red states. According to Westwood (2022), patients in Louisiana currently pay over $2,000 for abortion care that involves traveling up to 1,900 miles round-trip. This figure includes childcare, gas or flight costs, meals, and hotel stays. The

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New Orleans Abortion Fund reported that they currently give their clients an average of $723, more than double the average of $308 in 2021. Before the abortion ban in 2022, Louisiana patients traveled an average of 160 miles round-trip (Westwood 2022), making access to abortion astronomically difficult for those needing care post-Dobbs. Southern and Midwestern study participants discussed that for this first time in their escorting careers, they were seeing Texas license plates at their clinics—indicating that since the May 2021 Texas abortion bans were enacted, patients had travel out of state to have an abortion, a trend further investigated by the Guttmacher Institute. Nash et al. found that for some Texas patients, Louisiana or Oklahoma were the nearest abortion clinics and Texas patients must travel 14 times further to reach a clinic than before the bans were enacted (Nash et al. 2021). After the Dobbs decision, Texas patients seeking care must now travel even farther, as Louisiana and Oklahoma clinics have been forced to close. Taylor stated that they were already seeing an influx of out-of-state patients at their Midwest clinic, saying, “we are gonna get a lot more people from outta state. We already are. We are already seeing plates from Texas. We’re gonna see more people driving [from] much, much further away. We’re gonna see more people needing hotel accommodations and not knowing the city very well.” Participants shared that there were ongoing discussions within their escorting communities about shuttling patients to other states for care, with several escorts expressing concern that this could lead to lawsuits. Tanya, an escort at a clinic who lived in a neighboring state that did not have a trigger law, discussed driving patients across state lines to assist them in getting abortions saying, “We don’t have a trigger law here [home state], so I will obviously be driving people to [state name omitted] a lot more. So, it’s just gonna be a lot more time on the road or a lot more time in the mail [sending abortion medication via the United States Post Office], whatever.” Tanya also stated that she had read that Planned Parenthood has kind of stopped keeping a big footprint in the states that are really gonna get trashed and throwing money into practical support. Supposedly, they have a resource center now. They’ve got a really, really fine clinic in Southern Illinois, which is well positioned for Missouri and several of the other states for people to get to. And they’re really finally starting to do what the [local abortion] funds have done for years, which is [to] help people with travel arrangements, housing, things like that.

Tanya discussed her concern for the rural patients in her state, stating that the lack of mass transit made it difficult for people without transportation to get around.

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I mean, what will happen in the surrounding community? It’s gonna be tough. It really is . . . there isn’t a lot of mass transit. I’m just worried that people [who] are in the hills [rural areas] here are just gonna be stuck without options. There are things that I can and will do there. There’s a QR code for Plan B pills. I can get stickers printed. I can do drop cards. I can try to spread the word that there are ways. I’ll be doing a lot more guerrilla stuff like that.

Tanya shared that she previously worked at Planned Parenthood in abortion and sexual healthcare and acknowledged that there were always patients who “slip through the cracks” despite efforts to meet patient needs. She said, “on one hand it’s getting more pills in the hands of people [patients]. But on the other hand, there’s so many people that fall through the cracks there.” Escorts at Southern clinics discussed the burdens patients would face if they had to drive to Illinois for care and shared ideas for distributing medication abortion to those in need. Leslie, like Tanya, felt that mailing abortion medication might be one of the few options available for patients in her state should Roe be overturned. She said “my best hope is in mail-away drugs from other countries where they can mail . . . medication abortion with the medication coming from out of the country. . . . It would be hard for people to access: only the most desperate would probably be able to figure it out.” Paulette from the East Coast shared that her state borders another state where abortion had been codified in the state constitution. She said, I think what’s gonna happen is there’s gonna be a powerful, underground grassroots abortion service. I think we will be, instead of standing on a sidewalk, we will be driving women to where they need to go and it will be over the state line. I know the problems will be far worse in other parts of the country, but for my local concerns, I think we can work around it. It’s not gonna be easy but I think [state name omitted] is well surrounded with other states that will be able to get women the care they need.

Paulette stated that she would “die angry” that the Democrats in her state tried to codify abortion rights in two different sessions and “it didn’t go anywhere.” She said, It died both this term and last term, when some Democrat members introduced a bill to codify it and the body as a whole, the caucus did not support it. So . . . I’m kind of in denial. I’m hoping for the best, but really prepared that it’s going to be, if not totally overturned, just severely limited. And what are they thinking? Abortion has always been, abortion will always be, it’s a matter of, do you want women to die and suffer? It doesn’t make sense to me, but I think we’re very in danger of having Roe be overturned.

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Paulette further shared that for her, a lack of control over one’s body was highly problematic. If you don’t have the freedom of your body, you are a slave. And how anyone could want that for people, I do not know. And I always tell people that adoption is great. We have adopted children [in my family] and adoption is a wonderful thing . . . but it is not an alternative to pregnancy, [to] being a mother. You have to get there first, you know, having a child is one thing, but pregnancy [is] a whole other ball of wax and many women cannot do that. And anybody who thinks that my twelve-year-old granddaughter should bear a pregnancy is not a person who’s okay in my book. So yeah, when people say “abortion, we have to abolish it,” one, you never will, but two, have you thought of the repercussions of this? And it’s frightening.

Paulette worked as a court-ordered family therapist for many years, giving her a front-row seat to what could happen to children in the foster care system. She said, “It’s not pretty, it is NOT pretty. I just think being a mother is a big deal and every child should be wanted. And if for whatever reason, [and] there are as many reasons as there are women who abort . . . it’s a legitimate one and no one has the right to second guess that she might already be a mother.” Several escorts in this study indicated that they would be willing to travel out of state in order to continue escorting, should their clinics close in the aftermath of Dobbs. Georganne from the Midwest was in the unique situation that the escorts from their clinic could travel a short distance to be in another state with protected abortion access saying, We’re lucky that we have [state name omitted] right there. There’s a clinic that was just opened an hour away and technically right now it’s not illegal to drive someone to [state name omitted] to get an abortion, but I know that there are states that are trying to make that process illegal right now. So, I’m lucky that a lot of the people that we escort with are really engaged in this process, no matter what the future looks like. And I think that we’re all gonna be still engaged in this, just in what capacity is to be determined.

Georganne shared that a cohort of escorts had discussed various options should Roe fall. “I think there’s like ten of us so far. And I think our intentions are to keep our numbers small until we can figure out what we wanna do,” as further discussed below. Escorts Have Plans to Help Patients Access Care Many of the participants in this study shared that they lived in a state with trigger laws and discussed ideas for abortion access if Roe was overturned.

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These ideas included organizing transportation for patients as well as providing medication abortion pills via the mail, as stated previously. Some participants had recently formed smaller, informal groups that met regularly to discuss networking with escorts in other states—indicating that clinic escorts are organized and highly motivated. For nearly all participants in this study, the end of Roe and the possibility of their clinic closing did not mean that their abortion-related volunteerism would end. Participants in Midwestern states that anticipated an influx of patients from across the country shared that they had already been involved in discussions about post-Roe care and the many adjustments that would have to be made to accommodate out-of-state patients. Taylor from the Midwest had heard discussions to open additional clinics to help with the inevitable overflow of patients that would have to travel for abortion care. Jared, also an escort at the same clinic, said, I think it will mean we have . . . a lot more patients coming in from out of town—we already have a huge amount, but it’s gonna be even more. I also think . . . we’re gonna have more antis coming from out of state. . . . The days with lots of out-of-town people [antis] are the days that I get a little nervous because . . . our regulars at least know the laws and we know what to expect from them.

Escorts negotiating antis is further discussed in chapters 8 and 9. Many participants discussed becoming couriers for medication abortion, opening their homes to host out-of-state patients who could not afford hotel accommodations, the importance of donating to local abortion funds, and organizing vans to drive patients out of state for abortion services. Tanya from the Southeast said that they’re [antiabortion legislators] talking about another bill where you . . . can’t get abortion pills by telemedicine in [state name omitted]. So . . . I’m figuring I’m probably gonna end up being a pot [marijuana] express type courier at some point with a [state name omitted] address, you know? I took the training from Women Help Women and it trains you to give people information about self-managed [abortion] and we had to practice the phraseology over and over again, like . . . no . . . I’m not advocating this, but this information is available on the World Health Organization website. . . . It’s kind of like that. . . . I’m not advocating it, but someone may have to someday take pills over the [state] border.

Anita from a Midwest clinic shared that she had discussed opening her home to out-of-state patients in need of a place to stay with other clinic escorts.

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We’ve had these conversations among the escorts about like, what do we do if Roe falls? [Maybe] we create some kind of version of the Jane Collective that used to exist in Chicago back in the day? What does our activism look like? I was involved in [organization name omitted] . . . and the whole point of that was to provide hosts for people who were coming in from out of state to get abortion care or drivers or things like that. And it all sounded really great in theory, but it was incredibly difficult to organize all the logistics in real life and in real time. So, I guess that I’m just a little worried because that may be . . . what’s necessary . . . it’s really hard. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.

Grace from a Midwest clinic was also in talks with other escorts and abortion stakeholders in her state about plans for abortion access post-Dobbs. After I wrap up my conversation with you, I am on my way to a meeting with the other lead escorts in our organization so that we can talk in person and not online or via text about what it is we think we’re gonna do after the summer, depending on what happens. And then in a couple weeks, because I sit on [organization name omitted] national board of directors, we get to talk about what happens this summer, not only for all of our clinic volunteers across the country, but also specifically the staff and board members who live and work here physically in [state name omitted] and contribute to the [name omitted] abortion fund.

Grace said that when she “saw that the Texas Abortion Fund heads had gotten deposed, I did another one of what I refer to as my ‘informational updates’ to my parents. ‘Hey, you see this story here that doesn’t look like it has anything to do with you? Just understand that this is what’s happening here. And so, this is a part of what I do where we live. Heads up.’” Both Grace and Anita’s experiences reinforced the importance of donating to local abortion funds to help patients with travel and accommodation costs, in addition to bringing attention to growing fears that Republican-controlled states would continue to try to pass laws that criminalize those who help patients access abortion. Some escorts, particularly those located in states with highly restricted abortion access, expressed concern with assisting patients access care out of state due to these bounty-hunter type of laws. Sarah from the South said, We [escorts at her clinic] have talked about it, but we haven’t come up with a solution because there is the risk now because of the states passing the laws that if you help anybody, you can be sued or arrested or whatever. So, you know, there are those risks and I know that there are certain ones that . . . I can’t [be part of] because of . . . my personal life. I can’t risk being caught doing that, but yeah. I don’t know. You’ll just have to see.

For some participants, the reality of the potential implications of breaking laws to help patients access abortion care was too great and likely, many

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escorts may not be willing to continue their volunteerism due to these threats. In addition to ordering abortion medication from other countries, the escorts at Leslie’s clinic discussed how they could transport patients to Illinois, as did many other Southern escorts in this study. Leslie said, “I’ve talked to several clinic escorts that have been like, okay, so we’re located in this state and the next abortion clinic that probably wouldn’t shut down if Roe gets overturned is [several hundred] miles away. So, what we’re going to do is we’re going to get vans and I’m like, wow . . . activists have been thinking about this. Like there are plans in place.” Lastly, some escorts stated that they had been in talks with clinic owners whose clinics were situated close enough to more abortion-friendly states where the possibility of relocating was feasible. Several escorts at one Midwestern clinic knew of tentative plans to move their clinic out of state. Mary felt that while this out of state move would be a “psychological blow” for the escorts as well as patients who were already driving several hundreds of miles to get to the clinic, all of the escorts at this clinic stated that they would be willing to travel the extra miles to keep escorting. Moving out of state was not a viable option for all clinics in this study. Tanya from the Southeast said that the doctor who owns the abortion clinic would likely not attempt to move across state lines due to pending laws that could put him in legal jeopardy. “If [state name omitted] goes redder, then he doesn’t wanna expend the time and the money to set up a nice facility across the state line.” For this particular doctor, the potential legal action he could face was too risky for him to consider an out-of-state move at the time of Tanya’s interview. Illinois Will Become Overwhelmed All Midwest and Southern participants cited Illinois as the lone state that would still provide abortion access outside of the East and West coasts, should Roe be overturned. In a May 2022 National Public Radio (NPR) story, Illinois Planned Parenthood health centers stated they were preparing for a sharp increase in out-of-state patients seeking abortions (Corley 2022). Participants in this study indicated concern that the indie clinics in Illinois and the seventeen Planned Parenthood health centers in the state would quickly become overwhelmed—leading to longer wait times for patients, more expensive procedures, and some patients being forced to parent. Ruth from a Southeastern clinic discussed how quickly clinics would become saturated with patients from states that have and are enacting near-total abortion bans such as Texas. She shared that if Roe was overturned, Twenty-six states will go dark [have none or very limited abortion access]. And then the more friendly states like Maryland . . . We’ve seen states codify

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[abortion] into their own laws or into their own constitution. So those states will absorb the patients, but then they’ll become very rapidly overwhelmed. . . . I hope through the ashes, we can find a new Roe. But like what we’re seeing in Texas . . . we’ve had Texas callers in [state name omitted] because the surrounding states are so overwhelmed. And I think that’s just one state and . . . Texas is a huge state, you know? So, imagine all twenty-six going down, which is again, very likely, and here we are in [state name omitted] living the reality. . . . We’re [on] day four of no abortion access and that’s really overwhelming to clinics that already don’t have the resources and infrastructure in place to absorb the patients. . . . It’s gonna be an absolute shit show.

Ruth’s concern that twenty-six states could lose abortion access due to Dobbs was confirmed by a 2021 Guttmacher Institute policy analysis conducted by Nash and Cross (n.p.) and was updated in early 2023 to reflect more current state abortion bans and restrictions. Caroline from the Southwest shared a conversation she had with one of the nurses inside the clinic, who disclosed that more than 50 percent of their patients were from Texas and that their clinic was already becoming overwhelmed. She said, “Our parking lot is [almost all] Texas plates, I would say. . . . I’m friends with the nurse manager in the clinic . . . and I think their numbers are over 50 percent Texas patients. . . . Back before it [Texas abortion ban] went into effect, we would have maybe twenty patients a day. . . . And since this Texas ban, we have anywhere from forty to sixty patients a day.” Caroline said that at the time of her interview in the spring of 2022, her clinic was currently able to handle the overflow of out-of-state patients. However, there were concerns that at some point, the clinic would reach maximum capacity and would be forced to turn patients away. It Won’t End with Roe Several escorts suggested that the end of Roe would lead to restrictions on different forms of birth control, fertility treatments, and LGBTQ rights—such as adoption and same sex marriage. Some participants resided in states that had recently enacted anti-LGBTQ laws that focused on limiting medical care for trans people. Sarah from a Southern clinic felt that while her state was attacking Roe, it was simultaneously limiting medical care for trans children and trying to legislate curriculum in schools in regard to U.S. history and LGBTQ issues. For Sarah, all of these issues were closely related and signaled the Republican party’s desire for control in a deeply red, southern state. She said that her state was getting “worse”—not only limiting abortion access but also trying to block trans kids from receiving gender-affirming medical treatment. She disclosed that her state

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just passed the law about trans kids that are not going to be able to get any medical care. [Because of this law, the clinic is] losing one of our best volunteers, because she has a trans daughter and they’ve got to leave. They’re moving . . . they’ve got to. And it’s just devastating. They’re uprooting their whole family, but that’s what [state name omitted] is. They don’t care about the kids. You know . . . how many trans kids are there in this state? Maybe two thousand that are getting treatment. And yet they’re attacking them when there are people having abortions, because they can’t afford to have another child . . . and they don’t want [them to] have an abortion, but they don’t wanna feed these children either.

Sarah echoed what many study participants said in their interviews: that antiabortion organizations only care about fetuses in the womb—not about what happens to the children who are born to a parent or parents who are unable or unwilling to care for them. All participants stated that overturning Roe would not stop abortions from happening—a common statement repeated by abortion advocates. Matt from a Midwest clinic discussed the control aspect that came along with abortion restrictions as well as aspects that laws cannot control—in this case, illegal and unsafe abortions when legal options are taken away. He said, I’ve got a lot of thoughts on this because there’s the part they [antiabortion activists] can control, and the part that’s out of their hands. This is not going to stop people who have abortions. Nothing has ever stopped people from having abortions. . . . What I know will happen is a lot of people are going to die . . . unnecessary deaths. A lot of people are going to have to make incredibly hard choices and risk possibly their life—definitely their freedom—to get abortions in [red] states. They’re going to crack down with insanely hard and immoral laws. And they [patients] are going to do it anyway. ’Cause autonomy and equality are too important to give up.

NOTES 1. See Carlisle, M. 2022. “Fetal Personhood Laws Are a New Frontier in the Battle Over Reproductive Rights.” https:​//​time​.com​/6191886​/fetal​-personhood​-laws​-roe​ -abortion/. 2. See Leidig, M. 2005. “Romania still faces high abortion rate 16 years after the fall of Ceauşescu.” doi: 10.1136/bmj.331.7524.1043-a.

Chapter 8

White Catholics v. White Evangelicals Christian Antiabortion Protesters

Each escort shared several stories about run-ins with Christian protesters. Escorts overwhelmingly reported that the majority of the antis at their clinic were white, and the majority were male, indicating that white men are the main agitators outside of abortion clinics. Escorts reported that on occasion, they observed a handful of Black or Hispanic protesters at their clinic and one clinic reported that, on occasion, they had seen a few Native American protesters at their clinic. Another participant mentioned seeing a trio of East Asian women who protested outside their Midwest clinic infrequently. Additionally, not a single escort stated that they saw antis from non-Christian faiths outside of their clinics, indicating that antiabortion protesters are overwhelmingly memebers of various Christian-based organizations. The lack of non-Christian antis was further discussed by the single Jewish participant in this study in chapter 4. Christian antis protesting outside of abortion clinics is not a new phenomenon, as Lauren Rankin discussed in Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion Access in America (2022). Clinic patients were often warned that they would encounter large groups of protesters as they entered the clinic, but, according to Carroll et al. (2021), patients at the lone abortion clinic in Mississippi were dismayed by the tactics antis employed. Nearly all participants in the Carroll et al. study were distressed by protester activity when they arrived at the clinic, noting that the number of protesters and the noise they created was surprising. Study participants described being “‘bombarded,’ ‘bum rushed’ and feeling overtaken by protesters who were standing in the road and on the sidewalk leading to the parking lot” (889). Participants described protesters as “aggressive” and “persistent” in trying to hand patients religion-based flyers and pamphlets, while also holding up 121

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signs with graphic images. The use of bullhorns and large speakers left study participants feeling overwhelmed, and they viewed the protesters as “really demanding” (889). Study participants felt that protesters’ “offers of adoption or financial support if patients carried their pregnancy to term were insincere and further reflected protesters’ lack of understanding of the many personal reasons people choose abortion” (889). According to Carroll et al., several participants “expressed skepticism that promises of financial assistance would provide the long-term economic and childcare support they needed to raise a child, or in many cases, another child” (889). These concerns were echoed by escorts in this study. The participants in the Carroll et al. study noted that the “religious content of protesters’ messages, and the nature of their actions . . . did not align with all patients’ views about religion,” when recalling “protesters invoking religion in their attempts to communicate with patients” (889). Study participants were also bothered to see protesters bringing their children to the abortion clinic and “found it unsettling to hear them repeat phrases like ‘Mommy, I love you don’t kill me’ and ‘Please don’t kill our friends’” (889). While protesters’ presence was described as aggravating and unwanted, their presence did not affect patient decision-making, according to Carroll et al. (890). These findings are consistent with the experiences of clinic escorts in this study and will be further discussed below. Additionally, escorts discussed the various antiabortion groups that have protested at their clinics such as Operation Save America; and Abolish Human Abortion (AHA). Some clinics faced large crowds that could swell into the hundreds, while others had three to six regular, persistent antis who showed up on procedure day(s) to harass patients. Below are some of the stories the participants in this study shared about their interactions with Christian antis. Operation Save America and Other Antiabortion Groups Operation Save America (OSA) was an organization that many participants in this study had reported encountering. This organization “unashamedly takes up the cause of preborn children in the name of Jesus Christ,” employing “biblical principles” and arguing that “Jesus Christ is the only answer to the abortion holocaust” (About Us, 2022). Anita from a Midwest clinic said that generally there were only a handful of regular antis at her clinic but when OSA representatives showed up, the atmosphere changed quite a bit and quickly became chaotic. This change was reported by other escorts in this study—indicating that popular, nationally recognized, traveling antiabortion groups tended to create more hostility and disorder on the sidewalks outside of clinics. Anita said, “when they [OSA] come, they don’t always bring a big

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group but they are just so, so obnoxious. [It] feels like it takes two or three of us to counteract one of them.” Grace from another Midwest clinic said that her experience with OSA was as part of a grassroots collective that traveled to a neighboring state to help with the increase in antis at an indie clinic. OSA was holding a conference at a large hotel near the clinic, which Grace noted was likely very strategic. She added, “the conference ultimately succeeded in its goal of stirring up the movement here locally because after the conference left, the clinic continued to see higher numbers of protesters with escalating tactics. So, after that winter, they [the abortion clinic located in a neighboring state] asked if we would be willing to come back on a regular basis.” Grace discussed the group of abortion abolitionists that regularly protested outside her clinic, noting that they were funded by OSA and that they were led by a state elected representative. Gabby’s encounter with OSA at her Midwest clinic included a “busload . . . [of] fifteen kids with them and they line ’em up from tallest to shortest and they walk by you and . . . these children are yelling horrific things at you and it’s like, you’re three [years old], how do you know [anything]?” Kathleen from the South shared one of her experiences with OSA, saying the organization was “coming to [city name omitted] to storm the gates of hell.” In preparation, her clinic worked with local police who had their sound engineers present during the protests to ensure that the OSA protesters “couldn’t violate the sound ordinance,” providing a rare example of escorts and local police working together toward a common cause. Kathleen rented three thirty-six-foot-long U-Haul trucks and parked them cab-to-trunk all the way down the sidewalk, while another escort parked their thirty-foot-long motorhome next to the rented trucks, thereby creating a barrier between the sidewalk and the clinic. The escorts then hung tarps in front of the trucks, making the clinic invisible from the sidewalk. Kathleen said, “all they [OSA protesters] could see was the [patient] car pulling in the driveway. Everything else was just totally out of their reach. They did not have a lot of fun, and we made this [clinic] undesirable as a target for them to show up at.” This sort of ingenuity was not uncommon for escorts in this study. Abolish Human Abortion (AHA) was another antiabortion organization mentioned by several study participants during their interviews. Tanya from the Southeast shared that AHA had a presence at her clinic—noting that they tended to be very aggressive and, according to Tanya, believed “that abortion providers and people that help people get abortions should be executed.” A 2014 MSNBC story describes AHA as “abolitionists, with all slavery comparisons explicitly intended, and they want to push the larger movements to abide by their uncompromising positions” (Carmon 2014). AHA believes that all abortion should be banned without exceptions and commonly equates hormonal birth control with abortion. Furthermore, AHA openly advocates

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that murder charges be brought against women who have had abortions (Carmon 2014). AHA was founded in Norman, Oklahoma, and its members are fond of displaying large signs with bloodied developed fetuses. AHA followers regularly protest outside of churches, arguing that these Christian establishments aren’t doing enough to end abortion (Carmon 2014). Several participants noted that they felt AHA was especially hostile and more likely prone to violence, based on the organization’s public statement that abortion is “child sacrifice” (Abolish Human Abortion) and that abortion is a punishable offense. Catholics, 40 Days for Life, and AbortionPillReversal.com Every escort discussed the different protesting tactics practiced by various Christian organizations. According to study participants, the Catholics were generally less vocal than other Christian and evangelical denominations and tended to kneel in front of the clinic or walk the clinic perimeter, reciting the rosary or quietly singing hymns. Participants noted that the more vocal Catholics liked to shout the name of a website called abortionpillreversal. com that, according to their website, “can help turn back the clock. We are the agile guardians of that precious moment in time when a woman chooses to give her unborn child a chance to fight for life. When destructive voices would only say ‘it is done,’ Abortion Pill Reversal says, ‘here is a second chance at life, just in time” (Abortion Pill Reversal). This website goes on to claim that, Abortion Pill Reversal is the protocol used to reverse the effects of the first abortion pill, administered by the Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN). Abortion Pill Rescue Network is a team of over 1,000 healthcare professionals, ready 24/7 to help women at a moment’s notice—giving their baby a second chance.

