Brooklyn, NY
Hello Friends,
I'm writing to let you know about an experience I had learning a kind of volunteer work recently that I've wanted to try for quite some time. As you read (and thank you for your time), if you think of anyone who might be interested in trying this surprisingly personal type of activism, please forward this letter to them.
For twelve years my friend and neighbor, Lee, has been a clinic escort with the Brooklyn Pro-Choice Network. She recruited additional escorts through a program she set up at her church, First Unitarian in Brooklyn Heights.
My school schedule prevented me from joining in, even though the time requirement for escorting was a modest one morning per quarter. But when my classes ended, I had my chance to learn how to escort.
Lee and I met downstairs at 6:45 am and walked down to our destination four blocks away for the 7:00 am starting time. (This was the hardest part for me - getting up so early!)
Who knew that my neighborhood, Sunset Park, was such a hotspot for anti-choice activity? But apparently our own Ambulatory Surgery Center is where antis come from around the country to learn how to set up protests at clinic entrances in their home towns. Perhaps the neighborhood's low-key nature, coupled with its large populations of Catholic immigrants allows the protesters activity they would not get away with in other parts of town.
The facility sits almost underneath the elevated Gowanus expressway on a fairly depressed-looking block. Aside from the clinic's new trees, the spot has an ignored, out-of-the-way feel to it. So who, then, is the target of the antis' weekly demonstrations? The 40 to 60 patients arriving each Saturday morning (some of whom, by the way, are there to see their podiatrist - the center provides a range of health services).
The volunteer escorts provide a calm, counter-presence to the anti-choice demonstrators, by literally accompanying the patients as they enter the clinic. They simply walk with them.
As Lee and I approached, the antis were already set up. Within their rectangular police barricade, they displayed large photos of bloody fetuses, an embryo seemingly floating in space (the woman in whom it floats is deceptively omitted from the picture), and a poster blow-up of a newspaper article featuring a wonderful mother of 17 children. These were the Helpers of God's Precious Infants, HOGPI, or "hogpie/hogpee" as Lee told me they were called. They're there every day that the clinic is open, and some days the monsignor of Brooklyn swings by to lead them in a sidewalk prayer vigil.
The two police officers watch from the corner, and are supposed to ensure that 1) no more than two HOGPI protesters come out of the HOGPI pen at a time and clutter up the sidewalk, that 2) no more than one HOGPI protester approaches and speaks to an entering patient at a time, and 3) the HOGPI protester does not block the patient's path, but rather confines himself to walking beside the patient while he spews his stream of guilt-inducing "sidewalk counseling". Lastly, the police are supposed to prevent the antis from following patients after they exit the facility.
I soon learned, however, that it is the escorts, in part, who ensure that the police do their job and respond to the antis' persistent and opportunistic testing of their limitations. I watched as the simple act of Lee approaching the police officer would prompt an anti to scurry back behind her barricade. The clinic's ever-rolling video cameras have proven that when the escorts are not there, the antis become dogged.
Needless to say, police protection leaves something to be desired. On the other hand, the sight of armed, uniformed police officers posted at the door can be as equally alarming a vision to a newly arriving patient as the sight of the antis. Fortunately, one officer is usually in plain clothes, in an unmarked car. A more proactive stance is needed considering the national and local range of violations, from fatal attacks and vandalism on down to irritating harassment.
Some patients arriving have heard about clinic protests or violence, and are nervous about what they might encounter. Others are completely unprepared to be targeted by demonstrators and are shocked, frightened, or angry at the surprise. The volunteer escorts, therefore, provide normalcy and support, and arm the patients against the barrage they are about to receive.
After we donned orange vests with the words "CLINIC VOLUNTEER/VOLUNTARIA CLINICA" on them, Lee explained to me how it worked: "When you spot a patient arriving, approach her calmly. Walk steadily and slowly, so you don't alarm her, even though your goal is to reach her before the anti does. If two people are walking together, try to position yourself on the side of the patient. This will prevent the anti from claiming a space by her side as she walks. Say to the patient, in your most calm voice, 'Good morning. I'm with the clinic. I'm here to walk patients inside. There are protesters here today. You are not obligated to talk with them, or to answer any of their questions. You do not have to accept their literature. You are free to ignore them if you wish to.'"
