The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Why providing health care to women is dangerous

Columnist|
November 30, 2015 at 1:11 p.m. EST
Colorado Springs shooting suspect Robert Lewis Dear. (El Paso County Sheriff’s Office via Associated Press)

The murder and mayhem allegedly unleashed by Robert Lewis Dear last Friday at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., proves once again that providing health care to women is dangerous. Not only that, the atmosphere surrounding such care is as disgraceful as the care itself is necessary. And the heated rhetoric over abortion and abortion services contributes to the air of menace around Planned Parenthood and other clinics around the country. Yes, what happened on Nov. 27 is “domestic terrorism.”

Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, described for The Post what the staff did once shots rang out.

A medical assistant immediately recognized the sound and moved everyone to the back of the building, behind a locked door that separates the lobby from exam rooms, Cowart said, relating what staff members had told her.
Once there, everyone scattered into rooms that also had locks and, following their training, turned their phones to silent to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Most of the people in the clinic waited out the five-hour ordeal in these locked rooms, Cowart said.
Staff workers undergo regular training and drills for emergencies, such as an armed attack. But other than that, she said, there were no dedicated “safe rooms” or special security measures in place.

What jumped out at me was the lengths to which Planned Parenthood staff have to go to provide legal health-care services safely. But as The Post’s Sandhya Somashekhar pointed out, this has been the norm for abortion clinic personnel for decades now.

Strict security measures have become the norm at abortion clinics, which often have bulletproof glass, surveillance systems, security guards and volunteer escorts to usher patients through a gantlet of antiabortion demonstrators. Staff members are advised to keep unlisted phone numbers and to vary their commutes. Many clinics have moved into more private buildings, with underground parking to prevent demonstrators outside from snapping pictures of workers’ faces or license plates as they arrived at the office.

There was a Planned Parenthood clinic on 16th Street here in Washington, where I regularly saw antiabortion protesters milling about the public sidewalk while orange vest-clad clinic escorts waited for arriving patients. Walking through a cloud of demonstrators is intimidating, especially for women who might be at one the most vulnerable moments of their lives. I say “might be” because we should all remember that Planned Parenthood offers more than abortion services. The Colorado Springs facility provides HIV testing, screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and general health care for women and for men.

Here's what we know about the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado that left three people dead. (Video: The Washington Post)

We can’t talk about what happened there and not talk about the political and rhetorical environment in which it happened. Planned Parenthood has been in a swirl of controversy since edited and unedited tapes were released last summer allegedly showing an executive selling fetal tissue for profit. It’s part of a long history The Post’s Michael E. Miller and Yanan Wang outlined Monday.

Near the top of the piece are the final words uttered by Paul Hill before his 2003 execution. “If you believe abortion is a lethal force,” Hill said, “you should oppose the force and do what you have to do to stop it.” Hill murdered Dr. John Britton, who wore a bulletproof vest, and security escort James Barrett as they arrived at the Ladies Center clinic in Pensacola, Fla., on July 29, 1994.

“In the 12 years since Hill’s execution, dozens of people have taken up his call, attacking abortion clinics with bombs and bullets, acid and axes,” Miller and Wang report. “They have ambushed doctors in their homes and offices, killing four, including one physician who survived a previous assassination attempt. They have even killed clinic receptionists. At least 11 people have died in such attacks since 1993.”

Bulletproof vests, varied routes home, security escorts, safety protocols, unlisted numbers. None of this would be necessary were it not for the vitriol of the abortion debate. Yes, mad men with guns show up everywhere to wreak havoc and terrorize communities for one deranged reason or another — or no reason at all. What happened in Colorado Springs is part of the larger national tragedy stemming from unrelenting gun violence.

But I cannot completely discount antiabortion vitriol as a factor. To do otherwise is to absolve those who engage in reckless rhetoric any responsibility for finding more productive, persuasive ways to register their opposition without potentially inspiring violence. Medical personnel shouldn’t have to undergo continual basic training or adopt evasion techniques to safeguard their lives. Patients shouldn’t have to worry about their personal safety more than their health while waiting for care.

But they do. And that’s a shame.

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @Capehartj