Abortion Pill Reversal claims that “using the natural hormone progesterone, medical professionals have been able to save 64–68 percent of pregnancies through abortion pill reversal” (Abortion Pill Reversal). However, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), medical abortion “reversal” is not supported by science and the study cited by abortionpillreversal.com does not meet clinical standards. ACOG states that the organization “ranks its recommendations on the strength of the evidence and does not support prescribing progesterone to stop a medication abortion,” further adding that despite this lack of scientific evidence, Politicians are advancing legislation to require physicians to recite a script that a medication abortion can be “reversed” with doses of progesterone, to cause confusion and perpetuate stigma, and to steer women to this unproven medical

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approach. Unfounded legislative mandates like this one represent dangerous political interferences and compromise patient care and safety. (Medication Abortion is Not Supported by Science)

ACOG calls abortion “reversal” procedures unproven and unethical, citing a 2012 series of six women who took mifepristone and were subsequently administered varying doses of progesterone, resulting in four continued pregnancies. Abortion Pill Reversal cites this non-peer-reviewed “study” in its literature as a legitimate medical finding and the basis for the statistic that they proudly and vocally tout. ACOG states that the lack of “scientific evidence that progesterone resulted in the continuation of those pregnancies” is highly problematic, adding that this study was not supervised by an institutional review board (IRB) or an ethical review committee, thereby “raising serious questions regarding the ethics and scientific validity of the results.” In sum, ACOG states that, Politicians should never mandate treatments or require that physicians tell patients inaccurate information. This is an interference in the patient-clinical relationship and contradicts a fundamental principle of medical ethics. Abortion is an essential part of comprehensive medical care, and a patient’s decision to end a pregnancy following appropriate consultation with their trusted medical professional should be treated with respect. (Medication Abortion is Not Supported by Science)

Despite this lack of scientific research, Catholic antis, according to the participants in this study, regularly carried abortionpillreversal.com signs, in addition to handing out pamphlets for this website as a means to discourage patients from abortion. At her Midwest clinic, Karey noted that she often saw the pamphlets the antis tried to give patients, noting that they were full of “just straight up false information, the statistics are inaccurate, there are not sources cited for any of this information. It’s all emotion and manipulative.” She added, “and so my biggest complaint with that is that if you want people to make decisions for themselves, you have to give them accurate information. It’s not ethical or fair . . . to make people make a decision based on misinformation . . . they [antis] actively provide false information in order to get what they want.” Mary, another escort at the same clinic as Karey, shared that this clinic was frequently visited by students from a Catholic boarding school located many hours away. These students showed up in a bus, “chaperoned by monks in like, full regalia. Real Catholics, not Catholic light,” adding, “who better than a monk to give you advice about pregnancy and childbearing and child raising?”

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Pray the Rosary, Don’t Talk to Anyone Escorts reported seeing Catholic antis at their clinic who would quietly sing or pray the rosary, often while kneeling, and then leave, rarely talking to patients or other Christian antis. Escorts didn’t label these antis as threatening per se, but rather as “mild annoyances.” Anita from the Midwest said that “you’ll have the teenagers who come and there’s, you know, a good ten or eleven of them, but they’re just standing there singing songs, meekly. So, it kind of feels like they might as well not even be there.” She added that it was not necessarily the number of protesters at her clinic that was problematic, but more so their interactions with patients and escorts. Matt said at his clinic, “there are people who will just stand at the door at opening time, pray a rosary and leave. They don’t talk to anyone. They don’t bother anyone. They just stand or in some cases kneel right down on the sidewalk. Do all of the prayers and move.” Matt said that he believed these specific protesters to be Catholic and noted that during the 40 Days for Life campaign, “the whole sidewalk will be swarmed with people.” 40 Days for Life, according to their website, is an “internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses” (About Overview). At Tanya’s Southeastern clinic, the Catholics stayed across the street and, thankfully, did not attempt to make contact with clinic patients. She said, “they tend to stay across the street and . . . even though it’s unnecessary for them to be staring at people going to their doctor, they are probably the least offensive [of the antis]. We have a fairly mellow group, they have signs, they don’t have fetal porn signs the way some of the regulars [evangelicals] have. . . . They stay across the street and they’re fairly silent.” At her East Coast clinic, Paulette said that the Catholics came in a group to pray, “tell people don’t abort your baby” and then promptly left. She said that “all protesters are intimidating to the incoming patients, but they [Catholics] aren’t scary.” Like other participants in this study, Paulette’s clinic had experience with the Catholic-sponsored 40 Days for Life protests, which had just concluded when she was interviewed. She added that the Catholics “don’t approach [patients] the way the Evangelicals do.” Mary said that at her Midwest clinic, Catholic antis showed up on “their lunch hour and spend fifteen minutes saying the rosary and then turn around and get in their car and leave.” Mary shared that within this town, there was a large state university that had “a very strong Catholic student organization so sometimes we get students. It’s like all those people are just kind of there for brownie points.” Kathleen from a clinic in the South talked about “a group of Hispanics that come on Thursday mornings. We call ’em the troubadours and they do not

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yell at patients. They stand, they sing, they pray, they leave.” Jim said that at his Southeastern clinic, the Catholic antis were very clear on what the local ordinances were and understood that the police would strictly enforce them. Therefore, the regular Catholic antis at his clinic were relatively well behaved and rarely caused any issues. The exception to this rule was when traveling evangelical antis showed up, disregarded local ordinances, and became extremely aggressive toward patients, as further discussed below. Jim said, “[I’m] not saying that our protesters who are Catholic aren’t aggressive—I think it’s a very different type of aggressiveness. The Catholics are not saying that we are going to hell, the Catholics are trying to say, ‘please come to our clinic instead, we’re praying for you.’ They’re there specifically for their sidewalk counseling rather than for damning people to hell.” In the Southwest, Veronica shared that the Catholic archbishop sent out a letter to the Catholic community in her city saying that evangelical antis would be welcome to use the church-owned property across the street from the abortion clinic to protest, but were not permitted to hand out pamphlets, hold “ugly posters” showing fetal remains on them, or yell at the patients as they entered this clinic. Should the antis disregard these rules, law enforcement would be called and they would no longer be welcome to use the property. With this directive, the evangelicals at this clinic were being held not only to local laws and city ordinances, but to the directives of the Catholic church in this community. This example further illustrates the differences in approach that various Christian organizations employed when protesting at abortion clinics. Veronica noted that over the almost three decades that she had been escorting, she had seen a steep decline in escorts who were affiliated with religious organizations such as Catholics for Choice. She wasn’t sure if this was due to a general decline in participation in religious communities, or because of a lack of formal church involvement in openly supporting abortion clinics. She noted that she was “probably one of the few [escorts] that actually represent a church,” sharing that as a member of the Church of Christ, her religious community had been volunteering and raising money for the abortion clinic in her city for several decades. In sum, a common theme among escorts in this study was the general mildness of the Catholic protesters at their clinics, which was in sharp contrast to evangelical antis. Evangelical Protesters, Amplified Sound, and Theatrics All of the escorts who participated in this study agreed that evangelicals were the most vocal and vile of the protesters at their clinics. Evangelical antis commonly held what escorts labeled “abortion porn” or “fetal porn” signs that showed misleading pictures of later-term fetuses. Additionally,

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the evangelical protesters often called female patients “sluts” and “whores” as they walked into the clinic, while also verbally assaulting male companions, using what one participant felt was “toxic masculine language.” This language included ideas that men shouldn’t “allow” their female partners to have abortions, and urged men to “take charge” of their women and unborn children. Anita from a Midwest clinic commented that, There is definitely a difference between how evangelicals behave versus how Catholics behave. The regulars that we have, the ones who kind of just like, come on their own, maybe have a pamphlet, maybe have a sign, really aren’t that effective. They tend to be Catholic. . . . There are some teenage groups that come and they just basically stand there and sing . . . the rosary or whatever it is. They always look like they’re freezing. . . . They look miserable. They are also Catholic. There’s a little bit more diversity in those teenage groups sometimes, but most of these people are white. The people who come in from the suburbs or from other states tend to be evangelicals and they are a lot louder and they’re a lot more obnoxious. [They] also tend to be white.

Anita reiterated other escorts interviewed in this study, noting that the evangelical antis were particularly loud. She said, “they’ll be like . . . ‘is it a boy or a girl?’ That was like a nice little psychological mind fuck. They’ll [yell], ‘don’t kill your baby, there are other ways!’” Anita noted that this group often encouraged patients to leave the abortion clinic and go to a Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC), saying that the CPC would “help” patients and “get things,” which usually translated to baby clothes and diapers. To this, Anita said, “it’s like, okay . . . do you wanna get people health insurance and quality public school education, like all that stuff? A box of diapers isn’t gonna get somebody super far. So, I think that . . . it’s manipulative either way, but it kind of falls into two categories of like, oh, you could get help in this way. Or, you don’t have to do this/you shouldn’t do this for this reason.” CPCs were further discussed in chapter 2. Nancy from the Midwest said that at her clinic, the evangelicals probably are a little bit more aggressive. . . . They will do a lot of preaching, [they are] very loud. They have bullhorns. It’s almost like a script, right? Like, “I used to do X, Y, Z and then I found Jesus and now I don’t do that anymore and don’t kill your baby” and, you know, a lot of things like that. So, they’re louder. They’re more aggressive. They’re more in your face: physical, sometimes where they’ll . . . use their bodies to get in between us and the patient.

Nancy noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, escorts were told to stay home and when they were allowed to return to the clinic, the escort volunteer coordinator required them to wear full face guards because the antis

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would “get right up in our faces screaming at us.” Nancy stated that antis rarely wore masks to the clinic—putting both escorts and patients at risk for COVID, which she felt didn’t support the “sanctity of life message” antiabortion protesters supposedly represented. Mark from the Midwest talked about one regular anti—an older white male who liked to walk backwards in front of patients who were trying to enter the clinic—preaching about Jesus and murder while also trying to hand out Christian-based antiabortion literature. Mark said that it was common for male partners to get upset with this particular anti, “and they will approach him and then they will start this back-andforth . . . [anti name omitted] will hide behind his free speech . . . [this] isn’t gonna sit well with the guy that he’s harassing.” This protester was known to call the police when the patients and companions he harassed verbally responded to his badgering—indicating that harassment was only acceptable when antis were the ones to inflict it. He added that the antis “wanted to be martyrs, they want to be victims,” saying that altercations with escorts would solidify the antis’ need to be outside of clinics to protect patients from the “horrors” of abortion. Mark shared an incident when one of their regular white, male antis was crowding a patient and their male companion as they walked into the clinic. The anti looked around and saw a large commercial truck parked next to him and threw himself into the side of the truck. According to Mark the anti then partially collapses, not all the way to the sidewalk, but you can just see him kind of pretend he’s gonna collapse and sure enough, his protester buddies call the police. The police come down, watch the [clinic surveillance] video, come out [of the clinic] . . . big nothing burger, just a waste of time.

The escorts at this particular Midwest clinic stated that they were extremely grateful for the surveillance cameras set up outside of their clinic, as that footage had been useful during these types of occurrences with antis. Grace shared that the evangelical abortion abolitionists who appeared at her Midwest clinic each Saturday had a fondness for amplified sound. This was a common tactic for evangelical antis at all of the clinics in this study. Grace said that on rainy days, this particular group of protesters was less likely to be outside as “it would mess with their electronics—they love amplified sound. They love microphones. They’re the ones who drive their vans into the alley behind the clinic and stand on top of their vehicles to scream over the fence at our patients.” Karey from the Midwest described the Evangelical Lutheran antis as a “performative display,” noting that one man regularly showed up at her clinic with “an assortment of really cheap instruments” including bagpipes and a ukulele and played these instruments in an attempt to keep

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patients from having their procedures. This attempt, she said, was likely not “welcoming or attractive to young female-identifying people in crisis.” The scene at Jenny’s Southeast clinic was one of the most chaotic in this study. She said that on any given Saturday, “it’s a minimum of a hundred to a couple hundred” evangelical antis outside her clinic. She added that “we also have a Catholic group that’s coming in now that is bringing in probably a hundred, two hundred protesters once a month. So, you have two protests that are aiming to bring hundreds of people outside of our clinic once a month now. There’s been as many as a couple thousand.” Jenny discussed an evangelical Christian group called Love Life whose goal is “uniting and mobilizing the Church to create a culture of love and life that will result in an end to abortion and the orphan crisis” (About Us-Love Life). Jenny said this group was “the Instagram version of a clinic protester, they’ve got the photo spreads . . . they’re all wearing the matching shirts. It doesn’t look quite as crazy as the protesters with the baby dolls and the gory signs and stuff. I think they’re trying to be the softer side of the protesters.” This group organizes weekly “prayer walks” from February until November and invites followers to meet up at specified abortion clinics, saying “this is not a protest but a time of prayer and worship” (About Us-Love Life). Love Life had found great success in attracting large groups of antis to this particular clinic. Jenny said that “pre-pandemic, I think they had three thousand people outside of our clinic. We still had a lot of protesters even pandemic wise.” Jenny’s clinic was located in a business park area where most businesses were closed on Saturday. Additionally, this clinic was not located on a main road—both of these factors contributed to the congestion at her clinic. She noted that the antis were “gifted the land next door to the clinic admin building so they have property that they can set up their stages and stuff on every Saturday because it’s very much like a church service or concert. They set up a stage, they’ve got a lot of amplified sound. They put on a whole service with testimonies and songs and everything. . . . We call it Christian Coachella.” Ruth said that at her Southeast clinic, the Southern Baptist antis were the largest group of protesters. Like evangelical groups, the Southern Baptists “usually bring big amplifiers . . . are all middle-aged white men that bring their wives and assorted children with them. They’re the ones with all the technology. They bring GoPro cameras and amplifiers and microphones and the whole lot.” Ruth also reported a group of Lutheran antis who purposely wore yellow vests in the hopes of “misleading people [patients] into thinking that they’re escorts.” As her clinic was located in a downtown area without a private parking lot, patients had to walk along public sidewalks to get to the clinic and had to use a public parking garage. She said, “when you’re getting outta the parking lot garage and you don’t know where the clinic’s

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at and there’s this person in a yellow vest. . . . [and] you’ve been told [by the clinic that] some person in a vest is gonna come and walk with you, the minute they’re like ‘please don’t kill your baby’ it’s very disorientating.” She noted that the Lutherans “come at it a bit more, for lack of a better term, more gentle, I guess. But you know, it’s not gentle, they’re still intimidating and terrible.” Ruth said that the Lutherans at her clinic tended to be in their early twenties and thirties and would often attempt to use the colloquialisms of younger people saying things like, “yo man, this ain’t right” to patients, in attempt to build rapport. She noted that the antis were generally not successful in these attempts at camaraderie building. Mary from the Midwest shared the antics of two of their regular antis: both evangelical, older white men. She dubbed the duo the “the tag team of protester horror” saying their behavior was “pretty shameless.” One of these antis had the distinction of being known to carry around a rubber twelve-week- old fetus that he liked to shove into patients’ faces while walking backward in front of them. Mary said his “preferred strategy is to walk as close to the patient as he can feasibly get, four feet in front of them, but he walks backwards so he’s speaking to them the entire time that they’re trying to reach the door of the clinic. He acquired one of those dreadful little rubber fetuses and he likes to wave those [at patients].” Mary said that in all of the years she had been escorting she had never “seen a patient pause at the door and say, ‘You’re right. I do have other choices’ and turn around and follow him into his car or whatever.” Leslie from a Southern clinic was not the only escort in this study who reported that evangelical antis with amplified sound often focused on non-abortion issues while protesting. She said that at her clinic, one man in particular liked to tell his personal stories under the guise of preaching and often “touches on every political subject” even if the issue was seemingly unrelated to abortion. This common occurrence at clinics across the country contributed to escorts questioning the real motives of the evangelical preachers outside their clinics—as opposed to the Catholic protesters who focused on one issue exclusively: ending abortion. Evangelicals and Catholics Argue Outside the Clinic Another factor that contributed to the disorder on the sidewalks outside of abortion clinics in this study was the trend of evangelical antis arguing with Catholic antis. This was regularly reported by participants in this study. At Paulette’s East Coast clinic, the annual Catholic 40 Days for Life protests proved to be “like a West Side Story rumble” with evangelicals and Catholics loudly arguing on the sidewalks. She said, “they do not play nice together. They are both talking about Jesus and abortion is murder, but they do not

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approve of each other’s tactics. They are not a cohesive group. The louder the Hail Marys become, the louder the evangelical preaching became.” Taylor from a Midwest clinic shared an incident where the “Catholics starting taking the evangelicals to task for going on about the necessity of being born again and that escalated so far that they called the cops on each other. It was funny until it very much was not because we do not like having cops at the clinic. It’s an easy recipe for escalation. It freaks patients out. We don’t call ’em [police] if we can avoid it.” Jared, another escort at the same clinic as Taylor, said that “there are the great days when the evangelicals and Catholics show up and just argue with each other the whole time,” which kept their attentions away from patients. For the escorts in this study, the arguments between Catholics and evangelical antis brought up conflicting reactions: escorts appreciated the antis taking a break from harassing patients, but were simultaneously concerned about the added turmoil on the sidewalks, especially if the police were called—and how this could impact patient access. Sarah from the South noted that in recent years, their regular antis had stopped protesting at the clinic from opening until closing time. She said this was likely due to the advanced ages of the antis at her clinic, in addition to an incident between an evangelical street preacher and their regular group of Catholic antis. She recalled that this street preacher “literally verbally attack[ed] the Catholics one day and . . . one group of Catholics that have been coming for years stopped coming. They had been [coming] for more than thirty years.” Sarah shared that there was a small contingent of Catholics that came to the clinic on Sunday when they were closed and “have a little service [that] we call the ‘Holy Uterus.’” In this instance, the nastiness of this evangelical street preacher seemed to have deterred the Catholic antis from protesting at the clinic when they were open. Kathleen, an escort at the same Southern clinic as Sarah, said that the “evangelicals have done us a favor by dropping the Catholic protesters” adding that her clinic “had some evangelicals, just bat-shit crazy evangelicals, [who have] decided that Catholics aren’t real Christians.” Sarah shared an incident where one of their older, “vile” regular antis had a heart attack outside of the clinic while “crazy yelling at the [clinic] owner,” patients, and escorts. When escorts called the anti’s wife who was yelling at patients on the other side of the clinic, she was reluctant to believe that her husband needed assistance. When she did leave her post and saw her husband lying on the sidewalk, she accused the escorts of hurting him. An ambulance was called, he was taken to the hospital, and he had not returned to the clinic at the time of Sarah’s interview, several months later. Sarah also noted that in her city, it was not uncommon for the same group of antis that protested at her clinic to show up to agitate at LGBTQ events.

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Kathleen, an escort at the same Southern clinic as Sarah, said that the “evangelicals have done us a favor by dropping the Catholic protesters” adding that her clinic “had some evangelicals, just bat-shit crazy evangelicals, [who have]decided that Catholics aren’t real Christians.” Jim from the Southeast labeled the arguments between Catholics and evangelicals at his clinic a “land grab” to see who could take up more space on the sidewalks, and Matt from a Midwest clinic said that he heard the Catholics and Protestants argue about whose religion was correct saying, “You might be going to hell. I’m just trying to save your soul too, et cetera.” White Antis Love Black Babies All escorts reported that the vast majority of antis at their clinics were white. Additionally, the trend of white antis holding signs with pictures of Black babies on them was reported at most clinics. These finding support research from Carroll et al. (2021) who reported that participants in their study described the ways that protesters, who were predominately white, used racialized messages and images at the only abortion clinic in Mississippi. One Black participant in the Carroll et al. study recalled a white protester holding a Black Lives Matter sign (890). This was also a common occurrence according to clinic escorts in this study. At a Midwestern clinic located in a city that contains a large African American population, escorts reported white antis holding signs with pictures of Black babies. Matt shared that at his clinic “there are several [white] women who will hold up signs with pro-life messages and pictures of Black babies and apparently Black fetuses right next to the parking lot.” At Julia’s Midwest clinic, antis liked to point out that the majority of the escorts at her indie clinic were white, while the majority of the patients were Black. She said, “that’s always pointed out at [indie clinic name omitted] in particular by a few of the regular protesters, that all these white people are killing off Black babies. That’s the big thing.” Julia felt that the antis at her clinic who participated in this specific form of harassment were trying to convey to Black patients that the white escorts were racist and trying to annihilate the Black population by encouraging abortion as a form of population control. She said that one of the favorite phrases that white antis would yell at Black patients entering the clinic was “Black Lives Matter!” adding that, “I guarantee you that’s the only place they yell Black Lives Matter—because that’s kind of the most convenient thing to yell and they think that’s making their point.” Julia further added that the most “vocal, hostile protesters” at her clinic were “old white men.” In addition to signage showcasing Black babies, Laura at a Midwest clinic reported that the language the almost-exclusively white antis used toward

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Black patients was focused on race. She said, “when we have a woman of color patient going in, there’s one protester who will say, ‘your child could be the next president of the United States! Obama was president!’” Laura noted that this was often followed by a fellow white anti who liked to tell Black patients that he had just adopted a Black child as a way to prove that he was willing to save Black children from abortion. Laura felt that this language was “racist . . . And they [antis] bring race into it to try to get ’em [Black patients] to change their mind.” Several participants reported white antis using the names of Black people who had recently been murdered by police, such as George Floyd, when yelling at Black patients entering the clinic. Few Non-white Protesters Escorts in this study noted the almost exclusive whiteness of their protesters—indicating that it was white, Christian people who were the main agitators at abortion clinics, as previously discussed. It was common for escorts to report that they had few non-white protesters who regularly came to their clinic. This varied slightly with clinics located in highly populated, diverse cities where escorts reported a handful of Black, Latino, and on one occasion, a trio of East Asian antis. Escorts reported the phenomenon of the solitary Black protester at their clinic, noting that they rarely interacted with the large groups of white antis at the clinic. Only one escort reported a small group of Black women who protested outside of her clinic, as stated below. Tanya said that she had only “seen one autonomous Black protester and he wasn’t with the regular group” at her Southeastern clinic. Additionally, one of the regular white antis routinely brought their adopted children of color with them to the clinic to protest, likely as an attempt to show non-white patients that there were white people willing to adopt their children. Matt commented on the lack of diversity in the antis at his Midwest clinic saying, during the first of couple years I was escorting—so 2016/2017, probably into 2018—there was one female protestor: a Black woman who I’m pretty sure was evangelical because she would show up carrying a little red Bible and a portable speaker and microphone and setup and deliver gigantic sermons at the top of her voice that would go on for maybe an hour at a time. . . . She would compare what we were doing to what Adolf Hitler and his scientists did during the Holocaust, et cetera, and about how Jesus is found.

Matt did not recall seeing another Black female anti at his clinic apart from this specific woman. Escorts from the same Midwest clinic as Matt all shared stories of this specific Black female protester who liked to use a bullhorn or microphone to preach what were described as long, drawn-out stories full of tangents that

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were often not clearly related to abortion. Taylor shared that one day, this anti spent her time sharing with escorts, patients, and other antis her belief that pornography destroyed marriages. The link to abortion was unclear to Taylor, who also shared that this anti liked to yell about how “they [the abortion clinic] dump the aborted babies in the oceans and submarines have seen them.” Additionally, this anti liked to compare people to broken shopping carts, saying, “we are all like shopping carts with one broken wheel because we cannot help but turn away from God” and proclaimed that “bananas are proof that God exists.” Grace from another Midwest clinic also reported the phenomenon of the lone Black protester amid a sea of white antis. She said that at her clinic “one of the hardcore regulars who is there every Saturday morning is an elderly Black woman. She is the only routine non-white person that we see there.” Ruth from a Southeastern clinic said that “there’s a group called [name omitted] which is actually a Black-women-led antiabortion organization. They . . . have a big thing around Easter. They have a big thing around Father’s Day. They come out [at] peak times, which is usually like family holidays. They also target Black escorts and try to appeal to them through that shared experience. It’s kind of sick.” Caroline said that occasionally, her clinic in the Southwest will have a non-white protester, saying, “We’ll have a token Hispanic guy, every once in a while, we have a token Black guy but you know, they don’t last very long,” adding that the antis at her clinic are overwhelmingly white and did not appear to interact with BIPOC protesters. Veronica said that at her Southwest clinic there was a small group of Hispanic Catholic antis, mostly women, who held what she described as “white Jesus pictures” while standing across the street from the clinic. Veronica also noted that at one time, there was a young Black male anti who showed up to protest but had not been back to the clinic in quite some time. As noted by other escorts in this study, the antis at abortion clinics were almost exclusively white. Many escorts felt that white privilege allowed the antis to break laws and local ordinances with few consequences—noting that if clinic sidewalks were populated with BIPOC antis, police presence and enforcement of laws would likely be more routinely enforced. Women Antis Are Particularly Problematic All of the escorts in this study said that the majority of antis at their clinic were men, mostly white, and often in their later years. However, clinics did report that they had regular, white women antis—some of whom were very vocal. Julia said that she believed women protested at clinics due to religious and societal ideology that was rooted in sexist gender roles, in addition to a

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lack of critical thinking about individual scenarios that would lead patients to seek abortion care. She said, I think a lot of women haven’t really thought about the complexities of it [abortion]. It’s [parenting] a nice womanly, nurturing thing to be all about. It’s like, who would kill a baby? And women’s roles are to birth babies and to nurture babies. I think society has played a big part in that. I think definitely religion has played a huge part in that and both of those things are very much a patriarchy: religion, society, government. I don’t know if women just truly believe that they should be subservient to the men making the decisions or if they really haven’t thought it through or thought about it. It’s really aggravating though to see women who are playing such a role in supporting the men who are driving this forced birth movement.

