Personal Stories
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Anti-Choice Activity
Pledge-a-Protester
“A religious-affiliated youth group touring the country stopped in Boise for a full day of anti-choice protesting arranged by anti-choice spokesperson Brandi Swindell. The day included a peaceful demonstration in front of the Planned Parenthood of Idaho (PPI) Boise Health Care Center (HCC) from 9:00–11:00 a.m.
“Unfortunately for Swindell and her group of about 30 young people, the Boise HCC had changed its hours to better serve patients, opening at 11:00 a.m. that day. Swindell was not dissuaded. While the youth stood silently in the 100-degree heat, Swindell lingered in the shade of a tree, munching on food and chatting on her cell phone (likely urging media to cover the protest).
“In spite of the lack of media attention, Swindell convinced the heat-stricken teens to extend their stay until 2:00 p.m. A passerby was so disturbed by the scene that he walked into the HCC and donated $100 to PPI! His generosity spawned the notion that others might be interested in knowing about Swindell’s attempt to disrupt the important business of prevention and education.
“Our staff quickly put together a ‘Pledge-a-Protester’ brochure providing community members with an opportunity to donate to PPI in the name of an anti-choicer. The brochures were mailed to a small group of about 200 PPI activists, and the response was inspiring! Our ‘Pledge-a-Protester’ mini-campaign generated $1,045 in contributions. PPI CEO and President Rebecca Poedy sent thank-you cards to three area anti-choice protesters. We had great fun. As one of our donors said, ’It’s important to provide some levity to such serious issues.’ We couldn’t agree more.” — Autumn Kersey, vice president of development and marketing, Planned Parenthood of Idaho, Boise, ID
Operation Rescue
“Ironically, I work at Planned Parenthood because of Operation Rescue.
“In the conservative upstate New York town where I grew up, the only sex education we got came from the ubiquitous circa 1950s animated sex education film. By the time I graduated, there were at least 10 known pregnancies in a class of 86.
“My girlfriend and I moved to the ‘big city’ and got internships where we worked for $115 each week. And then it happened: a broken condom, the worrying, the reviewing of limited options where none seemed acceptable.
“Three weeks after the procedure, I was driving her to work when we got stuck in traffic. I realized that we were getting close to the clinic where my girlfriend had recently been a patient. We were forced to sit and watch as Operation Rescue attacked the clinic and assaulted the patients. They were cheering as they pushed women to the ground. I saw the fear building on my girlfriend's face. The Operation Rescue protesters were attacking her, as well. They didn't care about her hopes and dreams, her dignity, or her health. I felt as though I was watching her being raped and was powerless to stop it.
“That sense of outrage stayed with me for years. In 1992, I went to the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC. Energized, I worked in clinic defense when Operation Rescue went to Buffalo, started a pro-choice group on my college campus, volunteered at NARAL, and eventually worked for Planned Parenthood, where I’ve been for 15 years.
"So — odd as it may be — I owe Operation Rescue for giving purpose and meaning to my life!” — Bill Wilson (not his real name), New York, NY
Protesters in Pennsylvania
"We tabled at the Governor’s Conference for Women, and the protesters stood outside with their gruesome signs. People were so incredibly angry that they came over and handed us money! We had two people stuff $20 bills in our donation jar because they were furious at the protesters.” — Erika Fricke, vice president for public affairs, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA
A New Health Center in Texas
“In a couple of weeks, we’ll be serving clients in our brand new health center in Lufkin, TX. I’m the health center director, and I have to say that when we started the project, I was a little anxious. We're a small community and this was a big campaign. And our sister affiliate in Austin, like the Aurora, IL, affiliate more recently, had experienced protests and boycott threats during its health center construction.
"But I shouldn’t have worried. The support for Planned Parenthood in our community was overwhelming and construction proceeded as planned. Just the other night, I looked around the room as we celebrated at a big reception with our supporters. I saw the mayor of Lufkin, the chamber president, our architects, and our contractors all there to raise a glass for Planned Parenthood. It was a proud moment for me. But the moment I’m really waiting for will come in a couple of weeks when I see our first client walk through our doors.” — Planned Parenthood staff
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