My Take on What Happened at Dr. Carhart's Clinic

I have a twitter account, and I was micro-blogging the whole day while us CAF folks were helping to defend Dr. Carhart's clinic from an ad-hoc protest called by Operation Rescue and local anti-choice groups in Nebraska. I thought I'd post what I saw and heard, from the beginning.

6:13 AM
At the clinic... Lines of pro choice folks surrounding clinic, some stayed all night(?) Most have been here for 2 hours already.

6:43 AM
The antis said they'd be here 30 minutes ago... We already have the sidewalks surrounding...

6:53 AM
Saying "pro-abort" does nothing more than make you sound like a moron, folks.

7:08 AM
Cops kicked us away from the front if the clinic, saying it's the anti-choice folk's spot... We've been here over 2 hours.

7:21 AM
They're here! Yelling! Praying underneath gas station signs!

8:01 AM
Two bomb sniffing dogs onsite. Plus riot cop van in waiting.

8:09 AM
Patients starting to come in. Chants of "Welcome, welcome, this clinic stays open," to drown out anti-choice folks on bullhorns.
(Actually, I was wrong. There weren't any bullhorns, one guy had an amazingly loud voice.)

8:24 AM
Again, with the "fetuses are not babies" sign. Grrrr. Bad sign. Fetuses ARE babies in some peoples' eyes, even prochoice ones.

8:26 AM
Also, stop trying to sell your newspapers. *mutters under her breath so her commie and socialist friends don't hear her*

8:51 AM
Most of the anti-choice folks are older, all white and they seem to be all Catholics. I said the rosary with them. It's been awhile.

9:05 AM
Why do anti-choice folks think they have a monopoly on religion? I'm an atheist, but the only one at work! Everyone else attends church.

9:41 AM
As soon as my group walks up, the guy starts shouting about how, "slavery was legal!" Way to go, white dude.

10:02 AM
Oper. Rescue is claiming there's about 60 for both sides. Liars. There's about that anti-choice, yes, but double that pro-choice.
(Later, it was more like triple that, at least, for our side, with more like 70/80 for the anti-choice folks' side.)

10:15 AM
Two people who have been convicted of committing felonies against clinics/staff (one arson, one injury) are here, protesting Dr. Carhart.

11:34 AM
RT @rhrealitycheck: http://twitpic.com/fpo4t - This is jennifer mccoy. She burned down a clinic in virginia. #carhart

12:07 PM
McCoy's parading a black child that's clearly not hers (her white kids aren't interacting w/her) AND her children are playing in the street.

12:55 PM
People kept on screaming at women coming into/out of clinics, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" Obnoxious.

12:56 PM
Somebody from Army of God was here, too. Which is why there was a swat team.

1:43 PM
1 in 3 women will have an abortion by the age of 45. Over 60% of those women who have an abortion already have children.

1:47 PM
Goodbye parting: a little girl trying to wave a Bible at us, which was too heavy for her to hold. I think that sums up the day.

Other clinic defenders stayed longer than we did, to make sure the last patients and the staff got safely to their cars, but we had a 7/8 hour drive home, so we left (I got home at 1 in the morning on Sunday, after leaving Chicago around 8 on Friday!). I'm really happy that we went and I got to meet Dr. Carhart. He was a very nice man and very, very appreciative of us being there (and so were at least two of the patients/support that we saw).

Our Travels!

So we're back from Amherst, Mass from the "Abortion Rights to Social Justice" conference at Hampshire College. This is my third time going...and they say the third time's a charm right? Yup! This time was truly special. Several women from the MyVoice, MyChoice leadership group were in attendance....all in the name of reproductive justice!

I'm happy! To have these sistas with us at the table is just crazy awesome! I mean how often do we...as society...walk pass these women everyday? We don't even think of them as leaders but they are. I'm experiencing their transformation and growth every single day.

Hey my heart is kinda full. I mean when I came to the Chicago Abortion Fund I couldn't understand for the life of me why the women we serve weren't at the table with us? Were we in the movement, so power hungry and high up on egos that we couldn't share the space? I have a responsibility to reach back and pull another woman with me. Just like women have assisted me in my life's journey. But this wasn't being done. And because everything I do with the women in the leadership group is done out of love, there is truly a holistic approach to this work.

Organizing young women, marginalized women is the way we are going to move this movement forward. We have to have the women we are serving at the table participating and making their voices heard.

So that is why my heart is full right now....because I'm hearing our women loud and clear. They are not invisible. Their lives matter!