Julia added that she was “frustrated by the women that buy into the whole pro-life movement. And they don’t see that it’s their sisters that are being attacked. The patriarchy plays a part, white supremacy plays a part. . . . It’s pretty ugly.” Jan shared that seeing female antis outside of her southern clinic was “especially egregious, because most of them, to some extent, have maybe faced a pregnancy that they went ‘oh shit. I don’t know if I can do this.’ Or you know, that live moment of panic and they’ll use that [to try to discourage abortion].” Jan also noted a new group of younger women antis showing up at the clinic saying, “we’ve got a couple of new little Students for Life [of America, an antiabortion student organization] and they’ve just had this stuff poured into their head and you ask ’em questions and they’re like ‘we have resources’ and I’m like, what are they? [and they say] ‘Well I don’t know. We can give you some diapers.’” Jan said that this group would then hand over a list of state welfare offices as evidence of “resources” available to patients. Jan added, “Ninety percent of the people in [state name omitted] who apply for welfare are denied”—noting that her state was known as one of the poorest in the nation, while simultaneously reporting some of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States. Sluts, Lesbian Training Pants, and Deadbeat Dads The clinics that had more evangelical protesters reported that the language used by antis was very sexist and derogatory; as compared to clinics with mostly Catholic protesters—indicating strikingly different approaches to abortion clinic protesting. As stated by the escorts in this study, the most vitriolic evangelical antis tended to be located in the Southern states, and escorts from these clinics reported that it was common for antis to yell hateful speech

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directed toward both escorts and patients. Angela from a Southern clinic said that the antis at her clinic have called patients whores, they call ’em sluts. The men that go in to support the woman, you know, are [called] deadbeat dads. We have heard horrible racial things said against women, [also] regarding their clothing, regarding our [escorts’] morals. They don’t know us. They don’t know our morals.

Angela added that she has often heard the antis refer to patients and escorts as “Jezebels.” Kathleen, an escort at the same clinic as Angela, said that one female evangelical anti “dresses in the long skirts and . . . she looks like something out of a Mormon Sister Wives [television] episode but she will yell at the young women that are here that are wearing shorts or leggings . . . and call ’em lesbian training pants, [she’ll say] ‘wearing leggings leads to lesbianism.’” Kathleen mentioned two male antis who brought amplified bullhorns and just screech the most horrendous things at people in the parking lot, calling any guy in the parking lot a deadbeat dad. There was one day when they were yelling something about video games leading to faggots . . . telling women they should have kept their legs closed. There’s a daycare two doors down and they’ve had to pull the children off the playground so that they don’t have to hear some of this stuff that’s being yelled.

While Laura did not report the same level of racist, sexist, and homophobic rhetoric at her Midwestern clinic, she did say that when the local newspaper showed up to interview protesters, the antis always said “they’re peaceful protesters, there’re just standing there peacefully and that’s such BS because they’re not standing there peacefully.” Katie said that at her Southern clinic, a well- known white, right-wing anti had visited her clinic, noting that he was “just a really bad guy.” Katie said that this individual regularly told the escorts at her clinic that they were “being investigated by the federal something or other and that they were building cases against us: that we [escorts] were complicit in murder . . . and that we would all be going to jail.” She also described a white, Christian husband-and-wife duo who would get on their microphone and “give their testimony” as an attempt to talk patients out of going into the clinic. According to Katie, on one occasion the male anti was yelling at patients, saying, “there are so many of you going in there today, is it a two-for-one special day? I know how you got there—young, dumb, and full of cum.’ And then they’ll say, come on out of there and come and talk to us, we wanna help you.” Unsurprisingly, few patients felt comfortable seeking out this specific anti for support, according to Katie.

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Antis Harass Male Escorts with Sexist Language Some of the male-identifying and male-presenting escorts in this study said that the ways the antis interacted with them were often based on sexist, patriarchal ideas that were grounded in Christian ideology. This was reflected in two distinct ways: either by using sexist language that questioned how “manly” a male escort was or by pointedly avoiding male escorts while simultaneously openly and loudly harassing female-appearing and -identified escorts. Jared, who identified as queer and masculine presenting, said that at their Midwest clinic, they found that the antis were less likely to engage with them as opposed to female appearing escorts saying, “especially when I don’t respond or react. . . . I am, more often, stepping in front of them with my back to them and just not moving or staying in front of them [and] they are less likely to try to aggravate or harass me.” They also shared that at their clinic, there was a contingent of white and Latino male antis in their early twenties who liked to try to start fights with male-presenting escorts and male companions in the hopes that these encounters lead to physical violence, that they could upload to their Christian, antiabortion YouTube channel. These videos were linked to a Patreon account where supporters could send money to subsidize their abortion abolition efforts. This channel, according to Jared, was fairly popular among younger antiabortion activists and was used as a way to garner attention and monetary donations. Jared stated that this was likely a con and that “if abortion disappeared tomorrow, he [anti] would be doing exactly this in [LGBTQ city nickname omitted], he would be attacking clinics that support trans healthcare or things like that.” Jared added that “the young male protesters get way more physical with me, we see them do this with [male] companions, especially one guy [anti] in particular. Every time he shows up, he does whatever he can to get one of the male companions to punch him and he wears a body cam. He just wants to either call the police or have footage of himself being martyred.” Jared shared that this male anti regularly yelled at male companions, saying things like you need to be a man, go up there and get your woman out of there, you’re a coward . . . all the standard kind of murder stuff [abortion is murder, etc.], a lot of challenges to masculinity [such as] “if you were a real man, you wouldn’t let this happen.” My best understanding of it is that he gets kind of [as] vile and aggressive with these guys as possible so they can’t back down without losing face.

Jared added that “through trial and error” the best tactic they employed was to try to step in and distract or side with the male companion in an attempt to calm them down, often by laughing and making jokes at the antis’ expense. Jared said that this tactic “asserts a shared masculinity with the companion

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and kind of says rather than like, the male thing to do, the masculine thing to do is not fight this man, it is to ignore him.” Jared stated that they were “gender queer,” saying, “I do not consider myself male in a conventional sense. I do consciously present male while escorting to the point of . . . I do not correct other escorts when they use male pronouns with me . . . because I think it’s more useful in that situation for me to be male than to be trans.” At Steve’s Midwest clinic, he noted that the male antis were much more likely to aggressively verbally engage with female escorts, in addition to being more combative with female presenting patients. He said, “the ones who are consistently the most intrusive . . . are men in our area.” Steve noted that when protesters wanted to talk to him about saving his soul and what Jesus thinks of abortion, it was usually from female antis. He noted two older male antis who were more friendly and did not try to engage him in this type of discussion, but would “exchange pleasantries like, ‘oh it’s a sunny day today’” or similar. These two men, Steve said, were an exception to the general aggressiveness of male antis at his clinic, saying that the younger male antis at his clinic were “more angry.” Dan said that the male antis at his Southern clinic became particularly triggered when the volunteer coordinator would ask him to do something and he would comply. He said, it infuriates our antis when [escort volunteer coordinator name omitted] asks me to do something and I do it and they’ll [antis] be like “will you do anything they tell you to?” and I’m like, “well they’re in charge, so yeah.” I do what they tell me and it just infuriates them [antis]. The antis here love to question the men, like “what kind of man are you? You’re letting your woman do this [have an abortion].” . . . it’s astonishing and of course these are the men whose wives have given them nine, ten, twelve children . . . that they’re not home taking care of.

Instead, Dan added, these male antis are at the clinic harassing patients and escorts. As noted many times by study participants, antis outside of abortion clinics are almost exclusively white with few BIPOC protesters regularly present. Some escorts reported groups of younger antis at their clinics, but overwhelmingly, antis tended to be older, retired white people. As antiabortion organizations become more popular in high schools and colleges, this demographic may shift. Additionally, the differences in protesting techniques are important to note with escorts reporting that evangelical antis are the most vocal, theatrical, offensive, and difficult to deal with. Catholics, escorts reported, were less vocal but aggressively pushed scientifically inaccurate misinformation about the possibility of reversing medication abortion.

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Additionally, antis regularly used racist and sexist language toward patients, companions, and female presenting escorts. Unsurprisingly, this language did not encourage patients to parent instead of abort.

Chapter 9

For Antis, Abortion Is Never an Option Antiabortion Protesters Are Hypocritical and Offer Unhelpful Solutions

Escorts shared common tactics and antiabortion arguments used by antis at their clinics that included misinformation about pregnancy and abortion, the use of vulnerable adults to break laws, and the ways that antis intimidated patients. This intimidation, study participants noted, contributed to feelings of distress that caused some patients to justify their decision to have an abortion to clinic escorts, as discussed below. Study participants recalled the litany of antiabortion “alternatives” antis at their clinics presented to patients seeking abortion care. Every participant noted that these attempts were unsuccessful in almost 100 percent of these interactions. Angela shared that along with the insults hurled at patients and escorts discussed in chapter 8, antis also liked to tell patients and escorts at her Southern clinic that “we love you, we’re here to support you no matter what.” Angela shared that she often challenged the antis making these statements by asking, “Are you gonna be there at 3 a.m. when the baby’s crying and she’s sick and [the parent] can’t go to work? Are you gonna pay that bill? No, you’re not. I need more details on what you’re actually gonna do, ’cause you’re not [going to do anything].” Angela noted that recently, a new, very young group of antis had been appearing at her clinic. She said that the group consisted of “homeschool girls . . . they are all seventeen and their leader is twenty.” She said that this group tried to give patients little gift bags that they called “care” bags that contained “chocolates, a pack of tissues, some peppermints, and medically inaccurate, Christian-focused antiabortion literature.” One day, Angela engaged with one of the adolescent girls when she yelled to 141

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a patient that they “have money, we’ll help you.” Angela said, “I looked at her and I said, ‘you don’t have a job.’ And she said, ‘yes I do . . . I babysit.’” To this Angela replied, “oh honey, that’s not a job.” Julia shared that her Midwest state representative was “one of the leaders in the [state name omitted] pro-birth movement. She’s very much an extremist. She said ‘well I didn’t let having babies stop me from having a career.’” Julia noted that this state representative was very much a “privileged white woman” whose parents moved in with her to help care for her children. This woman could also afford a full-time nanny. Julia added, “to think that because that was your experience, that’s the experience of everybody else having a baby or potentially having a baby . . . there’s such a lack of awareness.” Julia posited that in her state alone, more than 500,000 children in foster care were currently waiting for adoption—adding that “nothing’s being done about those kids. Where’s all the pro-life stuff when it comes to those kids [who are] in a place where people are wanting to cut Medicaid? They don’t support affordable housing, they don’t support a living wage.” Julia, like most escorts in this study, felt that the antis’ sole focus on the fetus and not the person carrying that fetus was another example of how out of touch antis were. What kills me is they [antis] will show a baby floating in amniotic fluid on a poster that they’ve blown up, no sign of the woman around that amniotic fluid. It’s just the amniotic fluid and just the fetus floating there . . . so to me, the woman’s becoming inconsequential, but you have to have a woman to have a fetus. And so, women’s rights are totally inconsequential. The living, breathing woman who could die from this is inconsequential. The woman is a by-product.

Caroline shared that one of the regular and most vocal male antis at her clinic followed her to her car one day, wearing his GoPro camera, and said, “Caroline, God was trying to send you a message by taking your husband early.” Caroline had been recently widowed at the time of this encounter and this incident was, she felt, an attempt to shame her for her clinic volunteerism. She described this anti as “one that really uses his religion to justify his bullying, he wears a GoPro, he’s always trying to incite.” Caroline said that after this comment, I came unglued. My finger went in his face, I had pink fuzzy gloves on and a pink hat. And I used the f-bomb. I said, “don’t bring my husband into this. This is none of your business. How dare you.” He [the anti] posted it on YouTube and [labeled it] “deathscort [a belittling name for clinic escorts that antis favored] reacts to God’s love” or something.

Caroline’s story was not unique in that it showed the hypocrisy of some antis at abortion clinics: claiming to help under the guise of a Christian God’s love

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while simultaneously spewing some of the most hateful and vitriolic words escorts had ever heard. Interestingly, Caroline said that when this anti posted the video, he did not edit it and several viewers commented on how inappropriate this anti was to make these comments to a recently widowed escort. Caroline did not say if the comments were from antis or pro-abortion viewers. Several escorts discussed the lack of masks worn by the antis during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as proof that the “pro-life” movement was really about forced birth and not protecting the sanctity of life, as they often claimed. Additionally, escorts reported that anti-vaxxers at their clinics regularly co-opted language about bodily autonomy such as “my body, my choice,” to justify not wearing masks or practicing social distancing, while simultaneously trying to block patients from having access to their own bodies via abortion care. These scenarios were infuriating to the escorts in this study and provided evidence that the antis at their clinic did not care about patients or children, just fetuses inside a womb. Caroline said that at her Southwest clinic, the antis “don’t wear masks. They didn’t get vaccinated. They’re anti-science, they talk about babies rather than fetuses, it’s babies from conception on. They can’t talk about it [fetal development] in scientific terms. Even if you ask them questions that challenge their beliefs, they will talk right over you.” Katie recalled a Vietnamese man at her Southern clinic asking the antis for assistance with his three children at home after they offered to give him diapers in exchange for his wife not having an abortion. Katie recalled him asking the antis “can you help me buy uniforms for them? Can you help me buy food for them? Lunch money? And you know, there was no response to that.” She shared another incident where a teenage boy, his girlfriend, and her mother, came to the clinic and offered to help patients with their babies if they chose to parent. When a patient asked what they could do to help, the trio of antis shared that a few nights ago, they had brought a woman with two young children some diapers and a pizza. She added, “this is their [antis] idea of helping: here’s some pizza, here are some diapers, problem solved.” Overall, not a single study participant shared an example of an anti offering a patient long-term, tangible assistance should they choose to parent instead of abort—indicating that antis are grossly out of step with patient needs. Dealing with Antis Escorts at nonengagement clinics articulated a multitude of coping mechanisms that they employed when dealing with antis and most admitted that nonengagement was very difficult. Nancy from the Midwest said that on days when the anti activity at her clinic was very chaotic, escorts would pair up—which she said was “always helpful because then you just talk to that

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person that you’re with and ignore them [antis] or we’ll talk to the person while we’re walking past them and ignore them.” Nancy said that at times, she would wear headphones “but that doesn’t always feel the safest because then I can’t hear what’s going on.” She added that the best coping tactic she had was “really working with the other escorts that are there and [then] I’m trying not to pay attention to them [antis], or respond in any way that would egg them on.” Paulette held two positions at her East Coast clinic: escort and defender, noting that when patients were around, she was entirely patient-focused. When the patients were safely in the clinic, she openly engaged with antis. Paulette shared an encounter she had with an eighty-two-year-old anti where she asked why this woman came to protest. This anti responded with “because Jesus told me to!” Paulette replied, “that’s so interesting [anti name omitted], Jesus told me the same thing [to escort at the clinic]!” The protester then told Paulette that she was “listening to the devil” and “not praying to God,” dismissing Paulette’s claim that she believed in a higher power. Gabby from the Midwest had adopted the practice of roaming around the parking lot adjacent to the clinic when out-of-town, overzealous evangelicals showed up in an attempt to get them to follow her away from the clinic’s front door. She reported this tactic as being highly effective. She described this group of antis as “really aggressive” and noted that they “show up with cameras and audio and get in people’s faces,” a common strategy employed by antis at abortion clinics since the 1990s (Ellis 2020; Rankin 2022). One way that Caroline dealt with the antis at her Southwest clinic was to ask them questions about their presence at the clinic and how this related to their belief in a Christian God. While Caroline said that she rarely got answers to her questions, she found this was a helpful coping mechanism. She said, If you ask them questions that challenge their beliefs, they will talk right over you. And they don’t wanna answer that question. They will ignore a question that they have not thought about the answer to. There’s been a couple of times I’ve said, “okay guys. If these are truly the innocent, according to your religion, these babies will go straight to heaven” . . . they won’t answer you. Or I say to them, “okay if your God is so omnipotent, if he is such a wonderful God, why does he need you out here, standing on the curb? What is it about you?” They can’t answer it. They can’t answer those kinds of questions and you ask them and they’ll talk right over you.

Additionally, Caroline shared that another way she dealt with protesters was to talk directly to the antis’ children. She said, “and I’ll talk to the kids, I look straight at the kids and I’m like ‘your dad’s lying to you, guys. Your dad’s lying to you.’” Caroline said that the antis at her clinic would often become

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upset and order her to stop talking to their children—even though these children were encouraged by their parents to yell hateful phrases at escorts and patients. She added, “if you’re bringing ’em [children] to the clinic, I’m gonna talk to ’em.” Antis bringing their young children to abortion clinics to harass patients and escorts was a common occurrence at the majority of clinics in this study. Escorts reported that they were concerned for the children’s safety, due to a lack of parental supervision in high-traffic areas. Antis Target Indie Clinics and Get More Attention As discussed in chapter 2, the physical plant of an abortion clinic often determined how many antis would show up and how vocal they would be. Several escorts in this study had volunteered at various Planned Parenthood establishments around the South and Midwest, in addition to an indie clinic, with all noting that indie clinics were subjected to larger crowds of protesters. According to participants, Planned Parenthood clinics tended to have private parking lots and fences surrounding their properties, which made it harder for antis to interact with patients. Most indie clinics in this study did not have the same physical plant setup that Planned Parenthood clinics did, which allowed antis the ability to get much closer to patients and escorts, making indie clinics a more appealing targets for antis. Additionally, escorts reported that police were more cooperative and vigilant at Planned Parenthood establishments than indie clinics, as discussed in chapters 2 and 6. This was, according to study participants, likely due to the high status and name recognition afforded this organization. Julia escorted at two clinics in the Midwest: the indie clinic in her state and a Planned Parenthood health center in an adjoining state. She noted that at her indie clinic, there were more protesters and they had easier access to patients, they can get closer. At Planned Parenthood, more protesters pray. They’ll stand outside the fence and hold signs and pray. Some people start yelling when patients pull into the parking lot when they’re getting out of the car, but at [indie clinic name omitted], the yelling goes on the whole time. They’re yelling at patients when patients are in the building. They’re yelling at us, the escorts, it’s just kind of a very different atmosphere.

Paulette from the East Coast said that a group of evangelical antis regularly drove down from an adjoining state to protest at her clinic. She said that when the main leader of this group, an older white male, protested at the Planned Parenthood in his home state, he did not get the interaction he was hoping to get from patients and escorts. He was also unable to get in close proximity to the patients due to the physical plant setup of the Planned Parenthood

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clinic. Paulette said that the escorts at the Planned Parenthood center in the adjoining state, do not engage. They don’t make eye contact. They don’t say boo. They don’t giggle. They don’t talk to each other. They’re like statues at the front door. And I don’t think that’s fun for him [the anti]. So, he just rounded up a bunch of people from his church who come down here to engage with us, but we don’t do it [engage] when the women [patients] are on the sidewalk.

Paulette was proud that the escorts at her clinic had harassed a particularly vocal and hate-filled anti to the point that he had not returned to her clinic. “To tell you the truth, we heckled him until he just quit. He doesn’t come anymore. You could see him physically shrink and his head would hang. We just let him have it about how unloving it was . . . you know, they [antis] couch everything in love . . . but it’s just pure hatred and judgement. And he finally gave up on us.” Upticks in Antis during and after Trump During the Trump administration, most escorts reported an uptick in protesters at their clinic. Additionally, escorts reported that during this time, antis had started implementing more aggressive tactics. Paulette from an East Coast clinic said that the antiabortion rhetoric “ramped up in numbers and hatred. They were just very aggressive and personal towards the patients and escorts. During Trump time it really just blew up, everyone seemed emboldened.” Paulette noted that the antis at her clinic were “still very glad to identify themselves as Trump supporting, anti-vax, anti-mask, and evangelical born-agains.” Mark said that the number of antis at his Midwest clinic during the Trump administration didn’t increase, but he noted an increase in hateful rhetoric. He said, “I think they’ve become a bit more aggressive or bold. . . . I think they’re trying to provoke things a little bit more. I don’t think they really fear any consequences of getting arrested or anything. The regulars know the area that they can’t be in or they’re gonna get cited for blocking entrance to a business. . . . I don’t think there’s a lot of fear of arrest or anything like that.” Katie stated that in recent years, the antis at her Southern clinic had increased their venomous discourse. She said, “what’s being yelled at them [patients] ranges from somebody saying, ‘Mommy! Mommy! Don’t kill me! What did I ever do to you?’ to ‘whore! You slut! You’re gonna have blood on your hands! When you come out of there, you’ll still be a mother, you’ll just be the mother of a dead baby.’ It’s the Christians at their best, right?” Jenny added that at her Southeast clinic, the antis

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felt a little more confident with how things were gonna go and of course they weren’t completely wrong with what happened with the Supreme Court and the Justices that got seated. We always had some people with the Trump stuff on it, but now you see the bumper stickers on their cars that will have ‘Let’s Go Brandon.’ Occasionally we’ll see some Q’Anon stuff on there. It gotten almost weirder. I know the pandemic exacerbated the kind of stuff they pass around and believe about vaccines. . . . I guess that’s kind of enlightening that it’s not that hard to see why they believe everything like the junk stuff scientifically about abortion because they believe that the [COVID-19] vaccine was putting microchips in you and that you could take sheep de-wormer [to cure COVID].

Jenny added that the “rhetoric [had] gotten a little more heated . . . and then of course all the stuff that happened in Texas [abortion ban] has just emboldened them because a lot of them are saying ‘your state’s next.’ I think it has gotten a little more heated and contentious since the change in president.” Laura escorted at a Midwest clinic and also stated that she had noticed a surge in how aggressive and vocal the antis at her clinic had become, particularly those who were evangelical. She noted that she had overheard many conversations among antis talking about Roe, saying, “well, [it’s] not long now we’re gonna get Roe v. Wade overturned and all that. And they’ll say it loud enough so that we hear it.” Laura felt that in these instances, antis were trying to provoke escorts into arguments. Caroline said that at her Southwest clinic, there was a palpable rise in the aggressiveness of antis during Trump and that this increase in contempt for escorts and patients had continued after his presidency ended. She described one white male anti who regularly appeared at her clinic, saying, there’s one guy, he starting coming maybe halfway through Trump’s term and he was an adamant Trumper. He would wear his Trump hat, his MAGA hat to the clinic . . . he would always wear stars and stripes paraphernalia, like he was a patriot or something. He would bait us, “you know Trump won” or he would say, “thank God Amy Coney Barrett’s [Trump-appointed SCOUTS Justice] here. We’re gonna get rid of this [abortion].”

John called the antis at his Southern clinic “Christian terrorists” saying “not too many people like for me to say that,” adding that during the Trump presidency he noticed a significant increase in aggressive antis. He said, “when I first started there [escorting at the clinic] . . . when Obama was still President. . . . When Trump got elected it became a whole different ballgame. They became much more violent. . . . Since 2017 they have become much more violent.”

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Vulnerable Adults at Abortion Clinics Four escorts from two different Southern clinics shared stories of antis exploiting vulnerable adults who resided near their clinics. John shared that at his clinic, the “majority of the homeless people on the street are Black . . . so the fact that they [antis] exploit Black homeless people—that shows you their Christian terrorism.” He recalled an incident where a white male anti was talking to a Black unhoused man and promised to give him money to buy alcohol at the gas station near the clinic. According to John, the unhoused man came back about an hour later, clearly very intoxicated, and walked up to the clinic porch to where the escorts were gathered. John noted that the anti who gave the unhoused man money was filming from the sidewalk. John told the man that he needed to get off of the porch and as the unhoused man was leaving, he reached out and groped one of the female escorts, who promptly “turned around and decked him.” John shared that the police policy at his clinic was similar to all of the clinics in this study in that police should rarely be called. However, he did threaten to call the police on this man in the hopes that he would leave. As the unhoused man was walking away from the clinic, the anti who gave him money followed him down the sidewalk, quietly talking to him. The unhoused man then turned around, walked back to the clinic, “points to me and was like, F-you, and walks away.” John felt that this incident was an example of white antis at his clinic “persuading” vulnerable unhoused people, “95 percent who are Black,” to break the law. John noted that this unhoused man was later arrested. Three escorts from another clinic in the South shared the same incident that involved an anti pushing a mentally vulnerable man off of his bicycle and into oncoming traffic. Sarah recalled one of their regular antis, an older white male who had a large antiabortion following in her state, using his protest sign to knock a pedestrian off of his bicycle into the street outside of the clinic which she described as “a four lane [road] with a turn lane [that is] very, very busy.” The pedestrian hit the ground so hard that his helmet broke. Sarah noted that this particular anti had stated very publicly and loudly that “he owns the sidewalk, he has a permit to protest.” She added that this particular anti “didn’t like this guy [the pedestrian], the man was Black. . . . we have video of it. The anti said the [the pedestrian] bumped into him, but no, we have video where it shows him actually knocking the man off the sidewalk [and into the street].” Another escort at this clinic who witnessed the event said the pedestrian “had absolutely done nothing [wrong]. These lovely pro-life people literally tried to kill him and had there been a [car or cars] at the time that he [anti] pushed him [pedestrian], he would’ve been hit and run over.”

