The following essay is originally a pamphlet published in 1988 by the New York Pro-Choice Coalition summarizing their campaign to oppose Operation Rescue in NYC during the spring of 1988. Refuse & Resist! activists and the NYC chapter were involved in NYPCC and played an important role in the organizing work and protests described here. We are re-publishing it here for the useful historical lessons it may contain.
by the New York Pro-Choice Coalition (Summer - 1988)
This pamphlet is based on the experiences of the New York Pro-Choice Coalition (NYPCC) in opposing the efforts of anti-abortionists to close down abortion-providing facilities in New York from April 30 to May 7, 1988. Our purpose is to share what we feel are important lessons in the critical battle to defend women's right to abortion and to encourage people in other cities to take on "Operation Rescue," or any other anti-abortionists, wherever they appear.
The battle against Operation Rescue ("OR") is the latest stage of the struggle to defend the fundamental right of women to choose when and whether to have children. Women have demonstrated, marched, rallied and militantly opposed attacks on abortion and abortion providers for years. Almost as soon as abortion was legalized in 1973 with the Supreme Court's Roe v Wade decision, it was attacked by reactionaries of all stripes. Despite the overwhelming and continuing support for legal abortion (nearly 8 out of 10 Americans, according to 1986 figures), these attacks have intensified in the last several years, including provider and patient harassment, picketing and clinic bombings and torchings.
While in one sense this is "only" the most recent stage of this battle, it could be the most crucial. The legal right of a women to choose when to be a mother is being hit by a barrage of legislative and legal initiatives on the state and national level. These attacks include bills to severely limit or ban abortion altogether and lawsuits by men seeking to prevent "their" wives or companions from getting abortions. Federal Medicaid funding for abortions is already prohibited, and efforts continue to end federal funding for any health care facility that even mentions the word "abortion."
These efforts, whether or not they succeed, also contribute to a climate of intimidation, fear and repression against all women. Clinic bombers and blockaders, such as "OR," are the well-funded shock troops in this anti-woman crusade. In addition, the current assault on abortion rights is part of a broader right-wing agenda which targets many different issues and groups, including people of color, labor organizations, radicals, gays and lesbians. These attacks on abortion are one of the main spearheads of this overall reactionary program.
Our fighting back is part of an on-going and growing resistance to the right wing. We hope this pamphlet will assist others in defending women's right to abortion and building this movement.
What is "Operation Rescue"?
"OR" is part of the activist wing of the anti-abortion movement. The god-father of this wing is Joseph Scheidler, director of the Pro-Life Action League which he has called the "Green Berets of the Pro-Life Movement." Scheidler has had a long history of associating with convicted clinic bombers and has written a book (Closed: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion) on how to harass and intimidate abortion providers and clinic patients. Scheidler was on the scene of "OR" blockades in NYC, directing operations and congratulating his troops for their efforts. Titular head of "OR" is Randall Terry who organizes it out of his "Project Life" headquarters in Binghamton, N.Y. Most "OR" participants are male, and virtually all are white.
They claim to be "peaceful protesters," but their ranks include those who rush into doctor's offices and clinics and chain themselves to operating tables, who scream insults and lies at patients -- and then brag that the rate of abortion complications goes up after they demonstrate outside clinics. They picket and hound abortion providers at their homes. And at targeted clinics, they physically prevent women from getting medical treatment.
What are their goals and methods?
Their literature summoning people to NYC stated that "OR" "could be the beginning of a righteous, peaceful uprising of God-fearing people across the country that will 'inspire' politicians to correct man's law, and make child-killing illegal again... Time is running out for America. If we don't end this holocaust very soon, the judgement of God is going to fall on this nation... Your standing for America's pre-born children means you are ultimately standing for your future, your freedom, and the very survival of America." The above is a prime example of "OR's" propaganda which uses patriotism and moral hysteria to incite their troops.
Their actions are geared to getting the most favorable media coverage for their reactionary agenda, and a review by the NYPCC of national press clippings after "OR" was in NYC showed they succeeded in this goal. By blockading clinics en masse and publicly praying and singing hymns, they try to project the image of a groundswell of pious people against abortion. To ensure the success of this agenda, they close to blockade small, relatively unknown, and unprotected facilities as opposed to the larger, more prominent ones. Their publicly stated reasons for choosing these facilities were that they were performing late second-trimester abortions.
