Defending Choice: Escorting at Planned Parenthood Revisited

I regularly volunteer to escort at Planned Parenthood, it has become a regular part of my routine. Usually once or twice a month on Saturday mornings I put on the bright orange vest and escort clients into the clinic. However, when the anti-choice protest “40 Days for Life” begins I spend much more time at the clinic; the protests are twenty-four hour vigils outside of the clinic it affects more women who are in need of reproductive health care.

It has been widely believed that because of the Election Day victories of candidates such as President Barack Obama and other pro-choice democrats and the Election Day defeats of anti-choice legislation in four different states that those events would galvanize the pro-life movement. There is also the belief that a piece of legislation that does not actually exist in Congress, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), will also server to electrify those within that community and its activist movement.

However, locally in the Bryan-College Station from what I observed on Saturday morning and from reports from other volunteer escorts the number of people at the anti-choice protest are not as significant as they where four months ago. This may actually just be a local phenomenon; the Executive Director of the Coalition for Life (CFL) is running the nation-wide “40 Days for Life” campaign, which is perhaps leaving a leadership void in Bryan-College Station. Also, there is significantly less “40 Days for Life” yard signs throughout the neighborhoods and in front of churches. The combination of an election defeats, lack of local leadership may have contributed to a lack of local support when compared to past campaigns.

Despite this, there are still those who do show up outside the fence to harass clients that come to the clinic for reproductive health care, and there are still those protesters that are vocal and persistent in disseminating misinformation. However, what concerns those in the pro-choice movement is not the galvanization of the many it is the radicalization of the few.

Abortion is a controversial issue; however, it is not an issue that the majority of Americans are concerned about. Most people are concerned about the state of the economy, their access to affordable health care, and the ability of their children to earn an education. The battle over reproductive rights is not being fought in the mainstream of America; the battle over reproductive rights is being fought by those on the edges of the debate.

The problem is that while this is fought at the edges of the debate it is possible that the majority of Americans that support reproductive rights will not notice as they are eroded away by a minority and a complacent majority. We must remain ever mindful that in order for us to protect reproductive rights we must keep it in the public debate, we must remind the public that being pro-choice is not about being pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is about being pro-women, pro-children; being pro-choice is about allowing everyone the choice to do what they believe is right.

This Sunday let’s remind the public that there is still a need to protect reproductive rights. Write your local newspaper and speak out for abortion rights. Write your legislature and let them know you support representatives that support reproductive rights. Because while standing with those who are making a choice makes an impact on one life, we need to make sure that we are making an impact on the lives of those who will make that choice in the future.

Letters to the Editor of the Eagle:
editboard@theeagle.com

Representative Fred Brown:
1920 West Villa Maria Road
Suite 303
Bryan, Texas 77807

Senator Steve Ogden:
3740 Copperfield Drive, Suite 103
Bryan, Texas 77802

Congressman Chet Edwards:
111 University Drive East, Suite 216
College Station, TX 77840-1700