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Escorts at this clinic said that the police were called, as well as an ambulance, as the pedestrian had hit the ground hard enough to split his helmet open. The pedestrian did not press charges, which the escorts felt was likely due to his “diminished mental capacity.” Kathleen said that the clinic escorts were in contact with the vistim’s wife who said that this incident had caused her husband to have a “breakdown” and “it was just more than he could deal with.” In response to this incident, the antis decided to hire security to “protect” them at the clinic. Kathleen said, so then the protesters, afraid that the neighborhood would get together and come back and clean their clocks . . . started hiring off-duty cops to come and sit here for the three hours that they were here. You have to hire them for a minimum of three hours at a time at $30 an hour. So, for the first month or so they were paying $270 a week for a cop and then it sort of petered down and they would only have a cop one or two days a week before it finally all went away. But yes, they’re so pro-life, that they’ll try to kill grown adults.

Kathleen felt that the antis hiring off-duty police officers displayed clear racial and socioeconomic status prejudice. She said, “Cause they [antis] were afraid that the people in the neighborhood would exact retribution. It’s a mixed-race neighborhood, but of course they wanna make it [seem] that . . . the clinic moved to a low-income neighborhood to prey on the low-income people here. So, they’re very afraid that it’s a ‘Black neighborhood,’ which it is not.” Antis Try to Intimidate Escorts and Patients Study participants felt that antis tried to intimidate patients and escorts in several ways: including reciting personal information as discussed in chapter 4; filming patients and escorts outside of the clinic without their consent; and having large numbers of antis present on the sidewalks. These findings are consistent with those of other studies focused on antis at abortion clinics around the United States (Carroll et al. 2021, Ellis 2020; Crookston 2020, 2021). Another tactic employed by a lone anti at one Midwest clinic was the use of paramilitary gear. Five escorts at the same clinic all mentioned this specific anti—noting that he presented himself as a militia member, making escorts very uncomfortable. Gabby labeled this male anti “your stereotypical militia man type: he wears camo and black. He wears a bulletproof vest. He is very obviously carrying a weapon. He’s got a backpack that is a tactical backpack.” Gabby said that she had overheard this man talking to another protester about “wanting to get his hands on grenade launchers and all of these very specific, hard-to-find weapons.” Furthermore, Gabby said that she had reported these conversations to the FBI because “they were pretty

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extreme.” She added, “there’s the people [that] show up and the hair on your neck just kind of stands up. . . . Your red flags are certainly alerted.” In order to gather more information about this specific individual, Gabby shared that she had engaged him in several conversations, finding out that he “believes in these conspiracy theories and he believes civil war is happening in 2024, and that this whole COVID thing is just a scheme . . . [and] it’s George Soros behind all of this.” Gabby was surprised to find that this man identified as an atheist and was not antiabortion, rather he was at the clinic “trying to make friends with people and recruit people because of this supposed civil war that’s happening.” She further noted that this person had confided in her that he was bullied as a kid and had no friends and purposely wore camouflage clothes, openly carried weapons and militia-like gear with the intention of being seen as intimidating by people at the clinic. White men in camouflage clothing who openly carried guns was a common occurrence at her Southern clinic, according to Jan. She also noted that it was routine to see antis carrying Confederate flags and wearing clothing with Confederate flags and guns, arguing that these displays were part of the very problematic and racist culture present on the clinic sidewalks throughout her state. Jan also said that at her clinic, they had “some of the craziest fundamentalist preachers screaming about literal witches and demons,” adding that “religion and racism has poisoned the South horribly.” Some escorts shared that they had been followed by the antis to their cars when leaving the clinic. Leslie reported being followed home by an anti from her Southern clinic, saying, I was walking home. I didn’t feel particularly threatened. I didn’t ask anybody to watch my back or anything like that. But as I was walking home about a block and a half away from the clinic, I heard a voice behind me that I would have identified in any other situation as being of a particular protester, saying that I was a baby murderer and singing about Jesus. I did not turn around to look. I feel like [with] that policy of nonengagement, you just don’t feed the protesters with your attention. I waited until I was three or four blocks away. I stopped at the Little Free Library and then had a chance to glance up the street and determined that I didn’t think anybody was there. That was a little frightening.

Leslie felt that this specific protester was going to lengths to “terrify me or make me stop or turn around and confront her in which case she can call the police and say that I attacked her verbally or otherwise.” She noted that this anti was “really nuts, but I don’t think she’s particularly violent.” Katie shared that an anti at her clinic threatened to “punch her in the face” after he bumped into her while she was escorting a patient into her clinic. This “bump” which Katie also described as a “shoulder check” caused this anti to

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lose his balance, sending him several steps into the clinic’s buffer zone where protesters were not permitted. Katie said that the anti got “a foot away from me and he stopped and put his fist in my face and he said, ‘you don’t know how much I wanna punch you in your face right now,’” adding that another escort put herself between Katie and this anti. Katie felt that if her fellow escort hadn’t placed herself between them or if she had said something in response to the anti, she likely would have been hit. “I don’t have any doubt that he would’ve [hit me] he was so angry.” This was the same anti that once pointed a loaded gun at a companion that he was harassing—indicating that violence at this clinic was not unheard of when this specific anti is involved. While not a common occurrence, one participant, Mary, did note that one of the escorts at her Midwest clinic had been harassed at her place of employment by a couple of regular clinic protesters. Mary noted that when the escort returned to the clinic, “she saw them [the anti] at the clinic and was so uncomfortable that she turned and left,” adding that “being in a small town” could make run-ins with antis especially uncomfortable. For Antis, Abortion is NEVER an Option Most escorts shared heartbreaking stories of patients seeking abortion care for fetal abnormalities. These stories were particularly difficult for escorts to hear. Several said that they had witnessed patients trying to explain their reasons for needing an abortion to the antis—noting that despite the reason(s) given, antis never backed down from their rhetoric that abortion was always murder, never permissible, and never a medical necessity. Julia shared an experience from her Midwest clinic saying, One of the saddest experiences I’ve had as an escort. . . . I’ve been around there when there’ve been a couple cases of people who desperately wanted a child and their pregnancy became unviable or the child died. And so, they have to get an abortion and protesters are yelling things at them about murder, and these people are so, so, so broken. They are so sad and to have protesters yelling that stuff at them is the ultimate cruelty. It’s stunning to hear people [and] the stuff they yell at patients and companions. And I guess this patient kind of felt the need to tell the protester who was just haranguing her [while] she’s trying to walk into the clinic. [She said] . . . “my doctor said I have to, I have a medical condition, I could die and leave my other children” and the protester just full on looked at her and said, “well, you really need to think about your baby.” It’s just like, oh my God! Are you listening?! Odds are she’s gonna die. This baby is not gonna live. Her other kids are not gonna have her. Her spouse is not gonna have her. You just kind of wonder, what exactly are you [antis] out here doing? Has it never occurred to you that there’s people who are having to abort very wanted

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children? And I think, no, I guess it hasn’t or it just doesn’t matter. I guess it’s just that black and white for them.

Paulette recalled a recent incident with a couple that came to her East Coast clinic for miscarriage management as they were “losing a baby . . . they wanted to carry and deliver and raise.” Paulette said that one of their most vocal and aggressive antis was “screaming at them, ‘don’t murder your baby! You’re supposed to protect your baby!’” adding that this was “a heartless, cruel thing to say to people and it took the staff a couple of hours to calm her [the patient] down enough to have the procedure. They were distraught anyways and they were being told they were murdering their baby [by an anti].” Sarah from a Southern clinic shared that she was told by an anti that it would be better to die from a pregnancy than have an abortion, even if it meant leaving your spouse and children behind. This anti argued that her “husband could remarry” and the new wife could take care of the children. Sarah said that she “wanted to throw up” adding, “isn’t that sad? Because there’s no guarantee that the woman he would marry would take care of her kids and treat them right. Do you think they wouldn’t miss their mother?” Karey shared that she witnessed an interaction at her Midwest clinic between an anti and a patient that solidified that abortion was not a nuanced issue for antis. “We had one patient . . . the protester was shouting at her to go somewhere else. She turned around and said ‘sir, my baby is already dead. Where do you want me to go to get help?’ And he’s like, ‘well, you should go to the hospital.’” The patient informed the anti that the hospital had sent her to this clinic to finish the process of her miscarriage. When the patient again asked the anti where she should go for care, Karey said that the anti didn’t have an answer for her, other than to call the clinic “an evil place” and tell the patient that “they [the clinic] wouldn’t help her even though exactly what she needed was going to occur once she went in. So, this is like a well for willful ignorance.” Mary from a Midwest clinic said that one day, a patient was being harassed on her way into the clinic. The woman shared with the antis that were following her that “she had eclampsia and she said that ‘I have been told by my physician that if I continue this pregnancy, I’m exceedingly likely to develop blood clots in my lungs.’” When the patient told this to one of the clinic’s regular white, female antis, she responded with “what about your baby? This will hurt your baby!” Escorts noted that these instances showed just how ignorant antis were of the medical complications that could and did arise during pregnancy. Julia shared that when she saw patients trying to tell the antis why they were at the clinic in the hopes of not being harassed, she would tell the patients that “you don’t have to tell them a thing, it’s not their business,” knowing that there was nothing a patient could say that would cause an anti to

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stop harassing them. In sum, escorts felt that there would never be an instance that antis would agree that an abortion was necessary or appropriate. Patients Confide in Escorts Volunteer escorts generally had the least interaction with patients. However, many escorts shared stories of frightened and intimidated patients justifying their abortion to escorts while walking into the clinic. This common occurrence showed how essential the presence of escorts was for abortion clinics in ensuring patient safety and comfort. The job of clinic escorts was more than being a physical barrier between antis and patients, and often included an element of emotional labor, as discussed by study participants. Below are stories of patients confiding in escorts as they entered abortion clinics surrounded by protesters. Julia, like many escorts in this study, found herself offering words of comfort to patients as they entered the clinic, in the hopes of drowning out the voices of the antis a few feet away. Julia stated that she hoped that her words of support helped patients to feel less alone: when she saw patients walking up to the clinic she would “explain to the people [patients] that we’re volunteers with the clinic, ’cuz a lot of times they think we are protestors and are swarming them. Even though we wear the rainbow vest that says ‘clinic escort,’ people don’t see [the vests] when they’re in this emotionally overwhelmed kind of state of mind, it doesn’t register with them.” Julia said that she would “try to reassure them [patients] that I’m with the clinic, try to take their mind of the craziness around them, let them know what they’ll need to have ready to be checked in.” She shared that she often used a large rainbow umbrella to shield the patients from the antis while they checked in at the guard shed that was set up outside the clinic doors. Julia noted that occasionally, she made jokes about the antis to the patients if they seemed “up” for that kind of banter, saying that she took her “cue from the patient and companion. . . . If they wanna chat, making small talk kinds of things, [or] if they’d rather just be quiet and left alone, we just really try to be sensitive to that, to where they are.” Julia added that when she escorted at the Planned Parenthood clinic, all patients had to have their bags checked, which she said the antis liked to make a big deal of. She asked, “Where isn’t that done these days? They [antis] try to make if seem like this is something really unusual. . . . It’s very bizarre.” At Katie’s Southern clinic, she said that escorts never asked patients why they were there, a popular sentiment among escorts in this study. She said, we would never broach anything like that with a patient or a companion, but some of them just kind of wanna talk a little bit or somehow you hear the story.

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And sometimes we’ll greet a woman we see walking up the sidewalk and we try to get to them before the antis do and identify ourselves as an escort [and say] I’d be happy to walk you past these people up there. And some of the women are like “baby, I’m fine, I’m good, I’ve got this, no worries.” And others I can tell are a little bit more hesitant. Maybe they knew there were gonna be protesters, but it might be a bad day where there’s plenty of them [antis] and they just feel a little bit intimidated and they say, “thank you.”

Angela said that it was not uncommon for patients to tell her why they were at her Southern clinic saying, “it’s always just sad because some of the women will actually like try to justify [why they are getting an abortion]. We never ask questions while you’re there. We don’t care. That’s not my job to ask what they’re doing here. My job is to get them inside and some women will try to justify it to us as we’re walking them in. And I always say, you don’t have to tell me anything.” Angela said that despite this protocol, patients often told her why they need abortion care saying “I can’t, I have too many kids or I can’t afford it [another child].” She said that justifying their abortion to her was likely a response to the shame and fear the antis and antiabortion culture in her state successfully instilled in patients. She said, “I think because they see . . . the circus atmosphere that they [antis] produce and they feel like they have to like explain themselves to us and we’re like, no, no, no, no. We don’t care [why you are here]. So that makes me feel bad when they feel they have to justify it to us. So that makes me always sad.” Taylor had a different experience with patients entering their Midwest clinic, saying that the instances that made them saddest were the ones [patients] that come up swinging as soon as we approach them. I can have my vest on and my mask and say “Hi, I’m with the clinic” and they’re gonna snap at me anyways because they’re expecting a fight. That’s worse in some ways than the people who need to be reassured just because they shouldn’t be expecting to have to get into a confrontation with people when they’re going to a doctor’s appointment.

Taylor added that they were almost tased by a patient on one occasion, saying “I think she just had tunnel vision and didn’t hear my spiel. Her companion did the eye contact and nod thing. So, I walked them in and I heard her purse crackling. . . . She did come out later and apologize and that honestly just made me more sad than anything.” Katie shared an interaction with a male companion at her Southern clinic that brought her to tears. She saw one of the male escorts talking to the companion as he waited outside the clinic, noting that the conversation went on for quite some time, but did not seem hostile. She said the companion was holding a Bible which she thought was curious and not something she could

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recall seeing a patient carry into the clinic. She engaged him in conversation and learned that his wife had been raped and was at the clinic getting an abortion. She had become pregnant and because they did not know if this pregnancy was a result of the rape, they had decided to abort. Katie said that this man was struggling with the rape and subsequent abortion, worrying about the impact this would have on his wife. The antis at her clinic were baiting the husband, “yelling stuff at him like ‘go get your woman out of there,’ ‘be a real man, step up.’” Katie said that “it was all I could do to not cry. They were so conflicted. And yet when she thought about the baby, the possibility of the baby being the rapists’ child—it was just more than she could bear.” Katie added that while her own two abortions decades earlier were not a difficult decision for her to make, “for other women, it’s a real tough decision for a lot of reasons.” Caroline, an escort at a Southwest clinic, shared that escorting gave her a feeling of “gratitude that I can help these women.” She added that on several occasions, former patients had come up to her in restaurants or stopped her on the street to tell her that she had helped them to feel comfortable while at the clinic. Caroline had been on the front page of her local paper recently for a story on her clinic involvement and said that the next day, she got “about fifty different emails, texts . . . saying thank you [for escorting at the clinic].” She said, “I will continue to do it [escort]. I will drive to Kansas if I have to, I will be doing this until I can’t, you know?” Mary said that on occasion, a companion would come outside her Midwest clinic and talk to the escorts about why they were there. Mary noted that many patients already had children which is consistent with current research that has found that almost 60 percent of abortion-seeking patients have at least one birth (Jerman, Jones and Onda 2016). She said, they’re [patients] not there because they are ignorant of the sanctity of human life. They’re not there ’cuz they hate human beings. They have children and they’re making the choice that is best for their family. They can’t afford more children. They already have a special needs child at home and they don’t have any more intellectual time, capacity to provide the care that they know this additional child will need. And preserving those resources for the babies they already got makes more sense to them.

Shame and Patient Justification Most escorts felt that patients justifying their abortion procedures was rooted in Christian-based shame. Angela said, I was taught from a very young age it’s [abortion] bad, it’s a sin, you shouldn’t ever for any reason. My mother volunteered at a CPC [crisis pregnancy center]

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for years and so I heard all the antiabortion rhetoric. These women in most cases have been told that to some degree. And I think they [patients] just want to convince us [escorts] why it’s okay . . . it just breaks my heart.

Angela went on to share that a few weeks before her interview, a female patient companion told her that until her best friend became pregnant, they were both antiabortion. “I told her . . . I was raised on that side [antiabortion]. I pointed to the sidewalk, I said, ‘I was raised on that side of this debate . . . and do you see where I’m standing how? I am here to support you and your friend.’ And she [companion] was like, well she’s gonna die if she has that baby. . . . I said . . . for whatever reason she is here, is up to her.” Angela said that she had a “lovely conversation” with this companion and was able to provide her with more accurate medical information that was not based in Christian doctrine. She added, “we have met some people and we just fallen [sic] in love with them and we just sit and talk and it’s just so rewarding. And when women get outta the car and are just like crying and they’re like, ‘thank you for being here, I didn’t wanna walk in alone.’” Angela shared a surprising incident when she was at local Starbucks a few years ago and “the barista looks at me and she’s like, ‘I know you.’” Angela assumed this was because she was a regular customer at that location but the barista was insistent that they had met before and then loudly proclaimed that Angela had helped her with her abortion. She was surprised the barista wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed to say this loudly and at her place of employment. Angela said, “that was so cool. And she was loud! And she said, ‘I don’t care who knows I had an abortion. I’m proud of it.’” In this example, the abortion stigma that so many patients experience (see Cockrill and Nack 2013; Cowan 2017; Cockrill et al. 2013; Kumar et al. 2009) was upended. Paulette recalled a cold winter day several years ago at her East Coast clinic when a non-English-speaking patient was coming to the clinic and as we walked by a group of men with their big signs and they were shouting and just encroaching . . . and here was this woman who did not understand a word of English, and I had my arm around her shoulder. She was a little tiny statured woman . . . she was just shivering with fear. And that was the day my rage built up so much that I said I will be out here until the day they cut me off. . . . I hated what they did to that woman. They terrified her.

Paulette said that it was incidents like this that kept her escorting at her clinic. Sarah shared that it was not uncommon for patients to ask escorts if they were doing the right thing by seeking abortion care. She said, “we’ve had people ask us, ‘am I doing the right thing?’ and we say, ‘you have to do what you

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feel is right for you in your life.’” Sarah recalled a young woman entering the clinic with her mother, saying that she stayed back to walk the mother in [to the clinic] and she [the patient’s mother] said to me, “when this is over, she’s out of my life.” And I am just stunned . . . later she came out and sat with us . . . and she was just so against this [abortion] and I couldn’t stand it anymore and I said, “I maybe shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to . . . I’d give anything if my daughter was here having an abortion, but I can’t because she’s dead.” The woman just looked at me . . .

Sarah added that it made her “angry that some of the parents and families are so hateful to their child, their grandchild . . . and yet we have people who are kind of against abortion, but they’re very supportive and they bring their friend. They stand by them. We have grandparents who bring their grandchildren. We had a divorced couple bring their daughter, supporting her choice. And that’s lovely.” Sarah called herself a “radical passionate” saying that this approach has “made a difference in my life. . . . I was also taught by [escort name omitted] that the only reason a woman needs to have an abortion is [because she] is pregnant and does not want to be.” Gabby was one of the few escorts in this study who had some previous experience working inside of her clinic before she became a volunteer escort. She said that when she worked inside the clinic, “I spent so much time with patients and they would often tell me why they were getting an abortion even though I told them your reason doesn’t matter to me. I’m here for you no matter what. . . . I will treat you no different. I feel like that was a cathartic thing for them to share their story.” Gabby added that it was not unique for patients to share that they “thought that they were gonna get hurt, that somebody was going to hurt them when they walked into the clinic, so they were very afraid.” For Gabby, creating a protective “bubble” was a “simple” thing she could do to make patients feel secure. “Anybody can do it and it means so much to the patient,” she added. As shown in this chapter, volunteer escorts at abortion clinics provide patients with much needed physical protection and emotional support from antis whose sole purpose is to frighten and harass patients all while touting Christian-based religious ideas. Clinic escorts are essential to patient safety, and as clinics around the United States continue to close due to Dobbs, their presence on clinic sidewalks will become even more necessary.

Chapter 10

“I Don’t Fear for My Safety . . . but I Probably Should”

Abortion clinics in the United States have a history of being targeted by antiabortion activists. A 2022 article by Kathleen Spillar for Ms. Magazine highlighted incidents of violence at US abortion clinics from 1977 until 2020—with findings that included eleven murders, twenty-six attempted murders, 956 threats of harm or death, 624 stalking incidents, and four kidnappings. Clinics also reported forty-two bombings, 194 arsons, 104 attempted bombings or arsons and 667 bomb threats, according to Spillar. One of the most well-known incidents of clinic violence was the 2009 murder of Dr. George Tiller, one of the few later-term abortion doctors in the United States. Tiller was killed outside of his church in Wichita, Kansas, by an antiabortion extremist. Before his murder, Dr. Tiller survived an assassination attempt in 1993 that left him with bullet wounds in both arms. As the only abortion provider in Wichita, Dr. Tiller and his family faced “relentless protesters” who used “aggressive tactics with graphic messaging” at Tiller’s church as well as his home (Berg 2019). Since Dr. Tiller’s death, clinics have faced more violence at the hands of antiabortion activists: according to Berg, in 2015, an antiabortion activist murdered three people at a Planned Parenthood health center in Colorado. In 2017, antiabortion protesters attempted to bomb a clinic in Chicago, and in 2018 a man crashed a truck into a Planned Parenthood health center in New Jersey. Furthermore, in January 2023, the Planned Parenthood health center in Peoria was firebombed, causing approximately a million dollars in destruction, according to the Chicago Tribune (Leventis-Lourgos 2023). Despite these incidents as well as an increase in protester activity as reported by the National Abortion Federation (NAF), the majority of the participants in this study felt safe while escorting at their clinics and few took safety precautions, as described below. 159

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A common phrase participants repeated was that they didn’t fear for their safety, but that they probably should—indicating a comprehensive understanding of the history of violence surrounding abortion clinics in the United States. Escorts felt that the close relationships they had with other escorts contributed to their feelings of safety while at the clinic. Escorts were not unaware of what antiabortion activists were capable of, however, several escorts described the environment outside of their clinic as generally unremarkable. For escorts who had been with their clinics for many years, incidents involving police were few and far between; leading to a feeling that while the sidewalks outside of their clinics were often chaotic and “circus-like,” actual danger was scarce. Several escorts shared that they had devised a safety plan should a violent attack take place. Anita from a Midwest clinic said, Honestly, no. I don’t fear for my [safety], I probably should. . . . I remember one time, [escort volunteer organizer name omitted] sent out this email that like somebody had . . . sent this vague threat to the clinic and like, if we didn’t wanna go to our shift that day, we didn’t have to. And my response was sort of like, they are totally bluffing now I’m really coming because . . . of course I know the history of violence against clinics and against escorts, but like your average anti is just like, at their core, chicken shit. . . . I know how ridiculous they are. And so . . . I can’t take it seriously in some ways.

Anita shared that she had come up with an emergency safety plan that involved running into the clinic. She said, “well, I will say . . . so the bathroom that we use in the clinic has a little code to get into it. And I have memorized that code, not just because it’s convenient for when I need to use the bathroom, but like, in my mind I have come up with a safety plan of how I can get everybody into that bathroom and lock the door behind us and keep us safe.” Matt escorts at the same clinic as Anita and he said that the possibility of violence is always something in the back of my mind. . . . It couldn’t not be. But I feel I’m very alert. I’m very aware. I’ve been doing it [escorting] for over six years now. And I know that most of these people aren’t going to hurt a fly. Heck, the most violent [incident I saw] was when a patient’s boyfriend . . . almost picked a huge fight with a protestor. And I don’t ever foresee a possibility of violence. With what’s coming [Dobbs decision], that could change. But even then, I know the regulars. I know what they do. And getting violent is not in their character. On another hand, I guess I’ve always thought that if things get violent, this would be a good way to die before my time.

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Matt discussed that at his clinic, part of his escort training was to practice active shooter drills. “We’ve definitely had active shooter training as part of our regular training. Like, we know a plan: we know what to do, but in terms of, oh, let’s . . . wear a bulletproof vest or let’s have a way to fight back . . . nope.” Mark from another Midwest clinic shared that “none of us are licensed in any sort of training. It’s just the best collection of knowledge that we’ve been able to come up with throughout the escort community.” He shared that he learned how to “properly address a suspicious package, should one appear at the clinic” from other escorts. Angela from the South said that while there are “tense” moments at her clinic, she did not fear for her safety, nor did she take precautions outside of carrying pepper spray on her key chain. Angela cited the excellent surveillance cameras the clinic had recently installed as contributing to her feelings of safety. Additionally, the clinic owner had given the escorts permission “to call police for trespassers,” which also made her feel safe. Angela shared that on the occasions when she had a “bad feeling” about someone at the clinic, she turned to her fellow escorts for assistance. She said, “So, if there was an incident, we’re all pretty much right there. And if one of us gets a bad feeling, we’re like, ‘hey, come here, help back me up,’ and we’ll kind of get a feel for what’s going on. So, we have a great support system within our own little group.” Jenny from a Southeast clinic felt that because “a big number of our regular protesters actually know us, I think it makes it less likely they’d ever do anything to hurt us because we know who they are. So, they’d be really super easy to identify.” Jenny, like other escorts in this study, said it was the “lone wolf” type protesters who showed up and didn’t appear to know anyone at the clinic that worried escorts the most. Mary from the Midwest shared that the first time an anti addressed her using her first name, she felt “uncomfortable,” but she generally did not feel unsafe at the clinic. Taylor from the Midwest said that they were “very aware that it [clinic violence] is a very real and present danger, but I’ve sort of made my peace with it. I wouldn’t say I fear for my life, exactly. It’s more that this is a risk I’m willing to take. If that’s how I go, that’s how I go.” Taylor, like Angela, felt that their “biggest safety precaution is my team. We look out for each other. We watch each other’s back.” Taylor stated that one precaution they took was to wear nondescript clothing “because when I take my vest off, I am a little bit worried about being followed. . . . We also advise our escorts to not wear clothing with workplace logos, or basically anything that would let somebody find you.” Taylor recalled the story of a fellow escort who got a restraining order against an anti who followed her around when she was not at the clinic, trying “to like introduce Jesus into your life and I’m gonna follow you around like a psycho . . . it was very freaky for her.”

