On September 15, the Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force (WACDTF) will host a training for a new batch of prospective clinic escorts.
Every week, dozens of clinic escorts throughout the D.C. metropolitan area are securing a woman’s right to choose a safe, legal abortion against the intimidation of anti-abortion protestors.
After the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, legal abortion came under siege from all sides. The attack was mostly political, with targeted regulations against abortion, waiting periods, and one-size-fits-all parental consent laws chipping away at a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.
However, the attack became intensely personal when protestors began blockading clinic entrances and harassing women trying to enter. Organizations such as WACDTF formed to provide a physical presence, let patients know that they could enter the clinic without fear, and deescalate potential conflicts between protestors, patients, and companions.
Clinic escorts are also an essential pair of eyes on the ground to ensure that protestors honor the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, which sets forth criminal and civil penalties for blockading women’s health clinics.
Pro-choice activists know that the stakes of criminalizing abortion are dire; that women of all walks of life and circumstance need safe, nonjudgmental access to legal abortion; and that one-size-fits-all laws harm women’s health. Clinic escorting is a great way to put those beliefs into practice and help women take control of their own health.
Georgetown OUTRAGE 