These clinics will stay open

ON OCTOBER 10, activists made a breakthrough for reproductive rights in Chicago when more than 100 people joined in clinic defense actions at three Planned Parenthood sites.

It was a national day of action for right-wing anti-choice organizations, including the misnamed Pro-Life Action League that regularly pickets local clinics. For the anti-choice right, the day of action had momentum, following the release of manipulated videos of Planned Parenthood representatives discussing fetal tissue donations the group makes available for critical medical research.

Chicago health care worker Elizabeth Harrison had never organized a protest before, but she put out a call over Facebook to counter the anti-choice presence. She explained afterward:

I was moved to do something because of my frustration with the congressional hearings about Planned Parenthood and the attempts being made to defund Planned Parenthood. I see this as a dangerous threat to women's rights and health care access across the country. Millions of women use Planned Parenthood each year, and for some, it is the only safe place to receive the care they need. As a queer person, I am also passionate about queer-friendly health care, and I know that Planned Parenthood is a safe place and an essential resource for many queer folks.

The rallies Harrison spearheaded were not just a first for her. They also marked the first sizable actions in defense of reproductive rights to take place at clinic doors in Chicago in years.

"I knew that anti-choice protesters were coming out to show their opposition to Planned Parenthood, and I didn't want their voices to be the only ones the media and the politicians heard. I want the world to know that we are grateful for Planned Parenthood, we stand with them, and we want them to continue to provide affordable care for all," Henderson said.

FOR YEARS, many people who diligently escort patients and volunteer their time and energy trying to make women's health centers safe for the patients of Planned Parenthood have opposed any pro-choice protest at clinics. They argue that to patients, protesters all come across as one unwelcoming mass. Unfortunately, in the absence of clinic defense protests, right-wing zealots loudly harass and shame patients, and attempt to grab and intimidate escorts, while escorts must not respond in any way to their provocations.

Activists in Feminist Uprising to Resist Inequality and Exploitation (FURIE), a Chicago grassroots feminist group, joined a number of other organizations in answering Henderson's call to mobilize against the anti-choicers in the hopes of overcoming this long-standing impasse and reviving the historically successful tactic of clinic defense.

Beginning in the late 1980s, activists began organizing in response to an uptick in rightwing terrorism at clinics. Joseph Scheidler, founder of Pro-life Action League, had released a book on "99 ways" to shut down abortion clinics, and Operation Rescue announced a national campaign to physically block abortions by mobilizing anti-choicers to link arms in front of clinic doors. "I don't even remember needing escorts before then," said Cindy, who was active in clinic defense along with other students at Northwestern University and a Chicago city-wide group called Emergency Clinic Defense Coalition.

The right's focus on clinics as a place to attack women's rights drew out debates among women's rights advocates then, too. "The clinics didn't want us there. The mainstream groups didn't want to upset the clinics," Cindy said. "NOW (the National Organization for Women) would have nothing to do with us. They argued against us."

Annie, who took part in clinic defense in Providence as part of a campus feminist activist group at Brown University, explained why some defied those larger organizations: "It was pretty straightforward. Yeah, some people trying to go in might be upset, but if we didn't show up, no one could get in at all."

Describing what it took to defend the clinics, Cindy stated, "We would show up before the antis. That meant getting up at like five in the morning. We would get there first and stay until they eventually left." Annie said the student organization she was a part of grew as it participated in the same type of actions.

Across the country members of the International Socialist Organization, Solidarity and other left-wing groups took initiative to organize coalitions and student organizations to take on clinic defense. They built momentum as a grassroots movement that culminated in 1992 in Buffalo, New York, where Operation Rescue had promised to shut down all the clinics in the city. "Buses came in from all over the country," Annie remembered, and even NOW was compelled to lend their support in a showdown that ultimately "ran the right-wingers out of town. It was awesome."

THE LEGACY of that wave of organizing enriched the recent action in Chicago. Clinic defense helped win buffer zones, stopping the right from openly claiming their goal is to physically prevent access to clinics. But according to PoliticalResarch.org, "They still gather in large groups, and while they may not physically block the clinic doors, they instead line the sidewalks on each side as near to the door as possible, using their numbers and presence to bar the entrance."

Some of the same anti-choice bigots who have continued their assault on women's rights for decades have also organized against LGBT rights throughout the years, too. Chicago's Gay Liberation Network mobilized to show their solidarity, recognizing our common fight, and encouraged FURIE activists to draw on the lessons of the 1990s to show up early and hold down the space.

"I was so moved at the response we got," Elizabeth Harrison said. "Several different disability groups, health care groups, feminist groups, queer groups and universities mobilized to support the action. We had over 100 people turn out across the three Chicago locations, plus one sister action in the suburbs. Participants and activism groups were glad to have a chance to thank Planned Parenthood and make their voices heard."

Despite the fact that the anti-choice picketers arrived in large groups, suggesting they had bussed in together from outside the city, at several locations, pro-choice forces outnumbered theirs. Many participants had never been to a protest before, but turned out with homemade signs and signed up to get involved in future actions.

Nonetheless, the right was unfortunately quite confident. They spread banners on the corners across from the clinics that claimed Planned Parenthood "sells baby parts," even though that lie has been thoroughly debunked. One man wore a shirt that said, "Conceived from rape. I love my life." At one clinic, a raving man shook his young grandchild at pro-choice activists, screaming for about 20 minutes loud enough to be heard for a good block. At another location, a driver going by hurled a bottle of juice at three pro-choice activists.

The militancy of the anti-choice protesters means we have a lot more organizing and protesting to do. Thinking about next steps, Henderson said:

I'm terrified to see some states, like Texas and Wisconsin, already defunding Planned Parenthood. I would like to encourage people to sign petitions, call their representatives, write letters, organize actions, attend rallies and make their voices heard. We need legislators to know that we support Planned Parenthood. We need Planned Parenthood.

Republican presidential candidates and members of Congress will no doubt continue to launch high-profile attacks on abortion rights and Planned Parenthood as a way to rally a sexist base in anticipation of a race against Hillary Clinton in 2016. And in January, anti-abortion organizations are planning to mobilize in Washington, D.C., and in cities around the country to protest the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. When they do, activists in Chicago are looking forward to mobilizing a proud and unapologetic counterprotest.