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Leslie’s Southern clinic had a policy that escorts were not permitted to be alone on the sidewalks, suggesting that there was a strength in numbers mindset. Caroline from the Southwest said that she only “sometimes” felt unsafe at her clinic and that “keeping track of all of our protesters” via Facebook helped her to feel safe. She said, “I pretty much find them on Facebook. I know their names. I know where they go to church. I know where they’re from. I know how many kids they have. And I’ll let them know that I’ve done research on them. I’ll call them [out] by name.” In this example, Caroline was adopting a common harassment tactic used by antis outside of abortion clinics: trying to intimidate escorts by sharing private information as a way to dissuade volunteerism. Several of the escorts in this study had experienced this targeted form of harassment, although none reported it had been effective enough to keep them from escorting. Laura from the Midwest said, “I guess if I felt threatened at all, I would probably change my mind, but so far it’s been okay.” Laura shared that while she was open about her volunteerism with family and friends, she was hesitant to have her full name and picture published in the local newspaper as being associated with the clinic. After Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, I had my RBG T-shirt on. And I was really emotional that day [at the clinic]. And when I escorted [that day] the [local newspaper name omitted] . . . came over . . . a female reporter and her camera person, and she wanted to get feedback from escorts about Ruth’s passing and how we felt about it. And she asked if I would say something and I said, sure, I’ll talk to you . . . she goes, now I need you to spell out your name. And I said, wait a second. I don’t wanna give my name. I don’t wanna give any more information to them than they already have. And so, I backed out of that and she was disappointed. . . . I think now I might reconsider that, but I also have to kind of be careful now that I’m in a city position, even though I’m not elected or hired. It’s volunteer, but I have to kind of be careful about what I say and do. So that’s helped me keep my tongue too.

Karey from the Midwest felt that her race contributed to her feelings of security, saying that her “sense of white woman entitlement” made her feel safe at the clinic. This entitlement she said, “comes with growing up in America that I’m like, well, if he [an anti] hurts me, the cops will come, and justice will be done.” Karey also shared that she escorted with her parents, which provided her “with an additional layer of feeling safe because my dad’s down the street.” The only precautions she took at the time of her interview was parking her car down the street so the antis couldn’t identify her vehicle, and wearing “boots that I can step on toes in, just in case.” Jim from a Southeast clinic distinguished between fearing for safety and being concerned about safety, saying, “I don’t fear for my safety. Am I concerned about safety? Yes.

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I’m concerned about the safety of our clinicians, the safety of our staff, the safety of our patients. . . . And we have certain protocols because of that. But do I fear that anything’s going to happen? No.” While Georganne felt safe at their Midwest clinic at the time of their interview, they stated that this would likely change if Roe was overturned and anti presence increased. Georganne felt fairly insulated from the possibility of facing harassment for their volunteerism, saying “I work from home, so if they wanna come and show up at my workplace, they have to show up to my house.” Georganne stated that while they didn’t own firearms, in their state, “You should just assume everyone does. So, it’s not really advised to go to someone’s house and accost them.” They added, “I guess if you go far enough left, you get your guns back. If you say ‘get off of my property’ there’s an implication there.” Georganne noted that they did not have a faith community the antis could find and “out” them to; their family knew about their volunteerism; and all social media accounts were set to private, which would make it harder for antis to find them and harass them. Lastly, Jan felt both safe and unsafe at her Southern clinic, noting that like other escorts in this study, it was the unknown, ‘lone wolf’ antis who showed up that made her feel uneasy. Jan also felt that the environment that antis created by “demonizing” escorts as “murderers and baby killers” helped contribute to antis feeling justified in burning clinics to the ground and murdering abortion doctors and staff. Jan cited the 2015 incident at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood where Robert Lewis Dear Jr. murdered three people and injured eight others inside of the clinic as evidence of dangerous antiabortion rhetoric.1 She added that as this antiabortion rhetoric increased, clinic staff and volunteers would likely face more violence, which was evidenced by the 2021 National Abortion Federation (NAF) clinic violence survey. Escorts Are on Alert Many escorts described being “on alert” at their clinic, saying that they paid attention to their surroundings. Nancy said that there was “just a constant baseline when I’m there . . . so I think that we are always on alert all the time when we’re at the clinic.” Nancy said that she was mindful of cars that circled around the block numerous times and slowed down when they got to the clinic entrance, large groups of men walking toward the clinic, and “to single men that go into the clinic. . . . that makes me a little nervous. I always assume that there is a Red Rose Rescue or something like that.”2 For Julia, a Midwest escort, the general hostility of the antis and knowing their history and what they were capable of make her wary, but she did not necessarily feel unsafe. She stated that one of the regular protesters at her clinic was on the Southern Poverty Law Center terrorist list due to her “previous activities.” Julia shared

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an incident at her clinic where she overheard one anti tell another that he was carrying his gun. This led to the police being called, and the anti promptly left the clinic. “He left so I haven’t really felt in any kind of imminent danger, but I’m not stupid. And I know . . . what people are capable of doing. So, we’re always vigilant and definitely trying to be aware of what’s going on around the clinic.” Julia reported being followed to her car by groups of antis who attempted to intimidate her into ending her clinic volunteerism. “I’ve had people follow me to my car when I’ve left at [clinic name omitted]. We park away from the clinic. So, I’ve . . . had protestors follow me to my car. I’ve had protestors take pictures of me, take pictures of my car license plate.” Paulette said that other than remaining “vigilant,” she took few safety precautions at her East Coast clinic. She said, “So I’m aware, but I don’t worry, per se. I figure whatever comes, I’ll have to just deal with it.” She recalled a time in late 2020 when a “hulking guy came down the sidewalk and he said to me, ‘I hope you know the Muslims are gonna come and that’ll be the end of you.’ And then he spit at me and I thought, ‘oh, jeez, I hope he doesn’t have COVID.’ . . . That’s as far as my fear went was . . . who is this man? But I don’t have concerns about doing the work. I have concerns about having to do the work.” Leslie said that one precaution she took while at her Southern clinic was that she never drove her car when she escorted. She added that she “always walks away from my home and then [I] double back. A couple of times I have asked the other escorts to . . . watch me walk away until I’m out of sight.” Leslie said that she also started every escorting shift by picking up all of the garbage around the property, “all the way around the building, including back by this tiny little fence. And that’s basically a bomb check. I’ve never found anything other than garbage . . . but there certainly has been these types of situational violence” [at abortion clinics]. Dan from a Southern clinic noted that his white male privilege helped him to feel safe even though “a lot of our antis come armed with guns. I tend to point out how ridiculous they are. . . . What kind of coward are you that you feel like you need to be armed to come harass women on their way to a doctor’s appointment?” Dan stated that he was not a fan of guns despite having served in the U.S. military for over twenty years, saying, “I always said that if I absolutely felt like I needed to have a gun for my safety, I would, but I don’t. And I have no plans to anytime soon.” Katie recalled attending an escort conference many years ago, where an Arkansas Bureau of Investigation agent provided insight into what escorts should do in the event of an active shooter. Katie felt this information was very helpful and stated that she remembered much of what was instructed. She noted that the conference speaker said that, “we [escorts] are gonna have to run. If somebody yells ‘gun!’ we have to run. Take your vest off. First thing you do, peel that vest off so you would blend in with anybody else who’s running, who might be a patient. And maybe if

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they’re [shooter] deciding they’re going to aim at the escorts, if you’re not wearing that vest, maybe you’ll make it away.” Some escorts discussed antis escalating their behavior over time—becoming more aggressive and vocal, which was concerning for study participants. Caroline recalled a specific anti showing up at her Southwest clinic more often; taking pictures of license plates and saying “he was gonna turn people in,” referring to the 2021 Texas law that allowed residents to sue doctors, clinics, and anyone else who assisted a patient with an abortion (Picchi 2021). Caroline shared that similar legislation was being written in her state, but was not sure if it would become law. This anti was also known for “threaten[ing] women [patients] that he was gonna out them on Facebook or whatever.” Caroline said that this specific anti started “coming at closing time . . . where it was just the staff,” and after all of the patients had left for the day. Caroline expressed this concern to some of the regular antis she had known for years and surprisingly, a few of them attempted to intervene on the clinic’s behalf. Caroline said, “and so I would bring that up to the other protesters because they don’t want that [violence] to happen. . . . He [the escalating anti] brought his wife one time and I said ‘now [wife name omitted], your husband [anti name omitted], he’s escalating. You might wanna get him checked for his mental health.” Caroline added, “it very easily could trigger [a violent reaction]. It could go like that and it could be . . . Colorado Springs, it could be Tiller. . . . They really, truly, definitely have a screw loose to do this.” Caroline said that this anti, who was a retired middle school choral teacher, had gotten a part-time job and at the time of her interview, he had stopped protesting at the clinic every day. Veronica, who escorted at the same clinic as Caroline, said that it was only recently that a few incidents occurred that made her feel unsafe. She said, “I have a couple of issues that happened [recently] where we had some men that were a little more aggressive. . . . We’re pretty good about keeping men [companions] from going over and trying to engage with the protesters. Every now and then if there’s one that gets really angry, that’s a little scary.” Like several other escorts in this study, Veronica had experienced male companions who attempted to engage with protesters in an aggressive way that made escorts feel uncomfortable and fearful of these interactions escalating into full-blown violence. A few escorts noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, companions were not allowed to accompany patients inside the clinic and this helped to decrease the traffic and tensions on the sidewalks. Male companion reactions to antis at abortion clinics are an area of inquiry that needs more attention.

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Patients, Companions, Pedestrians Fight Back Mark from the Midwest shared an incident that was becoming more common at clinics according to study participants: patients and companions yelling back at antis and at times, pedestrians and community members not involved with the clinic or the protesters, verbally assaulting the antis. Mark said, I try really hard just to stay calm, neutral, even if things are a bit stressful and talk things down. We’ll have other situations where . . . the regular protestors, we know who they are, we know their names, we know what they do. But wild cards are generally like pedestrians walking by or . . . the male partner that’s walking with his girlfriend, sister, friend, or, you know, whoever that may be. Some of the male partners take offense at what’s being thrown towards their female friend. And so sometimes they will turn around and approach protestors and . . . get into verbal arguments and whatnot. And so, we’ll try to de-escalate that to some point. I mean on the public sidewalk, we’re just pedestrians too. So, we’re just kind of being observant and try and not to let things get out of control. . . . We will try to position ourselves to maybe create some space between protestor and upset partner or something like that. But then the same thing with pedestrians . . . it can be people walking by from either side . . . [anti or pro-abortion]. And sometimes there can be heated conversations that start up there as well. You have somebody that’s really pro-choice and they will just start going on at the protestors, just reading them the riot act and that . . . stuff can get escalated. People get angry and again, we just kind of observe and . . . maybe try to talk the person down just saying, “it’s not worth getting yourself in trouble for anything here.”

Steve recalled a “rough looking man in a beat-up truck” being swamped by antis as he pulled up at his Midwest clinic. The man responded by loudly proclaiming that he was “carrying” [a gun] in order to make the antis “back off.” A habitual strategy of antis was to harass patients while they were getting in and out of their cars, often blocking them from leaving or entering the clinic. Steve added, “it seems like friends or companions of clients are much less willing to turn the other cheek than they used to be with the protestors and [are] much more willing to push back against them and say ‘you don’t know what her story is, get out of here’ . . . you know?” Steve felt that in general, “we see more of that in the culture where we just seem . . . more and more angry about things than we used to be.” This escalation in patient and companion anger might be attributed to a variety of issues: the increase in antis and their aggressiveness that escorts often attributed to the Trump administration; further restriction of abortion rights in many states; the SCOTUS decision in the Dobbs case; and stress from the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of the causes for the increase in patients, companions,

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pedestrians, and neighbors fighting back, escorts stayed diligent in trying to keep the clinic sidewalks orderly. Guns and Bulletproof Vests While most escorts reported that they had an agreement with clinic owners to refrain from carrying weapons, a handful of escorts reported that clinic owners did allow them to carry guns, and several escorts reported that they often did. It was not uncommon for escorts to report that the antis at their clinic carried guns that were visible on their hips, which contributed to feelings of unease. Tanya shared that she had a concealed carry permit and on numerous occasions, had brought a gun to her Southeastern clinic when escorting. She said, I’ve gone back and forth on that [bringing her gun to the clinic]. I have to tell you that I do have a concealed carry permit for both [state name omitted] and [state name omitted]. And a few times when I was escorting in [state name omitted] I would carry concealed. It’s just the Wild West. I mean, one of the antis assaulted one of my fellow defenders . . . last summer . . . and it was my video that actually got him arrested. And when he was arrested, they took a firearm off him. So, we have to assume, and I think that some of the people [antis] that come from places like Mississippi . . . they are carrying. We have to assume.

Tanya also stated that she carried a first aid kit with her that contained chest seals, gauze, and other things that might be useful should an escort be shot, saying, “well, that’s the reality of, you know, volunteering at a clinic.” Kathleen shared that she wore a bulletproof vest when escorting at her Southern clinic, usually at her wife’s request. She said, “there are occasions when I will come to the clinic armed [with a handgun]. That’s with the approval of the directors [of the clinic]. It’s not very often, but just some days you have a weird feeling about how the day’s gonna go. But since our numbers of protestors have really slowed down, that’s become less of a concern with me.” Kathleen said that she had never had to use her gun, but having it with her at the clinic on certain days brought her a sense of safety. Jared shared that they recently started wearing a “very thin and concealable bulletproof vest” while escorting at their Midwest clinic. It was in reaction to a while ago, we had a really alarming guy who turned out to not be targeting us or something like that, but who showed up at the clinic, stared at the door for a long time, walked away, showed up again, walked away, showed up again, and would not acknowledge any of the antis or us. [He then] drove away and then drove back up. And that kind of made me sit in the realization of like, okay, this is not great and . . . I wanted both that . . . feeling of

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safety, but also to not be in a position where I felt like I would have to, I don’t know, abandon the work or something like that.

John said that in addition to varying this route both to and from his Southern clinic, he regularly informed at least three of his friends where he was going. Additionally, he often carried weapons in his car, saying, “I don’t believe in guns, but I do have some weapons in my car. I have a pocketknife. I have a tire iron. People don’t understand that [a tire iron] can do [damage].” John also shared that one of his friends who was an “Iraq veteran of Mexican descent” gave him “a Mexican bat that was made in Mexico, light wood . . . it’s short, but thick . . . he told me if you swing it hard enough, you’ll think it was like getting hit by Hank Aaron [American baseball player].” Some escorts disagreed with having weapons while escorting, arguing that this went against their clinic policies of nonengagement and nonviolence, and would likely escalate the already tense and chaotic environment outside of their clinics. Additionally, some escorts felt that if protesters saw escorts carrying weapons, this would further encourage antis to increase the number of weapons they brought to the clinic, which some escorts felt would create more distress for patients. Mark said that he wasn’t sure he would carry a weapon if his Midwest clinic allowed it, saying, “[It’s] something I would have to have a serious thought about . . . talk about escalation that could really give some of the gun-loving evangelicals some reasons to really escalate. And they’re already carrying and those are just the ones we can see are  . . . you can see that they’re carrying weapons, sometimes.” Taylor from another Midwest clinic felt that “having that [weapons] on the sidewalk is at least from my perspective . . . is an avenue of escalation.” With changing gun laws and an increase in protester presence, clinics may need to reconsider their policies addressing weapons for clinic escorts. Escorts Are Not Deterred Despite the real threat of violence and physical and verbal harassment, escorts were not deterred from their volunteerism. Even if they had been involved in incidents of assault or harassment that included racial or sexist slurs, escorts’ commitment to the cause of protecting abortion access did not waver. Mark recalled being followed to his car by an anti who was trying to engage him in a conversation. Mark’s policy was to ignore the antis at all times, but that wasn’t always effective. He said, “I’m not looking to start an argument, but . . . sometimes I just throw something back at ’em. And I was telling her [the anti] . . . maybe she should just stop the verbal abuse and harassment that she throws the patients way or whatever . . . but they don’t see it as verbal abuse or emotional abuse or anything.” Julia shared that “it [antis at the clinic

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and harassment] just reaffirms my commitment to do this. Just the actions and the words of the protestors just reaffirms why I’m there and it’s unfortunate, you know, and they say, ‘why are you here? Why are you guys here?’ And it’s like, I wanna tell ’em, ‘it’s because you’re here.’” As stated by most study participants, escorts would like to see the day when their presence was no longer needed at abortion clinics. Overwhelmingly, escorts hoped that abortion would eventually be seen and treated like other forms of healthcare. Julia noted, “there wouldn’t be any need for us if protesters weren’t here, which is sad. I’ll make you guys a deal: you stop showing up, so will we. Pretty simple. You leave the patients alone; we won’t be here.” NOTE 1. “Robert Dear Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for 2015 Planned Parenthood Clinic shooting,” 2019. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/robert-dear-indicted -federal-grand-jury-2015-planned-parenthood-clinic-shooting 2. According to their Facebook page, Red Rose Rescue is “A lifesaving response to the abortion holocaust. We counter hate with love. We oppose violence with non-violence. We overcome death by personal solidarity.” In 2018 Mother Jones described the organization as “the militant wing of the anti-abortion movement,” https:​//​www​.motherjones​.com​/crime​-justice​/2018​/09​/abortion​-clinic​-blockade​-red​ -rose​-rescue. (Liss-Schultz).

Chapter 11

Clinic Volunteerism Challenges and Motivations Escorting as an Act of Compassion and a Way to Fight Christian Bullying

Escorts shared their motivations for volunteering at their clinics, and these varied from personal experiences with abortion, to escorting as a way to show compassion and fight dangerous antiabortion rhetoric, and the belief that all women and pregnant people needed to have control over their own bodies. Anita described escorting as an “act of compassion of just being there for another person and helping [to] keep them safe during a time that’s difficult. It’s just a way to actually do something physical, do something tangible.” Tanya felt that she was “not a bad person to be around for a nervous patient” adding that the escorting defender group at her Southeastern clinic had “changed me quite a bit, especially with engagement and involvement, but I also think that I’ve brought a little bit of awareness of where the patient’s at. I mean, they [escorts] wouldn’t even look at patients before ’cuz ‘oh they needed privacy’ and all that. And I think sometimes, people do need eye contact. Some people need a thumbs-up.” Julia felt that being an escort at her Midwest clinic was a way to protect patients from being bullied by antis. She also felt strongly that bodily autonomy was essential for all people. She said, People shouldn’t be treated the way they’re treated just to go to the doctor. Nobody is standing outside of the protesters’ doctors, yelling at them, telling them what they can and can’t do. I think there’s a whole demeanor of bullying in the . . . I hesitate to call it a pro-life movement, [the] antiabortion movement and I react to that. How dare they try to inflict their opinions on women? Definitely white men standing out there trying to inflict their opinions. What gives you the moral high ground? Why should people listen to you? And the way they speak to people, it’s very demanding and demeaning. They demand 171

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that people listen to them and almost demand that people come and talk to them. Who would wanna come and talk to you? You’re yelling things. You’re calling names. You’re essentially damning them to hell because [you believe] God sent you to do that [harass patients]. And then you act like you’re encouraging people to come and talk to you about one of the most personal, intimate, and emotional acts they might be taking.

Like Julia, Paulette from the East Coast was upset by the cruelty of the antiabortion protesters at her clinic and saw escorting as a way to fight their presence on the sidewalks. “To have to face that [harassment from antis] it’s just cruelty and not on my watch! I can take it. When they [antis] tell me I have blood on my hands and I’m going to hell, and I’m a murderer, I can absorb that and I will do it because these [patients] are having a tough day and I’m gonna help ’em get in. It just matters to me. It’s a matter of justice and equality and [my] feminism streak is pretty strong.” Mark described seeing the negative effect antis could have on patients as “heartbreaking” saying that once he saw this happen at his clinic, he understood the need for escorts. You see what patients are going through and at least for me, it’s just one of those things where I just feel like I wanna keep going. . . . It’s heartbreaking, watching a woman and her partner or friend or whatever, come down the sidewalk and they’re fine, but they’ve got protesters on the sides of them saying their bull. And then as this person gets close to the clinic, you see them break down in tears and . . . you just see so many emotional things where you just feel it, you want to continue to help.

Mark said that when he heard patients say how grateful they were for escorts it “just kind of reemphasizes that you’re doing a good thing.” Grace said that for her, escorting was a way to show her Midwest community that she supported them. She said, I get a certain satisfaction from standing in front of people who would try and block somebody else’s bodily autonomy and saying, “you won’t go here.” While there is a good number of women who come out to protest, the majority of our protestors, especially those who yell and scream and amplify their voices and make spectacles of themselves, are white men. And they’re white men who are yelling and screaming because they don’t have the power to control somebody else and their decisions. And so, for me, at the intersection of my race and my gender, is a really big feeling of “fuck you.” And also, because I know that Black clinic escorts are rare, I also show up because I want all patients to know that they have support in their community.

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Mary from the Midwest shared that for her, escorting was a way to let antis know that they were unwelcome at her clinic. “I am aware that it is counterproductive to engage with protestors. [But] I really don’t want them out there without pushback. I don’t want them to feel like yes, I hold the most powerful and appropriate belief. This is how it should be. I want them always to know that there are bunches of us out here who think they’re being ridiculous.” Kathleen felt that escorting was a way to get patients “in here without getting harassed or getting shamed. I’m the buffer between the sidewalk and the patient . . . [escorting] means I’ve done something productive with my day.” Laura recalled a time at her Midwest clinic when she saw a young high school–aged girl and her mother walking toward the clinic. As she met them to walk them to the front door, the patient asked her mother “are they [antis] going to hurt me?” Laura added that the patient just had fear stricken on her face. And I said “no, that’s why I’m here. I’m gonna get you safely down to the door and you don’t have to listen to anything they say. They’re gonna get close to you. And they’re gonna try to tell you things, but we’re gonna get you right down to the door.” And that was one defining moment for me of how important it was to be there for those patients.

Laura likened the antis to terrorists, saying, “that’s what I think they are,” sharing that “at one time, there was a guy across the street who held up a handmade sign. He made it on some cardboard and it said ‘Tiller deserved it,’” referencing the 2009 murder of the Kansas abortion doctor by an antiabortion protester. Ruth said that due to her background of growing up in an evangelical Christian household, “I always say I was kind of like made to be the perfect escort because I already have a religious background. I’ve heard all of the bullshit they say throughout my entire life. It’s nothing new to me.” Ruth shared that the physical aspects to escorting were surprising, saying, “I was just horrified by the physical assault that the protesters were doing . . . the physicality of it really surprised me. How much they get into your personal space and insult you and stalk you and harass you and demean you . . . going into it at first, I had this mindset of I’m going to be there to protect them [patients] and very quickly learned that was not the reason to escort to begin with.” For Ruth, escorting at her Southeastern clinic was a way to destigmatize abortion, and escorting was a way to “normalize it [abortion] as much as possible in that [patients are] making the decision that they want and we trust them to do that, was really important to me.”

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Friends and Family Make Abortion Important Matt said that he did not have a strong stance on abortion until he was in his late twenties, saying that listening to the many “formidable” women in his life helped him to put thought into this issue. “I thought, oh it’s just a thing that sometimes happens. I don’t know whether it’s good or bad, but the more I learned about the history of humanity since humanity began, I generally came to believe [that] not only was abortion a net good thing, but that bodily autonomy is super important.” Matt felt that “a person having a say over what is happening to their body . . . is the most moral position you could take” adding that he was “confused” and “frightened” that antis did not believe that bodily autonomy was an essential right. For Grace, her mother’s story of having a miscarriage, as well as having to consider termination for her sister, helped to inform her opinion on the issue. Due to her mother’s mental illness and the medications she had been prescribed, doctors didn’t believe that she would be able to carry a pregnancy to term without serious consequences to her health. Grace said, As I got older and understood more of the realities of my mother’s health conditions and how her own reproductive journey coincided with them. I realized how vital it can be to some people, not just mentally, to know that they don’t have to be a parent, but to physically be able to choose whether or not to go through with pregnancy, knowing what it will do. I realized she made choices. She had other options. Doctors certainly would’ve said, “you should consider this other option” [abortion], but she chose me and my sister. And she chose us knowing what it could do to her. But she had the dignity of that choice. She wasn’t forced.

