Clinic Escorting Guide
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Every Saturday, anti-abortion activists (or 'OR', for Operation Rescue)
protest outside the Brookline clinics. They come in several flavours.
Some individuals ('prayers') stand at a distance from the clinic door,
pray or sing hymns but do not approach patients. Obnoxious, but it's a
free country. Others, however, ('harrassers' who call themselves 
"sidewalk counselors" ) will follow suspected patients up the street,
remonstrating with them, calling them names, showing them gruesome
pictures and telling all kinds of fibs about what will happen to them.
Some of these are also thugs who use physical intimidation against
clinic escorts. This is usually confined to threats and pushing and
shoving; apart from Salvi's murders, we have had only one or two serious
incidents of violence at the clinics over the past eight years.

It is our experience that a supportive pro-choice presence at the
clinics can make a big difference to the patients who must pass through
the right-wingers' gauntlet.

In the following, one philosophy of clinic escorting is presented.
You should be aware that some escorts have a more confrontational
approach.

In our opinion, the clinic escort is there to make the experience of
getting in the clinic a less traumatic one for the patient. Our focus is
on the patient, not the antis - we are not there to confront the antis.
Sometimes we do get somewhat confrontational with the antis, but only as
long as it serves the purpose of keeping them from harassing patients. 
If you're busy arguing with an anti, you're not busy being a clinic
escort. Our main weapons are a friendly smile and a reassuring voice,
which contrast with the antis' hatred and make the patients feel that
there's someone there on their side. We just ignore the prayers and
hymn-singers, our problem is the harrassers.

There should always be at least two escorts, it's not a good idea to fly
solo. If there are only two of you, stay next to the clinic door. Just
by being there with pro-choice clothing and/or signs, you make it clear
to someone going in that there is a supportive presence. Smile and say
good morning but don't intrude unneccessarily. By stopping the antis
from being next to the door, you've made a contribution already.

At a clinic like Repro where the door is kept locked until the security
guard opens it, it's necessary to reassure the patients and let them
know that the clinic is open and they will be let in in a moment.

Keep alert and try and spot possible patients from a distance. Often
appointments are scheduled on the half-hour and many  patients arrive in
a short time. The antis will spot patients and start walking down the
street towards them. If you have spare escorts, they may follow at a
distance. Don't run toward the patient, they can't tell what side you're
on. Let the anti reach them so the patient can figure out he's a nutter.
Then approach them with a smile, say something like 'Hi, sorry about
this idiot, just ignore him'. Sometimes patients will respond and talk
with you, other times not. Just follow along, talking softly and
reassuringly only if it seems appropriate and not intrusive. 'Hi, the
door is just up here. That's OK, it's none of his business anyway. What
about those Redsox then?' Giving them someone else to focus on robs the
antis of their effectiveness.

If a patient wants to talk to the OR, that's fine - it's  a free
country. You have to trust their ability to make their own decisions,
that's the whole point of pro-choice. But if, as is much more common,
If a patient wants to talk to the OR, that's fine - it's  a free
country. You have to trust their ability to make their own decisions,
that's the whole point of pro-choice. But if, as is much more common,
they make it abundantly clear that they don't want the antis in their
face, we can go talk to them. If we are inbetween them and the antis,
that makes it less unpleasant for them. We can use the 'big stance' and
sometimes use a large pro-choice sign to create space.

Always keep track of which antis are there and what they are doing.
Learn to recognize individual antis, and judge for yourself which
category they fall into.

We need to be careful not to assault the antis, and not to block them if
they are walking up the street. But it is my understanding that if they
are standing on the sidewalk in front of the clinic not going anywhere,
we're not blocking their path by being in front of them. If they have an
appointment, we'll let them in, but failing that we have as much right
to be in front of the door as they have.

We should also discourage the patients and their boyfriends from
assaulting the antis. "They're not worth it". Assault is illegal, and
however satisfying it might be to see one of these jerks punched in the
face, the resulting legal or police action against the  patient or
boyfriend would not help improve the day for them. The antis thrive on
attention, and love to provoke people.

If the antis are not directly in front of the door blocking it, we
should not be. Our goal is to keep the door free so that patients can
see that the clinic is open.

As clinic escorts, we are there to support the patients who have chosen
to come to that clinic (and to some extent the clinic workers, who
deserve a smile as they turn up for work instead of the hatred they
usually get). We are not there to support the clinic management (we like
how some clinics are run, but we have problems with others), and we are
not there to make a broader political statement. As individuals, we may be
directly involved with a clinic or participate in pro-choice rallies,
but those activities are distinct from escorting. Nevertheless, escorts
constitute a very visible pro-choice presence in the community, and
that's a positive bonus which is particularly clear at Repro which
is in a busy shopping area where we get lots of supportive passers by
who are very glad to see us.

The clinic security guard is responsible for the physical safety of
those inside the clinic. It is their responsibility to determine who
gets in the clinic door, and when to open or close that door. It is not
smart to get in the guard's way. If an anti brings out a weapon, jump
out of the way and let the guard respond, that's what they are paid for.
You are reminded that two pro-choice women were assassinated in 1994 at
Brookline clinics. While we feel the risk is not large, it is there, and
you should only volunteer to escort if you have thought that through.


There are several clinics in the area, including:

Planned Parenthood Preterm at 1055 Comm Ave, Brighton (Green Line
B/Babcock St) One of the oldest AB clinics in the country and the focus
of many protests. Large Catholic group protests 2nd Saturday of each
month, 8:30 to 10:00, with NOW-organized counter protest and Planned
Parenthood escort team. Other weeks, 10 to 15 harassers.

Repro at 1297 Beacon St, Brookline (Green Line C/Coolidge Corner). 4 to
5 harrassers each week. Independent clinic escorts (Brookline Clinic
Access Team) volunteer from 8 am to noon each Saturday; they are not
associated with the clinic.

Women's Health on Route 9, Reservoir Office Park. 1 to 3 harassers,
but they are on the sidewalk outside the parking lot and are not very
effective.

Crittendon Hastings House in Oak Square, Brighton. Isolated and rarely
has problems with protesters.