Roe v. Wade Anniversary Shenanigans

Today is the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. The anniversary usually brings out the typical right wing, anti choice nut jobs in big numbers, and today was no exception. Normally I would have thought about picking up an escort shift at Planned Parenthood on such a day (I've been derelict in my volunteer duties - working full time does that to a girl), as I sort of enjoy keeping the peace in all the chaos. However, it turns out it's a good thing I wasn't volunteering this morning, as something unusual happened at the clinic - a rabid anti-choicer decided to drive his SUV or truck up onto the sidewalk and into the front door of the clinic. I guess he then proceeded to ram the door several times, and when the police came to arrest him, he was mumbling on about closing down "Auschwitz" aka Planned Parenthood (I find the comparison to the Holocaust extremely offensive, but that's a post for another day). Wowzers! As I mentioned, I'm glad I wasn't volunteering as an escort today, as they don't really train you for THAT scenario. Bombs, guns, protesters, yes, but a protestor actually ramming the building with a car, not so much.

The most irritating thing about it? Abortions only constitute 5% of all services provided at that clinic. Most women are there for birth control, annual exams, etc. That doesn't stop the nuts though - they have to disrupt service for EVERYONE to prove their point. What I will never understand however is this: how can they claim to be so "pro-life" yet then oppose funding for programs that benefit single parents and their kids? Also, I think everyone can agree that no one WANTS abortions to occur. Unfortunately, the anti-choicers somehow seem to forget that the way to prevent pregnancy is via birth control - something they also vehemently oppose. I also hate the whole bury your head in the sand, abstinence only approach. I'm sorry, but people are going to continue to have sex - it's a human need and right. Isn't it better to PREVENT unwanted pregnancies than to terminate them later? Alas, you simply cannot reason with this group. Instead, it turns out you have to watch out for flying cars on the sidewalk (and other mayhem) while volunteering. Good times! Good Friday should be REALLY interesting this year. Stay tuned for that!

Volunteering I'll a Go - Planned Parenthood Rocks!

Because my class schedule this semester provides some free time during the week, I decided I should volunteer somewhere. At about the same time, Planned Parenthood sent out a note saying they needed clinic escorts, and I decided to sign up. For those of you who don't know, clinic escorts literally escort patients into the Highland Park Planned Parenthood clinic. We meet the patients near their cars and then walk them to the entrance, acting as sort of a buffer between the patients and the anti-choice protestors that descend upon the clinic every day (the Highland Park clinic is the only Planned Parenthood clinic in the Twin Cities that provides abortions).

Anyway, I've always wanted to be an escort because it seemed like a really worthwhile use of my time, unlike some of the other volunteer work I've done in the past. I had my first shift last week, and I think it went really well. It was bitterly cold, but fortunately I had the later morning shift, meaning I started at about 9:45 and ended at around 12:00. I still don't think the temp rose about 0, but at least it wasn't below 0! During my shift, there were 3 protestors present, one of whom actually approached me as soon as I walked up to the clinic. She wanted to provide me with some anti-choice information, and she was vocal and right up in my face. Per my training, I ignored her and told the escort there that I was a new escort. I then had a little training/orientation, and began my shift.

Many of the patients for the day were already inside the clinic, but I did have to escort several folks in, and I also tried to block the patients from the protestors while they went out for cigarettes or snacks. One of the protestors just walked back and forth carrying a big crucifix while praying the rosary. He didn't really cause any trouble; it was just amusing. However, the other protestor was extremely vocal, talking at the patients for their entire walk into the clinic. He would tell them they were making the wrong choice, that there was help down the street, etc. He would also tell the patients' friends/partners/boyfriends/girlfriends that it was their job to encourage the patient to make a better decision, etc. He also told them they would go to hell if they made the wrong choice. As an escort, I am not supposed to engage the protestors at all, and despite the idiotic things coming out their mouths, I was able to ignore them completely. The vocal guy tried to engage me at least twice, and I just stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. He did inform me that hell is a real place however, so I'm glad to finally know that! In actuality, it really wasn't that hard to keep quiet, as there is really no point in engaging these folks. They obviously believe what they believe, and nothing I say on the street is going to change that. My job is to make the patients feel comfortable, and engaging in a battle won't help with that. Besides, many of the patients were quite vocal themselves, and they came up with some brilliant comebacks on their own. It was hard not to say "right on" at times, but I kept a straight face and did my job.