Grace believed that the current bans and restrictions on abortion in her state were taking away patients’ options for choice which would ultimately force people to parent. Laura, aged sixty-seven, from the Midwest said that abortion was not something she knew very much about for the majority of her life stating, “I didn’t pay attention to Roe v. Wade. I just went about my life because I was married at nineteen and had three kids by the time I was twenty-six.” She shared that supporting a much-loved cousin through an abortion decades ago, and taking a sociology class in college where abortion access was discussed helped her to become passionate about abortion work. She recalled a clinic nurse guest speaker in one of her classes talking about her experience working in abortion care, saying, Only about 1 percent of abortions that were conducted here were birth control only reasons rationale. . . . And then I got involved in Women’s and Gender Studies courses and I loved that. And at the same time, I had classmates who

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were LGBTQ and that was, I thought, my first exposure with that population. And that’s when everything started to really come together for me as far as how sheltered I’d been and how much I believed in equity and equality for all.

In Jim’s “very liberal Jewish household,” the conversation about abortion and contraception happened when he was ten and he found an envelope in his home that was from Planned Parenthood, which he thought “was the funniest thing, because why would you name an organization Planned Parenthood?” Jim recalled asking his mother about Planned Parenthood and shared that their conversations about abortion access lasted throughout his college years. He recalled reading a school newspaper article about escorting and when he told his mom he was interested in volunteering at an abortion clinic, she said, “I don’t want you to do it. It’s too dangerous.” Jim shared that he started escorting in 2006. He said that he realized that most likely, his local clinic would be inundated with antis at some point and he wanted to get involved. For some study participants, having a personal connection to abortion helped to facilitate their interest in this issue. Trump and Republican Anti-Choice Rhetoric Create a Catalyst for Activism Matt said that watching the 2015 Republican debates helped motivate him to become involved in clinic escorting. “I decided, it’s time for you to stop just talking about things on the internet and actually get out and do something. And that’s when my campaign volunteering [began] and more importantly . . . when I became an escort.” Angela from a Southern clinic said that she “lived in a bubble somewhere” before Trump was elected. She said that she was “not aware of the need” for clinic escorts, saying that she grew up in a very Conservative, evangelical Christian family. When she found out that there was an abortion clinic “twenty minutes from my house . . . I just had to do something.” After Trump was elected, Angela found a community of Democrat women in her area that she got involved with and “I just jumped in. I was like, nope, this is not [abortion bans] gonna be okay.” Angela was surprised to find a larger community of politically active Democrats in her overwhelmingly red state saying, “there’s more than you would think here. And a lot are very loud.” Mark shared that the Republican debates leading up to the 2016 presidential election in additional to a local news story about his Midwest abortion clinic spurred his volunteerism. “Leading up to that presidential campaign, abortion . . . is always a topic when it comes to politics and big elections, but that election, you could just tell [it] was different with all the stuff that was going on with Trump and whatever. . . . That’s how I got started.”

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Georganne said that when “2016 happened” with Trump’s election, “I was finally like, I gotta do something,” adding that they reached out to a Midwest Planned Parenthood health center and it took a year before they heard back. Georganne began escorting at their local Planned Parenthood clinic before moving to a different state and becoming involved with the indie clinic there. Some escorts noted that listening to former President Trump talk about abortion in medically inaccurate terms that reinforced medically inaccurate antiabortion rhetoric spurred them into action. As one participant stated, “Trump made me do it.” Abortion Is about Equality Matt felt that abortion was an issue of equality—a common theme among escorts in this study. He spoke about the issue of gender inequality in families saying, I also believe 100 percent in the basic equality between all human beings . . . the people who were born women can get pregnant and men can’t, speak to a fundamental difference. I also know enough history and the world around me to know that when it comes to . . . being pregnant and having children, raising a family, it is so much easier for me to get off with less or no consequences than women do. The men don’t have to carry the baby . . . men aren’t the ones in charge of rearing the family.

He added that he could “get a woman pregnant and then just leave at any time. . . . That state of affairs speaks to fundamental inequality. And I think a woman has the right to do something that will put herself or themselves on an equal footing. It just makes sense to me.” Matt, like other male- identifying escorts in this study, felt that it was important for men to become involved with abortion access in supportive ways that included taking direction from “people who know more about this and who are even more invested than I am and who I can learn from.” He added that he had “seen enough over the past few years of white men like me stepping into a situation and basically acting like they know everything and should be in charge much more than people who are even way, way more deep in the cause.” Matt said that because he had “the time and resources to do this [escort], I consider it both a privilege and an obligation.” Tanya felt that not only was abortion an issue of equality where the “control of fertility is one of the things that will keep uterus-owning people on the track to equality” that “CIS men never have to think about, except when they’re trying to dodge child support,” abortion was also “a normal part of the spectrum of healthcare.” Tanya stated that “the romance of pregnancy . . . has been a myth propagated on purpose and pregnancies . . . can be a medically,

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physically, emotionally challenging event, especially if it’s a pregnancy that you’re not looking forward to.” Angela grew up in an evangelical Christian family where “women were not valued” and, for her, assisting other women during a time that might be challenging was a way to show that women had value. Nancy from a Midwest clinic said that abortion restrictions were really about controlling women and that this control was indicative of other issues that were “more insidious that they [antis] don’t talk about as much” and could include limiting contraception and same-sex marriage. Both of these issues have arisen in individual states since the June 2022 Dobbs decision. Nancy felt that recent abortion restrictions were a backlash against women’s political and social advancements, saying, “I don’t know if they’re [antis] afraid or they don’t like the fact that they’re losing control of women or people are recognizing that they don’t really need this other person to survive . . . women are doing it on their own, so it seems like it’s just a grasp at power to right the ship.” Georganne said that even as a kid, they were “aggressively passionate” about abortion and same-sex marriage and this had followed them into adulthood. “I didn’t like being told what to do as a kid, and so the idea that the government would be able to tell me what to do with my body, I was like, oh no, that doesn’t make any sense.” For Georganne, the issue of equality was central to abortion activism. Jan from the South said that in addition to making her “feel good to help another human being,” the issue of abortion was just the starting point for other freedoms that antis were trying to take away. Abortion is just the thing they’re [antis] using to drive a certain thing. Abortion rights are the first ones on the table. That’ll go. And then there’ll be a whole cavalcade. . . . I don’t need your religion to be legislation. That’s what we’re seeing right there. . . . This is where the rubber hits the road as far as separation of church and state, as far as building a theocracy, which is what they’re doing.

Jan’s statement reflected many of those in this study, particularly those interviewed after the June 2022 Dobbs decision: abortion is the beginning of rolling back progressive rights, but it’s not the end. I Had an Abortion Several escorts disclosed that they had an abortion, sharing that these experiences were one of the reasons they escorted at their clinics. These participants were deeply grateful to have had access to abortion care in their younger years, noting that their lives would have been negatively impacted had they been forced to parent. Not a single participant who shared their abortion story said that they regretted their decision. This is consistent with more than fifty years of research conducted by the American Psychological Association

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(Abrams 2022). This finding lies in stark contrast to antiabortion organizations and Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ claims that patients regret their abortion and will suffer lifelong mental and physical health issues as a result, as discussed in chapter 2. Below, escorts share abortion stories that have influenced their clinic volunteerism. Tanya said that, I had an abortion back in 1977, and it was totally mundane, routine . . . [I had] support from my best female friend and the guy involved. . . . I would send money to NARAL or Planned Parenthood every year just out of gratitude. And I honestly thought that our rights were entrenched. Roe v. Wade is law, and then it was Wendy Davis’s filibuster in 2013 in Texas—her fabulous standup filibuster that just hit me over the head like a frying pan. . . . Saturday is usually the hot spot day for procedures in most places. So, it became feasible for me [to escort]. I just went under the Planned Parenthood website, signed up to volunteer and took the training and never looked back. Yes. It’s a pay it forward for sure.

For Tanya, escorting was a way to feel like she was doing something tangible to protect abortion access. “When I get crazy about the state of the world and the laws and the oppression and the lack of bodily autonomy . . . I escort because it’s something I can do on the micro level. I can make a positive difference in one person’s life. And that’s what I’m taking with me. If it all goes south . . . I’m just gonna keep making a difference, one person at a time.” Leslie from a Southern clinic said that while she likely heard about escorting from a friend, she felt that she “had a lot of karma to make up for. I was raised Catholic, and I think the strongest stance I was able to take for most of my life was, hey, it’s your decision, I won’t interfere, but I wouldn’t necessarily help it [abortion access] either.” When Leslie’s daughter had an abortion several years ago, “I was on the sidelines and . . . I thought, woah! I’ve really been missing the boat here. So that’s my personal reason for volunteering.” Leslie said that she fully supported her daughter in her abortion decision and was grateful that she was able to be of assistance to her during that time. She added that she couldn’t “imagine being a young woman needing a medical service and having to try to walk through that hell when I was probably already questioning myself. It’s so wrong on so many levels and it feels really unsafe even when it’s not physically unsafe for the most part. . . . It’s emotionally so unsafe for women.” Paulette recalled that when she was in college pre-Roe, I remember collecting quarters out of the seat cushions to help a friend go to New York City to get a back-alley abortion. And that was a very scary time for young women. My reproductive years are long past, but I have two daughters, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter. And if healthcare can’t be protected for

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women . . . this has just become my project. . . . I will be out there [escorting] until I draw my last breath.

Caroline was a teenager in high school when Roe was decided. She recalled her sister having an out-of-state abortion prior to 1973. This made her aware at a young age that abortion was heavily restricted in her Southwest state and access to abortion was not guaranteed. Caroline also remembered seeing antis on the sidewalks outside of the clinic in her city post-Roe and thinking “oh that’s just so stupid to do that [protest].” Veronica shared that she had a legal abortion in 1975 at the clinic where she was escorting at the time of her interview. She said, Well, I was on the other side of it back when I was in college and it was that very same clinic that I went to and those women . . . [and] men [escorts] were there and they were wonderful and they got me in and got me through it. And it was kind of interesting because I realized over time that there were people there that escorted me in and knew who I was because they were volunteers from my church. It was never brought up. It was never discussed. It was always handled the way I try and handle it. And then, gosh, when I was still teaching, there were two episodes where a student that I knew was coming through and I was escorting them and it was never brought up and nothing was ever said, except that it was really nice [and] one of them sent me a message saying thank you, Mrs. [last name omitted], that was wonderful to see a familiar face and a nonjudgmental person. And so that has kept me going because there needs to be someone there that’s nonjudgmental. I don’t engage with the protestors. I’m there to be a quiet, but supportive presence that gets the patient inside and lets them know that it’s nonjudgmental because that was so important to me. When all those other people were yelling, there was this quiet, strong presence beside me that supported me. And so that’s what I try [to do] because that comforted me.

Katie from a Southern clinic shared her two abortion experiences—one pre-Roe and one post-Roe—saying that these incidents had greatly influenced her volunteerism. In 1969 when she was nineteen, “I was young and stupid and not taking any precautions and I found myself pregnant and I had stopped seeing this guy because there was just something off. And so, when I got in touch with him and told him I was pregnant, well lo and behold . . . he was about seven years older than me, he was married.” According to Katie, this man suggested that she tell her parents as he felt they would likely be “understanding” about her pregnancy and may help her to raise the child. Katie added that that man never stated that he would provide any emotional or financial assistance, as he already had his own wife and children to care for. Katie stated that telling her parents was not an option, so her ex told her about a man in her city who provided abortions and had performed an illegal

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abortion on one of his other ex-girlfriends. She said that her ex-boyfriend had assured her that “there was no monkey business. You didn’t have to have sex with him [the man performing illegal abortions] or do anything [sexual].” Katie said that her ex gave her the $200 she would need for the procedure and she told her “mother that my best friend and I were going somewhere for a couple of days.” Katie called this man on the phone and was told to meet him at a bar at a specified date and time and to tell him what she would be wearing so that he could easily identify her. According to Katie, he said, He would come and collect me. So, I went and I sat there for I don’t know maybe twenty minutes and then this man walked over towards my table and he just kind of slowed down at my table and he said something like “wait ten minutes and come outside” or something like that and “follow me when you come outside.” And I did and I followed him about a block away and we went into a restaurant and he walked towards the back, past the kitchen, and I followed him and he started up some steps, and I thought, I mean maybe there was a nanosecond when I thought, should I really go up those steps? And I did and I mean, he was fine, [we went] upstairs where he lived.

Katie shared that when she got upstairs there were two women: one was the man’s girlfriend and another who was in the process of having an abortion. She said, So, we were there—I was there for like a day and a half, maybe for two days. I don’t even [remember] it’s been so long ago. He was fine with what he did and . . . it was all fine. I was never scared or worried about him or anything. And then when I aborted . . . he wanted to look at everything and make sure everything was fine and it was. I went home and that was it. I do know I was very lucky to have had that kind of experience.

Katie didn’t think that the man who performed her abortion was a licensed doctor, but did feel that he had some kind of medical training as “he certainly knew what he was doing.” She described the abortion procedure saying, “he had some sort of tube that he inserted through the cervix and it, I guess, basically aggravated everything and then I expelled everything and he knew to look and see. . . . I was not very pregnant at the time.” She also noted that the man wasn’t “American, he was very well educated though. So maybe he did medical work where . . . I don’t remember the country he came from,” adding that she felt he was likely from somewhere in South America. Katie discussed her second abortion ten years later when she was twenty-nine—after Roe had become law. “I had been married for seven years and my husband and I had split up. My husband had had a vasectomy so I hadn’t been on birth control for all of those years.” After she separated

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from her husband, Katie met a writer from California and “I slept with this guy . . . we slept together before he went back [to California] and dammit, don’t you know, that one night sleeping with him . . . everybody tells you one time and you can get [pregnant].” She described calling her doctor’s office and telling her doctor that she had missed a period and that she and her husband had separated and “she [the doctor] said, ‘Katie, do you want an abortion?’ And I said ‘yes, I do.’ And she says, ‘well, okay, I’m gonna send you back to the person who schedules appointments and you know, just make an appointment, no problem.’” Katie said she was “so surprised” that she was able to have a forthright conversation with her doctor about having an abortion just ten years after having an illegal abortion that was shrouded in secrecy. She was also shocked that she was able to have the procedure in her doctor’s office, which was a departure in how abortion care had previously been handled. Katie shared that in 1986, when she was pregnant with her daughter, it was recommended that she have an amniocentesis done due to her “advanced maternal age.” When she was being counseled about the possibility of fetal abnormalities and the options available to her, she was surprised when she was told that if she decided to have an abortion it would have to be in the hospital, not her doctor’s office. Katie said, “and I though, that’s just ridiculous . . . the baby was fine but there’s another change [in abortion access].” Katie had firsthand experience of how quickly restrictions and attitudes about abortion had changed in less than twenty years, and how these restrictions impacted patient care. Direct Impact Many escorts felt that being on the sidewalks outside of their clinic was a way to directly show support for abortion access. Jenny from a Southeast clinic said that while she understood how impactful and necessary behindthe-scenes work could be, she preferred to be more hands-on. She felt that activities like phone banking for political elections were vital but favored a more direct action approach. She said, “I don’t wanna have to call strangers. [I] Definitely don’t wanna go door to door knocking for politicians and stuff.” She added, When patients get to their appointment safely, they feel supported. They’re able to make a decision that is right for them. You’ve done something in the moment . . . fundraising is only enjoyable if you’re actually doing an event. Cold-calling people for money is not something that I’m ever gonna be good at. So being able to . . . interact with patients and with other clinic volunteers and abortion providers who are going through so much right now, it feels a lot more meaningful with a direct impact. I definitely like the grassroots aspect of working with clinic volunteer groups.

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Taylor said that starting in their late teens, they had been “fairly noisy on social media about a range of progressive issues and I kind of realized that I wasn’t actually doing anything about it, and was very much more of a keyboard warrior.” Taylor shared that an online friend was a clinic escort, which was how they got into escorting, “a form of activism that happens to be very well suited for me.” Taylor described their escorting at a Midwest clinic as a “real world” form of activism, as opposed to “online activism, which was also important, but not as direct.” Taylor added that escorting was “one of the most direct forms of activism that I think personally I can possibly engage in. The ability to make someone’s day that much easier, is an honor. It’s a privilege to be able to serve our patients in our clinic.” They added, “my role is to create a safe and calming space like what everybody ought to have when they go to what should be a perfectly ordinary appointment. My role is to be a shield and we take that very, very seriously.” Jared from the same Midwest clinic said that after he talked with a friend who had been escorting for quite some time, they decided to try it out and found it to be “a very good fit for me in terms of activism,” adding that “it’s a way that I feel like I can be particularly effective.” Jared said that escorting “is a way that I can make sure that I spend time every week concretely making the world a better place for people. It feels like an important direct-action thing that I can do for other people. I can see how my presence helps and affects them.” Escorts Do More than Escort at a Southern Clinic In addition to the emotional labor that clinic escorting demands, three escorts at one Southern clinic shared stories of how they had gone beyond the sidewalks to assist patients. This included driving patients home from appointments or using personal funds to help patients with things like meals, hotel rooms, and even car repairs. Escorts at this clinic often reached into their own pockets to provide financial assistance, indicating that at this particular clinic, the boundary between escort, clinic, and patient was fluid. Sarah said that at her clinic, escorts had started patients’ cars when they wouldn’t start, arranged for unexpected hotel says when cars had mechanical issues that needed to be fixed, and had even driven patients home, which at times, was to out-of-state locations several hours away. As this clinic saw many out-ofstate patients, it was not uncommon for this to turn into a daylong journey. On one particular day, a patient’s car broke down and needed a new alternator, which one of the escorts paid for. While she didn’t know exactly how much this cost, Kathleen estimated it to be several hundred dollars, saying, “so one of the escorts got that car to her dealership, got them to do an emergency repair on it, [and] she set them up in a hotel room for the night. She

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went back the next morning and got them, took them to their car, and she paid for their alternator.” Kathleen added that this escort also made sure the couple had money to get back home, which was out of state. She said, “so all the escorts here step up and do an awful lot of amazing things. We’ve all reached into our pockets when somebody is short on funding . . . to get them taken care of [have an abortion] the day that they’re here.” Kathleen noted that in recent weeks, there was a significant uptick in patients at her clinic, which had almost doubled in patient demand due to surrounding states enacting abortion restrictions and outright bans. She observed patients driving several hundred miles to get care at her clinic, something that was a fairly new phenomenon. At this particular location, escorts also took on landscaping duties that included clearing large areas of brush to increase parking that could accommodate the recent overflow of patients. One escort said that they also helped to unload boxes from FedEx and UPS and regularly took in the mail. Kathleen said that they have done lawn care and PI [private investigator] work on the antis. Sarah joked, “we’re full-service escort volunteers!” The clinic owner had given the escorts keys to the building and encouraged them to eat lunch in their break room. This was a unique occurrence as many escorts at other clinics reported that they had rarely been inside of their clinic except to use the restroom. Generally, escorts spent the vast majority of their time on the sidewalks outside of the clinic and reported that they did not have a lot of contact with clinic staff and clinicians. Escorts at this Southern clinic shared stories of how they would pester antis, often by co-opting the nicknames antis used. Sarah recalled one incident where an anti was yelling, “sanctified women don’t show their milk jugs in public” referring to Angela, a fellow escort who didn’t wear a bra. Angela’s bralessness seemed to cause the antis at this clinic great distress, as they referenced this supposed moral infraction often. In response, Sarah shared that one of the escorts “got a string and she bought two half gallons of milk . . . and she tied the string to the [empty] milk jugs and she put them around her neck hanging down and we sang ‘do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro?’” as a way to taunt the antis. Another escort brought in several extremely large bras for the escorts, which they wore over their shirts. Later that afternoon, according to Sarah, “we did burn a bra in the barbecue.” Escorts at this specific clinic demonstrated a distinct camaraderie that was unique. They commonly referred to each other as “family,” stating that they were regularly in contact outside the clinic. Additionally, they frequently and loudly used creative humor as a way to get through shifts by making fun of the antis at their clinic, which also contributed to their close relationship.

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Sadly, this clinic was forced to close in June 2022. The escorts at this clinic have disbanded, with one moving out of state, as further discussed in chapter 12. Escorting Provides Community For many participants in this study, escorting was a way to find like-minded people in their community. This was especially true in red states where participants were more likely to feel isolated due to their progressive beliefs. Steve said that in addition to being passionate about this specific social justice issue, the “camaraderie is rewarding.” Jim stated that he really “liked the people” he had met though escorting and his involvement with different reproductive justice organizations, adding that “there’s a lot of diversity there. This is something that a lot of people have been able to kind of come together and say, this is what we want in terms of clinic escorting.” Hearing stories from those who had abortions also helped Jim to further understand the importance of abortion access. “I just felt like this is something which is really quite important. It’s also something that as a cis man, is not really on my radar screen because we don’t have anything which is analogous to this, which is why I feel like there’s so many laws out there which are curtailing it, because this is not something which we’re seeing any kind of shared responsibility for.” Ruth from a Southeast clinic was not the only participant to say that escorting “is not fun,” citing the mental and physical exhaustion that comes from being on the sidewalks. She said, You know, it’s not fun. It’s not like a great way to spend your morning. You’re up early, you’re there at like 7:30, you leave at 9 or 10. It’s a long time. I would say . . . I love seeing the escorts. It’s like a little community—we all take care of each other; we all support each other. Most of these people I call my personal friends, but no, if the antis weren’t there, I wouldn’t be there, you know? It’s only because I believe in reproductive justice.

Dan got involved at his Southern clinic when he changed his Facebook religious preference settings “from none to humanist, which lead me to the [state name omitted] Humanist Association.” He attended one of their weekly brunches and it was there that he met two of the escort volunteer coordinators at the clinic in his state. Dan was “appalled by the stories that they told me, so that next week I went out . . . and then just kept going back.” Dan said that he felt it was likely difficult for some people to get into an escorting group due to the violent history that accompanied abortion clinics in the United States. “If you’re on the outside and you don’t know somebody, trying to break into an escorting group because they are very guarded—because there are people

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out there that would do violence—it’s tough to break in.” Dan said that when he lived in Texas for a year, he tried to get into escorting only to find that he wasn’t able to make contact or find an escort group he could join. Anita was surprised by the community she had found through escorting. She said that the relationships she had formed with the other escorts at her Midwest clinic was more than just about escorting: they would often talk about the books they were reading and Netflix shows they enjoyed, which was “nice to feel that we’re not just connecting over this subject [abortion], we’re connecting as human beings.” Anita said that at her clinic, “when we do escort, we don’t make it political. We don’t say things like ‘this is your right to choose because of XYZ.’ . . . We try to make them [patients] comfortable. There are escorts who do hang out with each other [outside the clinic]. And I think that there are escorts who have online friendships with other escorts.” Similarly, Tanya felt that at her Southeast clinic, the escorts had “really broad fields of interests and there’s always a good conversation” on the sidewalks. She added that “when we’re together and things are successful and patients are coming and going and no one is sitting in their car crying, or no one is getting stopped at the driveway, we are happy. We have a lot of folding camp chairs and we’ll sit around with our coffees or slushies and chat and play music and be happy.” Angela from a Southern clinic felt especially isolated before she found her “core group” which consisted of several escorts at her clinic. At the time, she had young children and had just moved to a new city where she didn’t know anyone and was surrounded by politically conservative people and “just kind of kept myself in check” around them. At one point, she said that she couldn’t “handle” being around so many people who did not share her values and “was kind of alone for a while.” She said that she slowly started to meet other politically liberal people in her overwhelmingly red Southern state, saying, “it was like you had to fish them out . . . like almost a sudden whisper, and it’s so stupid, but that’s how it is around here. You can’t be too open [if you are progressive].” Angela said that she felt judged when asked which Christian church she went to, and the negative responses she received when she said she was not part of a religious community. She shared that in her city, “the conservatives are so loud around here, flags flying on corners and in front yards, and ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ everywhere. . . . I drove past a house the other day . . . there was a rebel flag and in the center was a rebel flag. It was like two in one. What does that even mean?” Angela added that a fellow escort had become “my second mother and I’m closer to her than my mother actually in a lot of cases. I can tell her things that my mother just wouldn’t understand. . . . She is my kids’ honorary grandmother.” Sarah said that her fellow escorts “have made a difference in my life, [escorting] has made a difference in my life for the better, I feel.”