In most cases I found that by the time I had spoken the first few sentences, most patients had expressed a nervous appreciation, and by the time I finished, we had reached the door, now held open by Lee. While in this walking process, an anti will claim the other side of the patient and try to persuade her to turn back.
Lee further explained, "If a patient pauses because she is having second thoughts about whether or not she wants to terminate her pregnancy, encourage her to go to a quiet, private place, where she can think over her choices without pressure." This will be a welcome, normalizing piece of advice against the backdrop of the antis' pleas.
Lee told me that she's found the most difficult part about escorting to be that standing around can get quite boring in between the arrival of patients. After I watched her escort a few patients in, Lee asked me if I felt ready to give it a try. In the distance a couple was approaching - extremely young compared to the others we had seen. The young woman's or girl's gait seemed particularly slow and pained. She crept along, hugging close to the long brick wall of the clinic. Her head hung forward; her hair covered her face. Her young partner made no physical contact with her.
"Do you want to take this one?" Lee asked me. The patient seemed more vulnerable than the others, but I was nervous to begin. I stood rooted to my cement spot, afraid to approach.
Suddenly, the anti moved in on the youth. I watched as she was subjected to a stream of challenges, questions, and instructions, from the protester. The youth stopped, as if she feared it would be impolite to disengage herself, or not to respond. She seemed to be trying to explain herself to the anti, accountable to the older woman, who imposed all of the authority she could. I watched the full effect of the anti as she went to work on the patient. The youth stopped and started, not knowing how to respond, interspersing steps with distressed replies. Her posture seemed even more defeated, and seeing her discomfort, her trip to the door seemed endless.
If I had reached the youth first, or even walked along on the other side of her, I might have provided her with a little shot of support - enough that she could walk just a little bit less encumbered and heavily as she navigated the anti's gauntlet. I felt like I had abandoned her, only to watch her be victimized. I promised myself I would not leave another patient stranded to face the antis alone as long as I was escorting.
I soon spotted a pattern: the younger the entering patient, the less able she was to stand up to the protesters, apparently having come more recently from training as a good, polite girl. These youths' interactions were in stark contrast to the older mother of three, who had just terminated a pregnancy. This latter patient stood with the antis for half an hour giving it back to them - using, ironically, a religious argument. "Only God can judge me, not you! Who are you to know what's best for me??" With determined patience, she tried to tell them that what they were doing was wrong, even taking one aside for awhile, which angered the principle protest organizer.
With youth the vulnerability was vivid. In a later instance at another location, I exited a Manhattan clinic to find a teenager and her boyfriend detained in the entrance by three angry, imploring, white-bearded men who seemed well into their 70's. The girl was on the verge of tears as she stood speaking with the men. There were no escorts on this day. In my strongest voice, I said to the men, but for the benefit of the youths, "LEAVE THEM ALONE. IT'S THEIR CHOICE." Then to her, "You don't have to listen to them." This seemed to be the "permission" she needed to make her escape. As the men took their focus off of the two and began yelling at me, the teenagers suddenly disappeared into the clinic.
As I was missing my vest, the policewoman on duty (who had done nothing to deter the men) asked who I was. When I explained about the escorting at the Brooklyn clinic, she became curious and asked me numerous questions. Then she explained that she had wondered what procedures were used at other clinics to handle the tensions, in comparison to the ones used where she was assigned.
The officer thanked me for my description of the Sunset Park arrangements. As I left, the man boomed after me, "Be a REAL woman! A REAL woman would have TEN children!!" (I swear I'm not making this stuff up!)
Lee told me she has spotted another pattern while escorting over the years: when the arriving patient is white, the pleas of the protesters take on an urgency that is marked in comparison to when patients of color arrive.
The protesters' activity is fraught with judgement and control, particularly haunting and imposing for the vulnerable. Their message is disempowering and doubt-inducing, and idealizes servitude and surrender to helplessness. This is expressed in their very outward dropping-to-their knees. The perfect antidote, it seems, is to simply walk with patients.
The impact of volunteer escorting on the entering patients is immediately apparent. I found it to be very personal, direct, and rewarding. It's a very simple kindness that someone going through a vulnerable moment may remember into the future! It also gives a needed calming physical presence in support of choice, in answer to the oppressive physical presence of the protesters.
If you would consider escorting four mornings (or more) per year, or would like to ask more about it, please visit the website at http://www.echonyc.com/~bpcn/ and send an email.
Thanks again for your time,
Rachel
[posted 11/27/00]
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