Despite the cold and the nut job protestors, I really enjoyed my first shift, and I'm excited for my next one. I finally feel like I found a volunteer gig that matters, and I'm working for an organization that I support wholeheartedly. Perhaps if things get really sticky one day, I will have a change of heart, but I doubt it. I survived the 2004 legislative session, during which the phone rang off the hook with anti gay marriage, homophobic, hate filled callers and we received 1000s of similar emails; certainly I can handle a few anti-choicers on Ford Parkway!

PS: Planned Parenthood is looking for pro-choice, pro Planned Parenthood volunteers to come to the clinic on Good Friday, March 21. Every year, anti-choicers organize a HUGE rally at the clinic, and Planned Parenthood would like to counter that with some friendly folks. I cannot go as I will still be in Washington, D.C., but if you could spare a few hours that day, I'm sure they would greatly appreciate it. Contact me for more information.

PPS to Mom: Try not to worry too much about my safety while volunteering. There hasn't been violence at that clinic for a very long time. :)

Vote for Hillary Clinton!

Obviously, everyone has the right to vote for whomever they want, but I would like to make a pitch for Hillary Clinton. Actually, I will let Gloria Steinem do the work for me, as she wrote a nice Op-Ed piece for the NY Times that pretty much sums up what I think. The article is available here:

Gloria Steinem OpEd

I'm quite fired up about this, and I hope you will at least read the article and give it some serious thought. If Barack Obama wins the nomination, I will obviously support him, but for now, I'm strongly in the Hillary Clinton camp. Take this for what it's worth - it's just my opinion. :)

Peace out y'all!

It's Still a Man's World - myspace blog post

It's been a while since I wrote in here. Life (including Tina and Guitar Hero) and work have kept me busy. Sarah wants me to quit work to become a Tina groupie...I have to admit that sounds pretty awesome. However, I like my job and I like having at least a little money. So, no groupie-hood for me.

On to the subject of the post: I went to the Minnesota Women Lawyers Annual Meeting the other week and Susan Estrich (If you don't know who she is, go here or google her: http://law.usc.edu/contact/contactInfo.cfm?detailID=211) gave an excellent presentation on how the work of feminism is still not completed. She mentioned that out of the Fortune 500 companies, only 7 have women as CEOs. 7 out of 500. Ouch. Also, the percentage of women law partners is falling rather than increasing. She offered other bad news and talked about how discrimination today is subtle. Basically, it was an amazing speech and I'm now going through a feminist re-awakening. I've always been a feminist, but my activity and involvement level have varied throughout the years. It takes energy to care all the time, a lot of energy. Anyway, I'm back and ready to go.

For instance, I'm now boldly supporting Hillary Clinton for President. I think she is qualified and would make an excellent president, and even if she cannot win, I'm still supporting her. I hope you will consider joining me.

Additionally, I'm finding myself seriously annoyed with some recent current events. For example, the lawyer who pursued rape charges against the Duke lacrosse team without appropriate evidence to do so was just disbarred (I'm almost 100% sure this is correct. Regardless, he is being severely punished, disbarment or not). I don't necessarily disagree with the disbarment, but I wonder how often prosecutors who choose not to pursue rape cases despite adequate evidence are even punished, much less disbarred. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of that scenario. I guess the moral of the story is you can neglect to pursue rape cases all you want but if you pursue a case against rich, powerful, white boys and make a mistake, you are in big trouble. Clearly, people shouldn't press false charges and prosecutors shouldn't pursue them, but at the same time, we don't jump to the defense of rape victims whose rapists get off, etc.

Anyway, just my random thoughts. Perhaps I'll piss some people off, but oh well. I'm fired up again so watch out!

PS: To my straight girls, you better watch out or you won't have access to birth control in the near future. Get motivated and get involved!