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CONTACT: NOW Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116 |
NOW Stands With Dr. Carhart in Nebraska, Calls for Protection for Clinics Across U.S.
Statement of NOW President Terry O'Neill
WASHINGTON - August 28 - I am proud to stand here today with the heroic Dr. LeRoy Carhart and his brave staff at the Abortion & Contraception Clinic of Nebraska, as well as the other fine feminist leaders who join me in saying: This clinic will stay open!
Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller on May 31, anti-abortion forces have set their sights on Dr. Carhart. Operation Rescue and other opponents of women's reproductive autonomy are descending on this clinic in an attempt to terrorize the workers and their patients, with the ultimate goal of closing down the facility. Because NOW believes that it is every woman's right to have access to the full range of reproductive health care, we are committed to helping defend these courageous providers.
Clinic violence and harassment are domestic terrorism, plain and simple. The hateful rhetoric and attacks have grown bolder this year. As we stand in peaceful support of women's rights in Nebraska, we know that every clinic in the United States is a potential target. I call on the Obama administration to respond to this threat using the strongest means possible, to prosecute the criminals, their funders and their co-conspirators, and to protect every provider, worker and patient across this nation.
Women are counting on us. They must not be denied access to safe, legal abortion - not by harassment or intimidation, not by bullets or bombs. Say it with me: The clinics will stay open!
3 Comments so far
Show AllInteresting that there are no responses as yet to this article.
The mention of terrorism is appropriate in the context of the rising militarism in the U.S. Demonstrations against family planning clinics is just a part of it. It is an important part of it, however, in that civilized decisions in the matter of personal health and therapeutic abortions is a right.
Do we want to return to the days of bloody abortions and brutal solutions?
Dr. Tiller was not a barbarian. He was a man following the law and offering counseling and choices to couples and women faced with hard decisions, as is Dr. Carhart. He was murdered for fanatical reasons. It is unacceptable in a country that considers itself compassionate and law abiding.
The U.S. is not the country it presents itself to be. There is brutality and crime always simmering beneath the manners and pretense.
Where is the "zero-tolerance" for domestic terrorism when you need it?
The term "terrorism" is applied to only those identified in the PNAC documents and the Patriot Act. Yours is a good question that more folks should pay attention to. If Americans blow up a building or murder someone, it must be for a good reason. If any deemed foreign or associated with "al quaeda" (please notice the mild sarcasm) then rendition is the order of the day.
Militants of extremism are on the rise in the U.S., and are being overlooked by the government simply because it keeps citizens distracted from the policies and activities of said government.