A major element of "OR" is surprise. "OR" does not announce in advance what facility they will target. In fact, only a few of their leaders know where they are going. These leaders guide the rest to the targeted clinic or office. Once on the scene, hundreds sit down and pack themselves around the door and the front of the building. Many of these people are "hardened troops," well-known figures in the anti-abortion movement who've taken part and been arrested in similar actions across the country.
What happened in NYC?
First of all, the NYPCC opposed the anti-abortionists wherever they went. This may be a surprise to those who only had access to major media accounts which, with few exceptions, basically ignored the actions of pro-choice forces. The NYPCC went on the offensive early by declaring April 29 - May 7 Reproductive Freedom Week and calling for a kick-off march and rally on Friday April 29, the day before "OR" arrived in NYC. The march began in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, headquarters of arch-anti-abortionist Cardinal O'Connor, and proceeded to the NY Right to Life office where a spirited rally was held. Approximately 1500 participated. According to multiple sources, this was the largest pro-choice event in New York in 10 years. The next two days demonstrations and picket lines were held at hotels where "OR" people were staying and at their opening pep rally and training session at a church on Sunday.
Every day beginning Monday, May 2, the NYPCC organized clinic watches and phone trees and dispatched people to the targeted site. Emergency announcements were made on radio station WBAI (a part of the Pacifica network), giving the location of the facility being attacked and calling on people to come and defend it. The weeks before, WBAI played a vital role by broadcasting public service announcements and special programs designed to mobilize people to oppose "OR" and presented special news programs, in addition to the emergency announcements, during the week of "OR." (See tactical information for details.) A strong pro-choice presence was established at every targeted site, and on two days NYPCC forces reached the doors of the targeted facilities before "OR" and attempted to keep them open. But because of the actions of the police, "OR" succeeded in closing facilities three out of four days it staged blockades.
What was the role of the police?
Members of the NYPCC, as well as other forces, met with the police in advance and were assured that access to the clinics would be guaranteed. However, what happened was quite the opposite. NYPCC members saw Community Affairs officers accompany "OR" forces as they traveled to their targeted sites by subway in the early mornings and hold open subway doors for them. In contrast, pro-choice forces were physically removed from the clinic doors by police on Tuesday and Friday. Police also refused to escort staff and patients to the blockaded clinics.
"OR" also met with the police prior to their actions. Their meetings resulted in kid glove treatment, including police use of stretchers to take protesters away gently (as opposed to dragging them), issuing desk tickets, and releasing "OR" forces soon afterwards, allowing them to return to the site to blockade again. This treatment was in marked contrast to that given pro-choice people who were pushed and pummeled into pens and especially to the rough handling of two pro-choice men arrested Tuesday who were booked and held in jail overnight. (As of the date of this writing they are still facing trial on charges of assault and resisting arrest.) The police also tried to prevent the press from going to the demonstration area where pro-choice forces were confined.
Because of this pattern of selective enforcement by the police, the NYPCC, joined by NOW and NARAL, called for a meeting with Police Commissioner Ward. On Tuesday afternoon, meetings were held with city officials, and that evening NOW, NARAL and the NYPCC called a press conference/demonstration at City Hall to protest police actions. Along with pro-choice forces, several city council members spoke. The police move faster against "OR" on Friday, but that was only because pro-choice forces protested their actions earlier in the week. The NYPCC's connection with the New York office of the American Civil Liberties Union proved extremely fruitful during actions in the street. An ACLU representative came to the site to ensure that we were guaranteed our minimum legal right to demonstrate and have equal access to the press.
The conduct of the NYC police was typical of what has happened across the country where the police have not protected women's constitutional rights but have instead allied with and protected the anti-abortionists. We cannot rely on police to defend our rights to abortion or our clinics and must organize and mobilize our own community defense. At the same time, we must demand that city officials protect our legal freedoms.
Wasn't it illegal for "OR" to block the doorways?
Yes. Not only is it illegal to block access, but it deprives women of the constitutionally guaranteed right to abortion. But the question of legality didn't stop "OR." They came with the intention of breaking laws and getting arrested. Lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) working with pro-choice forces had tried to get an injunction in advance which would have prohibited "OR" from blocking access. The judge only granted a temporary restraining order which limited "OR" to two "sidewalk counsellors" and prevented them from "harassing" women seeking entrance.
