Pretty much the same here, I’m in Vancouver. I can only remember twice seeing protesters: Once a dozen years ago, a couple of little old ladies held some relatively benign signs outside the hospital, a couple of years ago about a hundred lined the highway for about 25 blocks (yeah, our highways have traffic lights :rolleyes: ) with slightly grumpier ‘abortion is murder!!’ signage. I note that they avoided the 3 block strip of road that was the haunt of the town’s professional fellatio therapists/smack addicts. Who knew hookers could keep a neighbourhood clean!
One doctor here got shot (survived) and stabbed (ditto) His story here. I voted ‘no violence, protesters only’ because I didn’t think once a decade knocked it into the ‘common event’ category, statisticians are invited to opine on that
How do you define violence? If expanded to mean psychological violence, then I think this type of protestsuffices. In short, there are protestors who drive a truck emblazened with graphic images on its sides through Bellevue (an Omaha suburb where Dr. Carhart practices).
I’ve known people in Melbourne and Christchurch who have told me of protesters outside abortion clinics. It doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the intensity level of the US protesters though.
Here in Canada, where there are no restrictions on abortion at any stage (it’s left entirely to the discretion of the woman and the doctor), there’s some scattered protests from time to time.
Dr. Morgentaler got attacked once by a guy with a pair of hedge trimmers. Not injured.
There were three or four doctors shot in the 90s who survived - the authorities think the attacker was the same guy who shot and killed Dr. Slepian in the U.S., but since he’s serving concurrent state and federal sentences down south, the Canadian government hasn’t tried to extradite him.
I see some protestors, although i see more people writing letters to newspapers to complain about the services clinics offer.
I used to go to a women’s clinic in Florida that had protestors but i never interacted with them and i am afraid that if I interact with these people, and they lay hands on me that I am going to get upset and hurt them.
I don’t think it’s very Christian of them to prevent people from getting medical care and routine exams.
This is not true, there have been demonstrations in the streets and picketings outside of government buildings in the paris area; picketings and insults outside of planned parenthood in, say, Lille, Grenoble; anti-abortion activist getting inside hospitals in various cities and breaking stuff or mimicking to play dead or chaining themselves to beds (Bordeaux); tear-gaz in waiting chambers (Paris). Some folks have been condamned for physical violence against persons.
It’s not as hardcore violence wise then in the usa, but seriously, you can’t say nothing much happens.
How violent does physical violence have to be? I used to volunteer at an abortion clinic as an escort, and the church group that was protesting there would shove us, walk next to us and try to force us off the unusually high curb there, elbow us, and that sort of thing. I think it is just barely over the line into physical violence, but never enough to need medical help (unless you twist your ankle). Enough that if police were there they’d stop it, but not enough that they’d arrest the church people.
Oh, they’d also call us gay. I never figured that one out. If there’s a demographic that needs fewer abortions than everybody else, it’s probably gay people, wouldn’t you think?
I’ve seen more protesters outside a hospital downtown than I have at any Planned Parenthood. The one I frequent for my birth control is pretty quiet, probably because it’s not a location where the procedure is actually done. The one across town is, though, and they have a security guard in the entryway.