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Katie shared that at one point, she had guest-escorted at another clinic in another state, saying that the group of people she met were extremely supportive and welcoming. “They’re so strong and they’re so adamant about what they’re doing. And most of them are just so kind and nice. . . . These are such wonderful people.” Taylor said that they had “made so many wonderful friends on the sidewalk,” at their Midwest clinic, adding that “one of the hardest things about being locked down in early 2020 was not being able to escort. They [clinic administrators] wanted to cut back on the number of people outside the clinic while we figured all of this out, which was completely understandable and also really, really painful. [This] is absolutely a community that I care deeply for.” Gabby from a Midwest clinic said that she had “met my best friends there who have become part of my family.” Before Gabby moved closer to the clinic, she would drive three hours each week round-trip to escort, which helped her to find a “community that I knew shared the same values as I did.” Like other escorts in this study who resided in red states with highly restrictive abortion laws, Gabby felt it was difficult to find people with shared values and was grateful for the community she had found through the clinic. “Being pro-choice in [state name omitted] . . . you can feel very isolated specially when it comes to conservative family members and that sort of thing. It’s very nice to connect with all of the like-minded people [at the clinic].” Gabby said that she had several discussions with other escorts pre-Dobbs about staying in touch and seeing each other regularly should their state’s trigger law go into effect, thereby forcing her clinic to close. “We’ve been talking, some of my friends and I, how we are going to make sure we stay together, stay in touch with each other if Roe is overturned or if we’re never allowed to escort again.” She added that if Roe was overturned, “our whole lives are going to change. We saw each other a couple of times a week and then sometimes at other events too and it was a way of life.” Gabby said that another available option would be to guest escort at other clinics, saying that guest escorting “happens all the time and the connection is always wanted . . . to go see what’s happening and to stand with your brother and sister escorts.” Georganne felt there was a great rapport between escorts and staff at their Midwest indie clinic. Georganne added that this was a “different kind of camaraderie than at Planned Parenthood” because the clinic was independently owned and fostered a very different environment for escorts. Georganne said that the escorts were welcomed and encouraged to use the break room at the indie clinic and that “there’s a lot of shared communal stuff.” As a “hobby baker,” Georganne said they would often “bring treats for everybody,” adding to this sense of community. Additionally, Georganne added that in their city, the “residents are very much so in support of what

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we’re doing or at the very least, angry with the protesters” which also added to the sense of solidarity at this location. Community support for John was complicated and at times, difficult to find in his home state. As the only Black male in this study, he often had to go outside the “Deep South” where he lived to find like-minded folks. He said that due to his clinic volunteerism and involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, there are some people that are upset with me because of the way I speak on things. And then there are some people who are just like “we support you” even though you’re blunt as all get out. . . . There are still many days I do feel like I do have support and then there are some moments that I feel like I don’t . . . because this is not the just the South, I like to call it the Deep South . . . but in the state of [state name omitted] the support, it varies due to religion and politics.

John said that meeting clinic escorts from other parts of the country had helped him to build his support system outside his home state—noting that he regularly kept in touch with them via social media. One Clinic Dismantles Their Escort Volunteer Program Katie and Leslie shared that the clinic escort volunteer program had been suspended at their Southern clinic. This was before the Dobbs decision was announced in June 2022. While both participants shared their dismay at this decision, Katie was particularly devastated. “I can’t tell you how bad this is— for an escort to be told she can’t escort.” Katie said that she was completely blindsided by the clinic’s decision to end its escorting program and said she was not given a clear reason as to why this happened. “I think the worst thing is that we can’t even figure out what’s wrong. There is so much that seems like disinformation, misinformation, not being able to have conversations with the executive director . . . it’s just like, what is the endgame?” Katie added that escorts were told that they “shouldn’t even drive by the clinic,” which added to her sense of distress. She felt that this abrupt cancellation of her program would eventually cause fundraising issues because when people think about escorts or think about clinics and fighting the fight for abortion, they think about escorts. I’m going to say we’re the sexy part of it. . . . People like to support escorts. They like the idea . . . of these escorts who are out there battling to get the clients in and standing between the patient and the bad guys. It’s something that a lot of people can distill down to good people and bad people.

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Katie said that to her knowledge, the local abortion fund and clinic were still using pictures of escorts in their fundraising materials, even though they were no longer permitted at the clinic. She said, “It’s just the craziest thing. I don’t understand it. I’m upset by it. I’m saddened by it. And not being able to understand is the worst, is absolutely the worst because how do you fight for something if you don’t know what the other person thinks? What’s their [clinic administration] real agenda?” While Leslie was also deeply upset by the clinic’s choice to suspend escorting, she understood the logic behind this abrupt shift in direction, indicating that she might have been privy to information Katie was not. Leslie stated that the clinic felt that escorts were becoming too focused on engaging with protesters and wanted to arrange for more training in order to ameliorate this problem. As a nonengagement clinic, Leslie said that clinic administrators were not happy to see escorts arguing with protesters on the clinic sidewalks, and hoped that additional training would bring rogue escorts back into alignment with clinic policies of strict nonengagement. Despite the clinic’s attempts to inform escorts of these changes, Katie did not feel that she was given enough information regarding this decision, leaving her with a feeling of loss. She said, “we’re on hiatus for an unknown amount of time and come June, when the Supreme Court rules, we may not ever go back. We may not ever have the opportunity to have been there the last day.” Katie was correct in her assumption that she may never escort at her clinic again: this medical center was forced to close in late June of 2022. Feminism, Abortion, and Equality Most participants in this study identified as feminists and felt that abortion was a feminist issue. The link that participants saw between feminism and abortion was central to their motivation to volunteer at abortion clinics. Many participants noted that their definitions of feminism encompassed being more inclusive, saying that the issue of abortion access was not just about women, but anyone who could become pregnant. This was evident in the language that many escorts used saying, “women and pregnant people” or similar. Anita felt that feminism was “a belief in equity for all genders.” For Tanya, identifying as a feminist was a no-brainer. When asked if she identified as a feminist, she replied, “how could you not be?” and defining feminism as “all possibilities open to all people.” Tanya wondered if feminism was now considered under the umbrella of “humanism” and discussed her journey of becoming aware of and interested in trans healthcare. She shared that, “one of the first habits that I did pick up [when escorting] . . . was [to] say ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘pregnant women’ and looking forward to degenderizing the experience. . . . know that’s sometimes off-putting to men or nonbinary people who are

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pregnant to come to [the clinic] . . . the best-intentioned clinics are sometimes very gendered.” Tanya highlighted attempts within various feminist movements to become more inclusive with language and definitions of the concept of woman, noting that she was actively trying to adopt this discourse. Ruth from a Southeastern clinic felt that while feminism meant different things for different people, for her, feminism was about egalitarianism. She shared, I think that the term “feminist” has different meetings for different people. I think there’s subsets of feminism that I don’t necessarily agree with. I believe in egalitarian feminism where I don’t want superiority over the patriarchy. I want equity and justice for all people. I think [that] most people that I affiliate with also have those aligned values. But then there’s people like J. K. Rowling [the author of the popular Harry Potter book series] who call themselves a feminist, while saying like, TERF [Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist] shit and “feminists” like Lauren Handy who stole fetuses from a research lab.1

Jenny from a Southeast clinic said, I would say that I’m definitely a feminist. I hold a lot of viewpoints and beliefs that are feminist. I think that we all need to do a better job of knowing that feminist means inclusive. That seems to be the struggle in these [abortion work] spaces. Especially being a white cis woman, there’s a lot of stuff going on in our spaces that we are not being respectful [of]. [We should be] sitting back and learning, instead of trying to lead.

Jenny said that she felt hopeful that, In the next couple years, feminism will look the way it should and not be so caught up in exclusivity. Well, of course we’ve got all the TERF [Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist] stuff that’s been going on, but I also think that white women in particular . . . center abortion as being the main thing . . . sort of looking at reproductive issues and justice all around. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the first woman to be arrested in Texas [for having an abortion2] was not white. I would say that women of color, especially Black women, are probably gonna have to deal a lot more with doctors and nurses [who] are willing to turn them in for something they suspect.

Jenny’s statements about abortion restrictions and access disproportionatley impacting non-white patients were reiterated by other participants in this study. Additionally, the shifting of language from “women and girls” to “pregnant people” and other gender-neutral language was attempted by most escorts in this study, but was especially focused on by the younger participants—several of whom identified as nonbinary and preferred they/

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them pronouns. Use of inclusive language was not focused on in this study, however, this is an important area of inquiry that requires more attention. Angela defined feminism saying, “honestly, this will be very oversimplified, but just leave women the fuck alone.” Nancy described feminism as just equality for everybody. Equality for us, for women. And for men, the right to take some of those social constraints off of them, that they have to be and look and do certain things, because that’s what society says they have to do. And also, the intersectionality of it, right? Women of color and Black women and bringing them to the table and hearing what they have to say and respecting the work that they’ve already done in the past . . . hundreds of years to get us to where we are.

Paulette discussed the nuance she saw in the concept of equality, saying, I just think it’s equality. That is an intersectional equality, whether it’s financial opportunity, presentation of yourself, who you are, and what you believe, and what you have a right to attain and yearn for and achieve. It’s just being a person that doesn’t put women on another level because of gender, [or] body characteristics. It’s being a human being.

Grace from a Midwest clinic felt that the concept of equality was central to being a feminist. She defined feminist as a “person who believes that everyone is equal. Everybody’s equal. That’s really what it has to come down to. I think there’s a larger conversation that can be had and there’s lots of nuance there. There are lots of people who call themselves feminists that I’m like, well, what are you doing?” Julia said that it is the duty of women to help other women and to “empower” each other, stating, “I think women need a hand up and as a feminist, I should be able to help someone up, whether it’s grabbing their hand and pulling them up or pushing them up from behind. There shouldn’t be a stigma attached to being a woman. There shouldn’t be an assumption that a woman is less than, or incapable.” Laura shared that for her, feminism involved not judging other women, but simultaneously holding other women accountable for anti-feminist beliefs. She recalled seeing some pushback on her Facebook page about the Million Woman March that was held in early 2017, shortly after former President Donald Trump was elected. Laura stated that she saw some local antiabortion feminists becoming upset when they were told that they were not welcome to attend a local sister march and carry antiabortion signs. For Laura, like many other participants in this study, access to abortion was a feminist issue grounded in equality and bodily autonomy. She felt that it would be problematic for antiabortion folks to attend these marches, saying “there’s no place for that. . . . I think of these women who have daughters and [wonder] what are you thinking? I don’t get it.”

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Evolving Definitions of Feminism Several of the participants in this study discussed their changing perceptions of how they defined feminism—often citing inclusive language as important to their new understandings of the movement, as explored above. Mary stated that she felt that her definition of feminism wasn’t very “nuanced” because she was “old,” noting that the time that she spent outside the clinic with “little baby lefties” had helped to provide more complexity in how she defines feminism. Mary recalled a Guardian essay she had read about a very small population of people who regretted having gender reassignment surgery. This opened her eyes to reexamine the strict binary gender system she grew up with in the 1960s and 1970s. For Mary, her definition of feminism centered around freedom and “not being limited in your hopes and expectations.” Mary felt that she grew up in a relatively feminist household and recalled her mother lobbying her middle school administration so that her daughter could take shop class instead of home economics and challenging the dress code girls had to adhere to, which also included wearing skirts during the winter, “when it was twenty below.” For Jared, feminism was not just an abstract concept, but one that included tangible, actionable, qualities. They stated, “I kind of reject the idea that any progressive identity or progressive kind of alignment can be an identity. I think it is a set of actions rather than a thing you are. And so, I think I would say . . . right now, I am doing a relatively good job in living up to my feminist ideals [it is] a status that is contingent on continuing to live up to those ideals.” Jared stated that feminism was a fluid concept with a “shifting target, rather than a set of maxims,” adding that examining “in any given moment, looking at what harm is being done and alleviating it or preventing it” was part of their feminist ideology. They stated, “I assess whether I’m living up to it. . . . I look at what I’ve done in a week and say, okay, have I made the world easier for, in this case, specifically for women-identifying people?” Leslie shared that her adult daughter had taught her quite a bit about recent changes in feminism. Leslie stated that her daughter would often tell her that she was “so Second Wave!” and regularly encouraged her to rethink some of her long-standing ideas of feminism. Regarding her daughter, Leslie said, And just stand on my shoulders, baby. Your intersectionality is standing on my shoulders. She’s been great. She’s done a lot to educate me and then I’ve done some on my own. And I’d say every now and then I’m like, oh my God, this is intersectionality happening right before my very eyes. And then the concept slips out again. I’m a Second Waver. It’s [intersectionality] a difficult [concept] for me.

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Georganne also discussed how their ideas of feminism have changed in recent years. “I think my definition of feminism has probably changed over time. At this point I would specifically say I identify as an intersectional feminist and that a lot of feminism is working to do the opposite of both patriarchy and white supremacy in whatever facets those are. I’ve just found over the years that as a definition for feminism, [this] usually ends up covering all the bases.” Most study participants reported that their definitions of feminism were fluid and had changed considerably due to conversations they had with fellow escorts. This often included a cursory understanding of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality—indicating how far reaching this influential theory has become in recent years. Study participants were keenly aware of how race, socioeconomic status, ability, age, sexism, gender, and Christian religious ideology impacted access to abortion. Escorts were acutely conscious of how an unintended pregnancy could negatively impact patients, and this was a motivation for their volunteerism. For some, gratitude for their own abortions influenced their decision to escort. Additionally, escorts found community at their clinics, particularly for those who resided in overwhelmingly red states with unreasonable abortion restrictions and strong Christian influence. Lastly, escorting was a tangible way for participants to act on their feminist ideologies. NOTES 1. Lauren Handy is an antiabortion activist who was found with five fetuses in her home refrigerator in March 2022. See Michael Levenson. 2022. https://www. independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/jk-rowling-trans-twitter-timelineb2326256.html. 2. See Mary Ziegler. 2022. https:​//​www​.nbcnews​.com​/think​/opinion​/lizelle​-herreras​ -texas​-abortion​-arrest​-warning​-rcna24639.

Chapter 12

June 25, 2022, and Beyond

Participants provided updates on the status of their clinics starting on June 25, 2022—the day after the Dobbs ruling was announced. Understandably, escort reactions were a mix of anger, fear, sadness, and disbelief, as shown below. Participants shared their feelings about the Dobbs decision and predicted what challenges and changes they expected to see at their clinics and how this would impact patient care in the coming months. The escorts who volunteered at clinics in the Midwest with protected abortion access spoke about preparing for a wave of patients traveling to their clinics, many from Southern states. Escorts who volunteered at clinics in states with trigger laws prepared to assist clinic administrators with closing their doors. Escorts provided further updates throughout the summer and into the early winter of 2023, as lawsuits to protect abortion access were filed in many states. Escort reactions have only been edited to protect privacy. JUNE 2022 Angela from a Southern clinic said, I can tell you about how women came out in tears. They were taunted by a protestor. How women were asking me what was going on. Some came for walk-in counseling not aware of what had happened.

Anita from a Midwest clinic shared, I know yesterday was painful for all of us. I can’t say that I’m surprised, but it still breaks my heart. After the [Politico] leak we’ve had several conversations among our team members about how our reality at the clinic is going to change. . . . We’re going to have many more patients coming in from out of state, as well as antis, and we expect that those antis are going to be more and more aggressive. Whether that means we need to grow our team or change our methods is 193

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undetermined at this point, but I think we’re trying our best to try to turn our despair into action. Certainly, all of us are as determined to do this job as before and grateful that we have an outlet to serve when things are looking so hopeless. I have family members who fear for my safety, and maybe it’s my stubbornness, but I’m too angry to let these awful antis scare me away. It feels like giving them another victory that they don’t deserve. So basically, we’re preparing for the battle ahead, because we know we have to take care of each other because nobody in power is going to provide any real help.

Georganne from another Midwest clinic shared, It’s been a harrowing twenty-four hours. I would say the hardest thing was being at the clinic yesterday. As soon as the decision came out, I called out of work and drove straight down. Walking people out of the clinic who were crying and found out they couldn’t get their abortions was one of the most devastating things I’ve had to witness. Compounded by antiabortion protesters who were yelling at these women that they should be happy and celebrating because now they get to keep their baby. We are here again today for a few hours this morning, just as our clinic does their best to contact people to let them know that their appointments are canceled or help with referrals to [other states that still have abortion access]. They may continue to do referrals next week, but we do not know what their future is. As for us, the escorts are still considering how we want to work as a team in the future. I know in particular I am headed to a drag story hour for children on Sunday to provide escorting services. I think that similar things like that will be happening in the future as well.

Georganne offered additional updates in August 2022 and the winter of 2023; As for the clinic I volunteered at, [clinic name omitted], they’re no longer providing abortions but are still providing ultrasounds and referrals out of state. I checked with some of my other fellow escorts, and those that live nearby note that on Saturdays there’s still a crowd of about ten antis outside, mostly Catholics, a few of our more aggressive people, and maybe one sign. Overall, the antis are almost taking the whole thing harder than anyone else. You can tell that for a lot of them, this was all they had. None of us old escorts are at the clinic anymore, so I can’t speak to patient volumes. I can share this since it’s public knowledge now, but the old head doctor at [clinic name omitted] has and/ or is in the process of opening a clinic in [city name omitted]. As to escort future plans, we’re still working out how best to use our skills to help folks. I unfortunately can’t go into details for safety sake, but I’m hopeful we can find a way to do good. I’m unsure what is going on with the [city name omitted] PP [Planned Parenthood] or other PPs in the area, as [clinic name omitted] was an indie clinic, but from a web meeting a few months ago with PP [state name omitted], they were also planning on helping patients with non-abortion-related activities post Roe. They were also potentially planning on taking overflow non-abortion

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appointments from [state name omitted] if they are too overwhelmed with the influx of patients.

Georganne stated that as of 2023, their plan to help to transport patients to another state for abortion care had fallen though “because of the liability of the groups working with us.” Georganne stated that they were currently volunteering with a pregnancy options call line for their state, in addition to volunteering with a statewide abortion fund. Paulette from an East Coast clinic shared the following statement on June 25, 2022: Today I am feeling even more outrage than when the decision was released yesterday. The impact on women and families, the anger and fear they are expressing, hit me viscerally. I see our daughters and granddaughters with fewer rights than I enjoyed. That is regressive policy. We are witnessing a religious takeover of our American way of life. Choice encompasses freedom. We are not free if we are not whole. We are not whole if we are not equal. To wake up and realize that women are, under our Constitution, relegated to second-class citizenship is appalling. Without bodily autonomy, who are we? Forced pregnancy relegates women to incubator status. The impacts of being compelled to carry an unwanted pregnancy are not inconsequential; life plans, health status, education, careers, financial stability, housing and food insecurity, domestic abuse, addiction, family relationships, matter. All children should be wanted and loved, nurtured and protected. Women are not breeders meant to supply foster homes with babies. In the states where abortion is illegal, who is going to pay for the needs of the babies once born? Will their needs be met? Data has shown that women turned away from a wanted abortion have higher rates of poverty. If our country truly cared about babies, social safety net programs would be flush with funding. Of course, this ban of a fundamental human right is just the first domino in the line to fall. What comes next: Criminalization for miscarriages? Removing access to contraceptives? Choosing whom we love/marry? LGBTQI rights? All matters of privacy are at stake, and everyone’s hair should be on fire. Oppressed people fight back. The people of this country as a whole, support abortion rights as healthcare. SCOTUS has gone off the rails. . . . Even knowing this was coming, the earthquake has us rattled. And even more irrational, the anti-choice crowd, with a VICTORY, become more threatening.

Paulette provided an additional update in the winter of 2023. She said, I think the general public needs to be informed and aware of how abortion restrictions and bans are impacting women all over the country. Their autonomy denied, women are second-class citizens and not fully human. As we see more out-of-state women coming to [East Coast state name omitted] for abortion, I realize how the added stress, financial burden, the juggling of responsibilities at

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home to access healthcare is taking a toll. Escorts are bodies on the line, living and vulnerable buffer zones between patients and protesters. They [antis] often outnumber the escort team. The protesters are more brazen, more extreme abolitionists, more dangerous than what most people think when they hear “pro-life advocates.” The Dobbs decision has both emboldened them and made them more intent on seeing women suffer. These are not kindly old women praying; they are most often men not even from the community where the clinic is. They come with firearms. They ignore city codes and state and federal laws, often with the collusion of local officials who fear enforcing boundaries. Sometimes the officials (police, city mayors, select people) do not support reproductive rights, so they drag their heels on responding to complaints or blatantly refuse to ensure safety. The numbers of protesters and incidents outside the clinic are growing. The politically right-wing and religious ideologies of protesters is expressed in their demands that we “repent” for murder of babies, for supporting the LGBTQI patients at our clinic. Lately we’ve had people [antis] trying to convince patients to go to the Crisis Pregnancy Center, just a few blocks away. Escorts are facing multipronged attempts to interfere with patients accessing healthcare with intimidation, threats, religious admonitions, misinformation about medical procedures. It’s A LOT to fend off when my focus needs to be on being a warm and supportive safe presence as the first face of the clinic to the women and their partners who are taking a big step in their personal lives. Some days are quite long on the sidewalk, and the weight of what we see, hear, feel is heavy. Decompressing can take hours after an especially grueling experience. The stories some women share with me stay with me a long time. It is a gift to be let into the private world of a stranger. Looking into the angry eyes of a protester after I’ve brought a patient to the clinic door, I often think to myself “NOPE. Not on my watch. You’ll have to come through me.”

Leslie from a Southern clinic said, My thoughts: I just see so many poor women further enslaved and impoverished. It breaks my heart. It also pisses me off. I’ve been standing up for women’s rights for a very long time. I’ve no intention of stopping now. While I don’t yet have a specific plan, I have the strong intention to fight back.

Tanya from a Southeastern clinic shared, “People will continue to need abortions and I will do my utmost to aid them in getting them safely. . . . It’s gonna be a long weekend. Our defender group will be at our clinic in full force for the next thirty days.” Tanya provided another update in the early winter of 2023. She said, “We have ‘hunkered down’ and will facilitate abortions by any means necessary. We meet planes at airports large and small. We dig into our own pockets to help with patients’ unexpected travel expenses.

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We bring rattles and sticker books and sit in cars with the small children whose parents were not able to arrange childcare.” Tanya’s state has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Kathleen from a Southern clinic posited, [I’m]probably angrier than I was yesterday. And much more sad. The patients who had been medicated before the decision were allowed to continue. The last patient was finished and left the building at 4 p.m. As her driver went to get their vehicle, I put my arm around her to support her ([she was] a bit woozy from the medications) and said, “Do you realize you are the last woman to get a legal abortion in [state name omitted]?” She said, “Yes, and I’m so grateful.” They were from several states away and had a long drive ahead of them, but at least she was able to leave not pregnant. I’m going to the rally tomorrow—dressed as a suffragette. My grandmothers were born before women could vote. Their generation and generations before them fought to get me the right to vote. I’m going to pay it forward and do what I can for my granddaughters and generations of women after them.

Nancy from a Midwest clinic shared, Roe being overturned is catastrophic, and the amount of emotions I’m having aimed at those who knew this was going to happen after the leak but did nothing is just is overwhelming. I don’t think I’ve even fully processed that it happened yet. Dems need to do better. WE need to do better with not accepting status quo and letting them fuck around with our lives. We also need to stop trying to find middle ground with people; if they can’t meet us where we’re at, you’ve got to go. If you’re not inclusive, GTFO [get the fuck out] ’cause this isn’t therapy but people’s lives we’re talking about now. I wish that we’d had this energy in 2016 and people could just get outside themselves for once to think about the long term.

Grace from a Midwest clinic commented, I have so many thoughts. . . . Even though it [the SCOTUS draft] leaked, and we knew it was coming, it’s still devastating to watch the end of your rights to privacy and bodily autonomy. The clinic was already scheduled to see patients on Saturday, so we added some more folks to the crew so that we could be prepared for a circus. But the antis wanted a bigger audience, so they went trolling at the Statehouse instead. I was relieved that the patients could get their care without dealing with the loudest protesters. I’m worried the quiet won’t last forever. Our legislature starts a special session on [date deleted], where nearly everyone is expecting them to pass some sort of ban. . . . But every day that abortion isn’t fully banned in this state, the antis will get angrier. So, we’re planning on taking a Stop the Bleed training and adding a tourniquet or two to our supply box. We won’t stop showing up until there’s no clinic to show up to.

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Mark from a Midwest clinic added the following: It’s definitely disappointing and not terribly surprising, especially after the prerelease of the ruling. It’s frustrating that the minority opposition got their way. And here in [state name omitted] (and I’m sure in other “red” states), it’s extremely frustrating with some of our political extremists gloating about it. People that have not been following this or paying attention are going to start to be shocked with what else will be under attack soon. Clarence Thomas immediately already had public comments for attacking birth control, marriage equality, etc. And the same will be coming out of the mouths of state politicians as well. One can only hope this has extreme negative consequences for the Republican party (and some Democrats like Manchin) for the next several elections that puts people in Congress that are willing to make safe, legal abortion the law of the land. In [city name omitted], if the worst happened, and it did, those of us involved in repro rights and helping the clinic also know [that]. . . . If the clinic chose to move, they can provide the same services [in another location]. Obviously, that still sucks for [clinic owner name omitted] and staff. It’s hard enough to start, own, operate a business, and to tear down and start up . . . is an overwhelming challenge. It’s just more hoops to jump through to provide abortion services. And I’m sure it’s the last thing any of them wanted. They are fighters and have built [clinic name omitted] to what it is today, so having to pick it up and move is a bit heartbreaking. But while [city name omitted] and [clinic name omitted] has that ability to basically resume same services . . . the rest of the country that is similarly impacted probably does not have that luxury, and I would have to imagine it is much more devastating to their regions. It’s easy to just think about our little bubble here and the impacts, but others are not so fortunate, and there will be far worse consequences to this new ruling than in our area. . . . And I think now there is also a concern, will people get complacent? Using our region as an example, will people in the region think “well, nothing really changed if they are [near the] prior location,” but the reality is if [state name omitted] had [restrictions], it could all go away. Or something like a national ban happens, it all goes away. People need to keep fighting and voting like this will go away if they don’t. So, supporters need to keep being vocal, keep putting pressure on, and get more and more supporters to make safe legal abortion across every state in the nation.