But police refused to enforce the order. After Monday's blockade, CCR returned to court, and the restraining order was strengthened to prohibit blocking access. Randall Terry was personally served with it on Tuesday, but "OR" continued their blockade and the targeted facility remained closed to patients and staff. Subsequently, a federal judge ordered "OR" to pay $25,000 for every day it continued to block access. Even thought his fine did not deter "OR" from their activities, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the NOW Legal Defense Fund and the NYPCC have brought legal proceedings against them.
As the week unfolded, it became increasingly clear that mass actions by pro-choice forces were decisively instrumental in countering "OR" and ensuring that their activities would not successful.
Isn't "OR" just an isolated, fanatical fringe group? Won't they just go away if we ignore them?
While there are plenty of fanatics in "OR," they have been encouraged and reinforced from high levels of government. Ronald Reagan has been outspoken in his opposition to abortion and has personally addressed and congratulated anti-abortion gatherings and demonstrations. Besides Reagan there is a large number of congressmen and government representatives who help to foment anti-abortion reaction. In addition, government agencies have not responded adequately to clinic bombings and continued harassment, and this serves to encourage anti-abortion activity. Other recent political and legislative attacks on abortion underscore the seriousness of this offensive and the critical importance of taking it on politically.
"OR" will not go away by itself, and the media will continue to give them a platform from which to speak. While the overwhelming majority of American people are pro-choice, the danger is that they will remain silent. Silence will only contribute to a climate of repression against women and will encourage the anti-abortionists to step up their efforts.
What are the lessons?
The best way to oppose attacks on abortion by reactionaries is to form a militant front and organize broad community support. Just because abortion is a constitutionally guaranteed right doesn't mean our rights are safe or secure or that city officials or the police will defend them. We must organize to demand it.
Because the anti-abortion movement works on all levels -- legislative, judicial, public opinion, and in the streets -- it is important that pro-choice forces adopt a multi-pronged approach. In NYC, many people were prepared and willing to do different things, but not everyone was comfortable with every tactic. Tactics should be flexible and people should be able to participate in various ways. NYPCC activities included working in alliance around "OR" and with other groups such as NOW, NARAL and PLanned Parenthood; issuing press releases, working with the media, publicizing Reproductive Freedom week at events, tabling on street corners; and street actions which included a strong visible and vocal presence with signs, banners, chanting and blowing whistles, as well as trying to reach the clinic doors before "OR" and keep them open.
One of the tactical approaches used by some groups was training and providing "escorts" -- people who would shelter patients seeking access to clinics from the verbal and visual harassment of anti-abortionists. The NYPCC felt that escorts alone would not be enough to effectively counter "OR" or get women into the clinics. Escorts are helpful for guiding patients through the gauntlet of what anti-abortionists call "sidewalk counselling" (where they hold up pictures of bloody fetuses and tell women "don't kill your 'baby'") but proved to be entirely useless when, as on Monday and Tuesday, "OR" shut the clinics down by amassing 500 or so bodies in front of the doorways. It is critical to mobilize broadly for mass actions at the targeted sites and to try to secure the doors and keep them open.
How do we go about organizing opposition to "OR"?
As previously mentioned, the overwhelming majority of people in this country support a women's right to choose -- even if they themselves may be personally opposed to abortion. There has been strong support for a women's right to choose within the Catholic church and other religious groups which may have a formal position against abortion. In fact, approximately 45 religious groups publicly support the pro-choice position.
We urge organizers to contact many different groups, organizations and individuals to organize in a democratic coalition and mount the strongest possible opposition to "OR": organizations of women of color,; church groups; civil rights and anti-repression organizations; feminist and other women's organizations; labor unions; women's centers on campuses and other student organizations; gay and lesbian rights groups; organizations of abortion providers; progressive, radical and revolutionary organizations and parties -- in short, forces representing the broad spectrum of people in support of women's right to legal abortion. Pro-choice forces in NYC also got excellent support from passersby at the sites, including elderly people from a senior citizens center and youth from nearby high schools.
Concrete organizing suggestions are included under Tactical Information and Timetable. Early and broad outreach is critical for any counter-offensive. While the forces who came out in NYC during the week accomplished quite a lot, the number of people defending the clinics were far fewer in numbers than we would have liked (some 60 - 100 came out most days), and this affected what we were able to do. This is undoubtedly due to a number of reasons, but we want to stress the importance of educating people politically about the stakes of this battle and the importance of coming out to defend clinics. More forums, teach-ins (including educating people about what it was like before abortion was legal), radio programs, and earlier outreach -- tables in communities, on campuses, at events -- were needed. In addition, we feel a large evening rally should have been called in advance to take place during the week of "OR" to expose what was happening and help mobilize more people to come to the targeted sites during the day.
In conclusion, we encourage you to correspond with the NYPCC about your ideas and experiences in defending women's right to abortion, and we welcome your comments about this pamphlet.
Both the necessity and the basis exists for defeating "OR" whenever they appear. Our politics and our collective purpose calls us to this challenge. Let us rise to meet it!
Clinic Watch
The NY experience indicated that clinic watches may have functioned as a deterrent. Teams of at least 2 people should be stationed at abortion-providing facilities from 5:30 a.m. until the clinic opens. They should report to central command immediately if a clinic is targeted or if they see any "OR" advance teams or scouts in the vicinity. Pro-Choice Advance Teams
In NY, because "OR" did not target the major clinics where there were people on clinic watch and went to smaller sites, the pro-choice advance teams were in fact the ones who found the target first and were essential in trying to keep the doors open. It is important to find out where "OR" is gathering in the morning before traveling in a group to their targeted site. In NYC, "OR" left from their hotel/headquarters in large groups beginning at 6-6:30 a.m.
Teams of at least several and preferably 10 or more should meet where "OR" converges in the morning and follow them to the targeted clininc. "OR" in NYC traveled via public transportation and were easy to spot: thei leaders carried small American flags to leadthe groups, and all members of "OR" wore small, cloth, red rose appliques pinned to their collars or shirts.
Upon arriving at the site, the advance team should make every effort to secure the clininc entrance and create acess. In NYC, clininc defenders raced "OR" leaders to the doors as soon as it became clear where they were headed. As few as 7-10 can be effective in reaching the doors first and contending for control (as shown by the NYC experience), but groups of 25-50 would be better able to hold them.
Individuals in the teams should be assigned tasks beforehand: phoning central command with the site location; putting up banners and leafletting passersby; going for the dors. Circumstances at the sites may vary greatly, and people on the spot should quickly assess the situation to decide possible courses of action to take until more forces arrive.
Central Command
Receives information from clinic watchers, advvance teams, and clinincs about "OR" activity; calls radio station, activates phone tree, and dispatches additional forces. In NYC, the NOW office was used for this. Clinics and clininc watchers called in on an unlisted number. A code system, worked out in advance and changed daily, was used betweeen central command and the radio station to ensure that false information could not be broadcast. Central command should also have a publicized phone number and the number broadly available for press and general public to call in and get information.
Radio Station
One person should be at the "information central" radio station to take calls from central command (using the code) on the location of the trageted site for immediate broadcast. This person should stay until information on the location comes in and, if possible, longer to relay updates to programmers for emergency broadcasts. There should be wide publicity beforehand urging people to listen to the particular station for information on where to go.
Emergency Response Phone Tree
This should be activiated immediately upon receiving information on the location of the attack. It should be made up of names and numbers collected from meetings, kick-off rally, tabling, publicity, and so on. People should also be advised to listen to the "information central" radio station for information.
Outreach to Political and Community Leaders
Outreach in the community to leading officials is important to encourage and irge them to publicly support the pro-choice forces in the press, at city council meetings, and by personally appearing at the clininc under seige. They are elected officials and should be held responsible to ensure that wome's rights are upheld and protected.
At the Site
Our forces should be easily identifiable as being on the pro-choice side. With banners and signs, it is easier for passersby to see that there is pro-choice opposition to the blockaders. It also makes it more difficult to ignore the pro-choice presence.
One of our greatest strengths in New York was raising our voices in chants and signing -- never giving "OR" a moment's peace. Also very effective are whistles, noisemakers, small musical instruments and sirens.
Legal observers should be at the site to keep a detailed record of events, including the names and badge numbers of police officers involved.
Whenever possible, build alliances in the community. Talk to people on the street about what is going on and pass out flyers explaining what "OR's" goals are and how people can participate in opposition to it. We found many people on the street to be sympathetic to the pro-choice side, many joined us, bought buttons, and/or donated money to the coalition. One man invited pro-choice people to hang a banner on his fire escape facing the clinic.
[posted 5/24/01]
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