Mark shared a few notable stories of patients accessing care at the new clinic location, in the winter of 2023 noting how grateful they were. He said, It’s been a cold winter but we continue to have good escort numbers show up every week and still get new volunteers. I expect that will continue as the weather gets nicer. We still encounter patients arriving with the same fears patients at the previous more public location did. While we know we provide a

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very safe environment, people arriving that most likely have never been to the clinic before are still on edge because there are strangers lurking around on the sidewalk. We had a couple recent noteworthy things take place. There was a young woman that arrived at the clinic this winter who was literally trembling. In my time escorting since fall 2016, I can probably estimate I’ve seen [more than] one thousand patients walk by me every year and I don’t think I had ever seen someone shaking this much. I don’t know if it was all fear or there were other emotions involved, but the visible shaking was intense as we walked her to the entrance. One of our escorts that joined us last summer, a mom of two young adult children, was at her side to offer her arm and supportive voice as we walked her to the clinic door. A few weeks later, clinic director [name omitted] shared with this volunteer that the patient had contacted the clinic to share her appreciation of the escort and how it helped her. I arrived just shortly after [name omitted] had finished the story, but apparently our volunteer said it made her cry because it was so touching. That less-than-thirty-second encounter made a positive impact in that young woman’s experience that day, and I think most escorts would say making that little bit of positive difference in someone’s experience is a big reason why they continue to volunteer. It’s less than ten to thirty seconds with someone, maybe four to six times an hour, in sometimes twenty below temps, but it makes a difference. I saw the young woman exit the clinic that day, and she appeared much better. The other positive thing that occurred was just a couple weeks ago, a former patient dropped off some cookies for us with [a] . . . note . . . It’s not the first time we’ve seen or heard messages like she wrote. It’s quite touching and can bring a happy tear to the eye when reading the kind words. The person that dropped this off was from out of state and had dropped off a patient earlier that day and was picking them up when she gave me the items and spoke kind words of appreciation for us being out there. The message is a testament to the quality of care provided by the [clinic name omitted] staff and the volunteers on the outside. Notes like that are a great reminder of how much the volunteer support is appreciated by people. As noted above, our interactions with patients are brief, literally seconds. It would be easy for volunteers to ask themselves why are they standing outside, sometimes for hours, in all weather extremes. But we have plenty of experiences like the ones I’ve shared to remind us why we volunteer.

In early fall of 2022, Julia from a Midwest clinic supplied a disturbing update from the Planned Parenthood where she escorted, as her indie clinic had been forced to close due to Dobbs. She said, I wanted to share a minor, but interesting, comment made by a protestor at Planned Parenthood in [city and state name omitted]. [Antiabortion organization name and city omitted] an antiabortion group, maintains an office in a building next to PP [Planned Parenthood]. They pay protestors to stand at the gate to PP parking lot, trying to stop cars from entering. They’ve been told by

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the police multiple times that they can’t stop cars from entering PP, but they do it all the time. When they stop cars, escorts tell the folks in the car that the people stopping them are protestors and not with the clinic. The paid protestors absolutely hate being called protestors, and deny being protestors. Yesterday one of them yelled, “We’re not protestors, we’re medical representatives.” Medical representatives?! This was the first time we heard them refer to themselves as medical representatives. It’s an example of the terrible ways they misrepresent themselves and what they do. Their entire program is based on deception.

Julia shared another update in the winter of 2023, stating that the paid protesters have taken to “wear[ing] vests, stand[ing] at the gate [to Planned Parenthood], walk[ing] out to stop cars coming into the parking lot, and pretend they’re with PP [Planned Parenthood], using a huge sign that says “Check In Here.” Julia noted that the deceptive practices of the antis at this clinic are continuing to escalate. Taylor contributed an update in the winter of 2023 saying, I wish I could say that things are getting better for us, but we’ve been getting reports of antis coming out during the week (which has been very rare for us in the past.) We’ve added more shifts; it can be tough to find people during the 9-to-5 workweek, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to get students, retirees, secondshifters . . . something. We’re still seeing a lot of people [antis] on weekends, often fairly aggressive, but I think our team is adjusting well to the “new normal.” . . . The cops haven’t bothered to show up for a few months now—not sure whether I’m relieved or not. The other thing that’s been driving us up the wall is the parking. We have (had?) a public lot right across the street from the clinic. It’s not free, but it’s pretty reasonably priced for [city name omitted]. Unfortunately, it’s going to be turned into (more) condos, and that’s been wreaking havoc on our ability to assist patients with parking. First, they had a “closed” sign up for a couple of weeks, which wasn’t particularly obvious, but people got towed. . . . We’re trying very hard to keep people from getting towed—we’ve researched other parking options and printed handouts and taped up a sign on the pay box, and every week, we specifically ask people whether they’ve paid for parking, and alert anyone in the waiting room when the tow truck comes around. I think we’ve managed to keep everyone’s cars where they originally put them, but it’s yet another source of stress and another expense for our patients.

CONCLUSION Indie clinics around the United States are closing at an alarming rate in the aftermath of Dobbs. The impact on patient care has been immediate and devastating: accounts of miscarriage mismanagement (Belluck 2022), child rape

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victims being forced to travel out of state for abortion care (Folkenflik and McCammon 2022), and doctors committing felonies to provide patients with lifesaving abortions (Cavendish and Banner 2022) are becoming the norm in red states. Unsurprisingly, states with protected abortion access are quickly becoming overwhelmed with out-of-state patients (Diamante 2022). The costs associated with the procedure have skyrocketed (McCann 2022), and will likely continue to do so as waiting times and travel distances increase, making abortion unaffordable for some patients. Since June 2022, nine of the fifteen clinics in this study have been forced to close, move to an out-of-state location or have been required by law to stop performing abortion procedures. Some clinics are in a state of flux as lawsuits play out in their states, with escorts patiently waiting for legal decisions to be finalized. Escorts have stated that they are determined to continue escorting until antiabortion state laws shut them down. For escorts in states with no abortion access, they have redirected their energies to other endeavors. One Southwest escort has dedicated her time to protesting outside of a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) in her town as a way to challenge abortion restrictions. A Midwest escort shared that they are now involved in local LGBTQ organizations, and another escort currently escorts at a Planned Parenthood health center full time after her indie clinic was forced to close. Other participants have made geographic changes, with two escorts moving out of their Southern states. One escort stated that this move was due to regressive policies that would negatively impact her family. Some escorts have struggled to find additional ways to stay involved in abortion access, and many reported feelings of loss without their escorting community. Escorts reported that clinic buildings have been sold, emptied out, and repurposed. While few positive stories about abortion and abortion access exist in a post-Roe America, one clinic in this study has reported positive results since they were forced to move out of state. Escorts at this clinic felt that their new setup was more ideal than their original location and this has positively impacted their escorting experience and increased patient comfort. Escorts shared that the new clinic has a large, private parking lot for patients. Antis have no access to the clinic door or the sidewalks immediatley around the clinic and are only able to attempt to interact with patients as they pull into the clinic driveway. Escorts said that they can feel the frustration of the antis, who are no longer able to interact with patients and escorts as they did before. As a result, anti presence at the clinic has declined significantly. This clinic was still offering abortion services at the time this book was completed.

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Index

Page numbers followed with “n” refer to endnotes. 40 Days for Life, 126, 131, 132 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, 23, 83, 87, 88, 98 Abbott, Gregg, 7 Abolish Human Abortion (AHA), 97, 122–24 abortion: advocacy, 67; bans, 4–6, 24, 26, 63, 105, 106, 108, 109, 113, 117–19, 147, 175, 194, 197, 198; (and TRAP laws, 7–10, 15; Trump, Donald, 7–8); bounty hunting, 24, 50, 117; cost of, 6, 9; criminalizing the, 26–27, 108; death threat, 48–49; denial of care, 5, 6; escorts’ personal experiences, 177–81; as feminist issue, 188–90; funds, 59, 63, 113, 116, 117, 188, 195; illegal, 5–6, 10, 14, 106, 107, 111, 112, 120, 179–81, 195, 197; Judaism and, 67–69; medication, 63, 114, 116, 118, 124–25; as murder, 151–53; out of state patients, 106, 113, 115, 116, 118, 119; patient justification, 153, 154; (shame and, 154–157); patients confide in escorts, 153–57; porn, 29,

102, 126, 127, 128; restrictions, 2, 4, 5, 7–10, 23–25, 52, 53, 63, 104, 105–9, 111, 119, 120, 174, 177, 179, 181, 183, 189, 195, 197; (state legislation for, 23–25; TRAP Laws and, 7–10); reversal, 124–25; rights, 2–4, 67, 177, 195; stigma, 9, 15, 47, 156; TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws, 7–10; travel cost, 113; travel for care, 106, 112–16, 195; trigger law, 83, 105, 107, 112, 113; 2016 presidential campaign and, 175; updates on the status of clinics by escorts, 193–201 Abortion Access Front, 12 abortion clinics, 1; closures, 5, 7, 9, 201; engagement with antis, 33–38; escorts, 1–2, 10–12, 29. See also escorts; funding, 24, 27, 28; harassment, 84; nonengagement with antis, 36–45, 99, 143; physical plant issues, 29–30; police: (enforcement at, 84, 85, 87, 88, 102; relationships at, 90, 96–98, 101–2); safety, 159–63; safety zone, 98; semiengagement with antis, 33, 43; setup against antis to access patients, 213

214

Index

29–32; staffing and volunteer challenges, 25–27; state legislation for restrictions, 23–25; violence at, 2, 4, 9–11, 15, 54, 81–84, 104, 159–60, 163, 164; volunteering, 51–57; (hedging about, 58–59) Abortion-Free America, 83 Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN), 124 Abortion Pill Reversal, 124–25 abortionpillreversal.com, 43, 64, 124–25 ACLU. See American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ACOG. See The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) aggressive nonengagement, 39 AHA. See Abolish Human Abortion (AHA) American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 3–4 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 8, 9, 18, 124–25 American Psychological Association, 177 Andaya, Elise, 2 antiabortion organizations, 11, 12, 18, 29, 68, 83, 107, 120, 123, 135, 140, 177–78, 200 antiabortion-related violence, 81, 83–84 antis (protesters), 2, 8, 10–12, 15, 19–23, 25–29, 48–50, 52, 55–56, 65, 66, 72–76, 78, 81, 86, 88, 89, 91–92, 95–98, 121–22, 141–45, 194–96; abortion as murder, 151–53; aggressiveness, 34–36, 45, 57, 79, 139, 144, 146, 147, 166, 193; behavior toward non-White patients, 77–80; Black, 74, 76–78, 80, 134–35; Catholic, 125–27, 131, 132, 135, 136, 194; Christian, 67, 69, 121, 122, 126; COVID-19 pandemic and, 143; cruelty of, 172; death threat by, 48–49; deceptive practices of,

200; derogatory, 136; engagement, 33–38, 99, 103–4, 144; evangelicals, 47, 102, 127–32, 137; exploiting vulnerable adults at clinic, 148–49; filming the escorts and patients, 39, 84, 101; harassment by, 2, 4, 10–12, 14, 17, 22, 25, 28, 31, 32, 34, 47–49, 53–55, 57, 72, 79, 83–84, 89, 97, 98, 100–101, 129, 145, 146, 162, 163, 166, 172, 183; homophobic rhetoric, 137; hypocrisy of, 142; interaction with White/non-White patients, 78; intimidation by, 31, 49, 57, 83, 84, 94, 126, 131, 141, 149–51, 164, 196; Lutheran, 130–31; male, 55, 129, 135, 137–39, 142, 148; negative effect on patients, 172; nonengagement, 36–45, 99, 103, 143; nonphysical harassment, 82; non-White, 134–35; police and, 86–89, 93; racist language, 76–80, 137, 148; right-wing, 77, 137, 196; safety against violence of, 159–63; setup of abortion clinics against, 29–32; sexist language, 76–80, 137–40, 148; Southern Baptist, 130; target on independent “indie” clinic, 145–46; upticks in, during and after Trump, 146–47; vaguely racist, 76; violence at US abortion clinics, 159–60; White, 72, 76, 77, 78, 80, 100, 133–35, 137; women, 76, 134–36, 139 anti-vaxx, 143 APRN. See Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN) Association of American Medical Colleges, 9 Benshoof, Janet, 3–4 Berer, M., 2 Bible, 2, 18, 35, 64, 66, 134, 154 Biden, Joe, 67 BIPOC, 71–74, 80, 88, 98, 135, 139, 140

Index

Black: antis, 74, 76–78, 80, 134–35; escorts, 72, 74, 78; (racial experiences, 74–76); genocide, 77, 78 Black, Steph, 63–64 Black Lives Matter, 15, 58, 75–77, 133, 187 Blue Lives Matter, 56 Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America, 10, 81 bodily autonomy, 24, 67, 143, 171, 172, 174, 178, 190, 195, 197 Britton, Laura, 1, 9, 47 Brown, Elisha, 12 bubble zone, 20, 22–23, 42, 82, 85, 95, 96, 97, 98; law enforcement of, 95–97 buffer zone, 23, 85, 96, 15, 196; banging-ass buffer zone law, 96; law enforcement of, 96–97 Carroll, Erin, 23, 76, 121, 122, 133, 138, 149 Catholic church, 18, 53, 127 Catholics, 18, 34, 52, 59, 124, 126–28, 132–33; antis, 125–27, 132, 135, 194 Ceauşescu, Nicolae, 109, 120 Center for Reproductive Rights, 4 Christianity, 64 Christians, 2, 14, 34, 49, 52, 64, 66–67, 134; antis, 67, 69, 121, 126; terrorists, 147 civil disobedience, 11, 82, 83 clinic escorts. See escorts Clinton, Bill, 67 community stigma, 47, 55 community support, 101–3, 187 confidentiality, 15, 47, 49–50, 56, 84 co-opting, 183; of social justice language, 15 counterprotests, 12, 38 COVID/COVID-19 pandemic, 37, 54, 79, 128, 143, 147, 150, 164–66 Crenshaw, Kimberlé, 192

215

crisis pregnancy center (CPC), 17–19, 30, 128, 155, 178, 196, 201; clinic doors open to sidewalks, 21; lack of parking, patients’ harassment, 19–21 death threats, 48–49, 84 defender, 11, 14, 33–37, 40–41, 58, 97, 103, 144, 167, 171, 196 Democrat Party, 114, 175 demonstrations, 82–84, 103 Deprez, Esmé E., 7 Dobbs, 1, 5–6, 9, 10, 12, 15, 19, 25, 27, 45, 84, 105, 107, 110, 113, 115, 117, 119, 157, 160, 166, 177, 186, 187, 193, 196, 199, 200 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 4–5, 45, 105 Doe v. Bolton, 3 doxxing or doxing, 57, 58 ELCA. See Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) emotional abuse, 168 emotional labor, 9, 47, 51, 153, 182 engagement, 14, 15, 23, 33–41, 99, 103–4, 144; full, 43–44; and nonengagement, 15, 33, 34, 45; semi-, 33, 43 equality, 120, 172, 175–77, 190, 198 ERDs. See Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) escorting, 50–51; community support, 184–87 escorts, 1–2, 175; on alert at clinic, 163– 65; applications for, 25; arrest of, 100–101; assistance to patients, 182– 83; Black, 72, 74–76, 78; community support to, 101–3; good relationships with local police, 91–93; guns and bulletproof vests, 167–68; harassment on, 31, 47–49, 54, 56, 72, 138–40; lack of confidentiality, 49–50; mental and physical fatigue, 50; motivations for volunteering, 171–73; non-White, 71, 74; personal

216

Index

experiences of abortion, 177–81; physical assault on, 173; resourceful, 29; safety for, 160–61, 164–65, 167; staffing and volunteer challenges, 25–27; volunteerism, 47, 49, 51–57, 66, 102, 162–64, 168, 175, 179, 187; (Black woman, 58; hedging about, 58–59; not deterred from, 168–69; on social media, 59); volunteer program, 187–88; volunteers: (history of, 10–12; and local police, 85–88); White, 71–73, 80 Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs), 8 Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), 14, 65 evangelicals, 2, 34, 49, 89, 128, 132–33; antis, 47, 102, 127–32, 136, 139, 140, 145 FACE Act. See 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act Facebook, 45, 49, 51–53, 57–59, 84, 100, 162, 165, 169n2 feminism, 172, 188–92 The Feminist Majority Foundation, 84–85, 96 Fetal Personhood Laws, 120n1 fetal porn, 29, 126, 127 Floyd, George, 72, 78, 90, 134 forced birth, 136, 143 full engagement, 34, 44–45 gender: inequality, 176; queer, 139; race and, 75, 89, 172 Handy, Lauren, 189, 192n1 harassment, 9, 44, 45, 68, 73, 79, 121, 132, 133, 148, 151–53, 158, 163, 168, 173, 183; by antis, 2, 4, 10–12, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 34, 47–49, 53–55, 57, 72, 79, 83–84, 89, 97, 98, 100, 101, 129, 145, 146, 162, 163, 166; (of escorts, 31, 47–49, 54, 56, 72, 138–40; filming the escorts

and patients, 39, 84, 100, 148, 149; sexist language, 79, 138–40); nonphysical, 82–83; online, 49, 84; physical, 2, 10, 19, 168; racialized, 74–76; verbal, 2, 10, 19, 47–49, 89, 100–101, 120, 168 The Heartbeat Bill, 24 Hispanic Catholic antis, 135 humanism, 188; secular, 14, 65 illegal abortion, 5–6, 10, 106, 111, 112, 120, 180–81, 195, 197 independent “indie” clinic, 7, 9, 13, 14, 21, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 45, 54, 56, 118, 123, 176, 186, 194, 201; antis’ target on, 145–46; tensions, Planned Parenthood and, 59–64 Instagram, 12, 53, 55, 130 institutionalized stigma, 62 intersectionality, 73, 190–92 intimidation by antis, 31, 49, 57, 83, 84, 94, 126, 131, 141, 149–51, 164. See also harassment Jerman, Jenna, 2, 8, 112, 155 Jewish law, 67 Judaism, 14; and abortion, 66–69 Kenney, Dennis Jay, 81–84, 87, 88, 92, 103–4 Kimport, Katrina, 5–6 later-term abortion, 24, 63, 159 law enforcement: of buffer and bubble zones, 96–97; police, 84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93–97, 102 lawsuits filing, 7, 23, 25, 27, 50, 96–98 Leidig, Michael, 109 Lewis, Thomas Tandy, 3 LGBTQ: community/escorts, 59, 65, 67; rights, 69, 119 LGBTQI: patients, 196; rights, 196 Love Life, 130 Lutheran antis, 129, 130

Index

male antis, 55, 129, 137–39, 142. See also women antis; Black, 135; White, 129, 147, 148 Mandel, Bethany, 68 Martin, Lisa A., 9 McCorvey, Norma, 3 McNamara, Blair, 5 Medoff, Marshall, 1, 8, 9 mental health, 51, 56, 78, 165 Mercier, Rebecca J., 1, 7–9 Mishtal, Joanna, 2 Moseley-Morris, Kelcie, 12 Nash, Elizabeth, 7, 113 National Abortion Federation (NAF), 59, 82, 84, 112, 159, 163 National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), 72, 178 National Clinic Violence Survey, 84–85, 96 National Council for Jewish Women, 67 National Organization for Women (NOW), 11 New Orleans Abortion Fund, 113 Newton-Levinson, Anna, 63 nonengagement, 33–36, 38–45, 99, 103. See also engagement; engagement and, 45 nonphysical harassment, 82–83 nonprofit-industrial complex, 62 non-White antis, 134–35 non-White escorts, 71, 74 Obama, Barack, 79, 109, 147 online activism, 182 online harassment, 49, 84 Operation Rescue, 11, 82, 83 Operation Save America (OSA), 12, 29, 122–23 physical harassment, 2, 10, 168. See also harassment Planned Parenthood, 12, 13, 26–29, 34, 44, 54, 65, 72, 77, 78, 88, 93–96, 113, 114, 118, 145, 153, 159, 163,

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175, 176, 178, 186, 194, 199–201; tensions between indie clinics and, 59–64 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 4, 105 police: and antis, 86–89, 100; clinic relationship with, 86, 90, 96–98, 101–2; escorts volunteers and, 85–88; filing lawsuits and, 96–98; good relationships with escorts, 91–93; in-service training for, 87–88; as last resort, 98–99, 103; law enforcement, 84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93–97, 102; pros and cons of calling the, 98; response bias, 93; roll-call training for, 87–88; violence, 90 police presence, 88–91, 99; critique on, 89; negative impact on patients, 88–91; race and, 88–104 Politico, 105, 106, 108, 193 Quaker, 14, 44, 66 Quiverfull movement/Institute in Basic Life Principles, 65 Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, 68 race, 74–76, 80, 134, 162; Black genocide, 77, 78; and gender, 75, 89, 172; and police presence, 88–104 racialized harassment, 74–76 racial slurs, 77, 78 racism, 74–80, 134, 150 racist language, of antis, 76–80 racist stereotyping, 77 Rankin, Lauren, 10–12, 81, 121 Red Rose Rescue, 163, 169n1 religion, 14, 65, 67, 122 religious community, 64–66, 185 religious hospitals, 8 replacement theory, 77 Republican Party, 107, 111, 119, 175, 198 Resnick, Sofie, 12 Reuland, Melissa, 81–84, 87, 92, 103–4 right to abortion, 2–3, 5, 67, 177, 195

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Index

right-wing antis, 77, 137, 196 Roberts (Chief Justice), 109 Roe v. Wade, 3, 5, 14, 25, 81, 96, 105, 174, 178–80, 194; overturning, 3, 5, 10, 73, 81, 96, 105–10, 147, 163, 186, 197; (constitutional protection, 110–20; escorts’ plans for abortion access, 116–18; overflow of outof-state patients in Illinois, 118–19; travel for abortion care, 112–16) safety: at abortion clinic, 160–63; for escorts, 160–61, 164–65, 167; zone, 98 same-sex marriage, 177 Sanger, Margaret, 77–78 SCOUTS. See Supreme Court of the United States (SCOUTS) secular humanism, 14, 65 semi-engagement, 33, 43 Senate Bill 8, 7 sexist language, of antis, 76, 79, 137–40 sidewalk counseling, 127 social justice language, co-opting, 15, 58, 75 social media, 13, 42, 49, 51, 54, 59, 68, 84, 163, 182, 187. See also Facebook; Instagram; Twitter Southern Baptist Church, 56 state legislation, 23–25 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOUTS), 3–5, 13, 81, 105–10, 147, 166, 195, 197 Swartz, Jonas J., 19 TERF. See trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) Texas abortion bans, 113, 117–19, 147 Texas Heartbeat Act. See Senate Bill 8 Thomsen, Carly, 17 Tiller, George Dr., 159, 165, 173 toxic masculinity, 48, 79, 89, 128, 138

trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF), 189 transfer agreements, 8 trans kids, law for, 119, 120 TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws, 7–10, 17 Trump, Donald, 53, 67, 68, 75, 175–76, 190; abortion bans, 7–8; administration, 7, 104, 109, 166; (upticks in antis during and after, 146–47); antiabortion rhetoric, 2; MAGA, 147; republican anti-choice rhetoric, 175–76 The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion, 6 Twitter, 68, 84 Unitarian Universalist Church, 66, 68 United Church of Christ, 64 Uttley, Lois, 8 verbal harassment, 2, 10, 19, 47–49, 89, 100–101, 168 violence, 44, 104; at abortion clinics, 2, 4, 9–11, 15, 50, 54, 75, 80–84, 88, 96, 99, 103, 104, 151, 159–60, 163, 164; police, 90 volunteerism of escort, 47, 49, 51–57, 66, 101, 162–64, 168, 175, 179, 187; Black woman, 58, 71; hedging about, 58–59; on social media, 59 Wade, Henry, 3 Westwood, Rosemary, 112, 113 White: antis, 72, 76–78, 80, 100, 133– 35, 137, 140; escorts, 71–74, 80; privilege, 72–74, 80, 91, 135, 164; supremacy, 77, 109, 136, 192 women antis, 76, 135–36 YouTube, 49, 84, 89, 138, 142

About the Author

Shara Crookston is associate professor of women’s and gender studies at the University of Toledo. Her research interests include girlhood in popular culture and reproductive health. Her writing has appeared in Girlhood Studies, Women in Sport and Physical Activity, Feminist Formations, Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, and Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics.

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