Violence against abortion clinics hit a record high last year. Doctors say it's getting worse.

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News


Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, is one of many providers who told CBS News they've seen an uptick in violence this year, both against themselves and their clinics. They say the increased harassment has coincided with newly enacted state laws restricting legal abortion and polarizing rhetoric surrounding the procedure.

The National Abortion Federation has been tracking violence against abortion providers and clinics since 1977. The Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, an Episcopal priest and interim president & chief executive officer of the organization, said the violence that providers face today is "beyond anything we've ever seen before."

In 2017, violent acts against abortion providers more than doubled from the year prior, according to data compiled by NAF. The group recorded 1,081 violent acts, the most since the group began tracking these incidents.

<snip>

In interviews with nearly one dozen clinics, including McNicholas's St. Louis Planned Parenthood, providers say the situation is getting worse. In August alone, three young men were arrested for threatening mass shootings against Planned Parenthood facilities. At the home of one of the suspects, authorities seized 15 rifles, 10 semi-automatic pistols, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition during a raid.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/violence-against-abortion-clinics-like-planned-parenthood-hit-a-record-high-last-year-doctors-say-its-getting-worse/

[Malmsy]

1. This topic needs to be included in a debate.

This is intimidation by domestic terrorism.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. In a primary debate? Wanna see ten people all agree on something?

This would not help reduce the field of candidates.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Why are so many against allowing others choice to believe

and act as they wish?

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. USA terrorists hard at work. nt

[Farmer-Rick]

4. The religiously insane using violence to intimidate

Women. Now where else do we see this?

Religion justifies good people doing horrible, immoral things.

[certainot]

5. a lot of this hate is based on lies from the local rw radio stations. offense is needed

those radio stations have been howling lies about planned parenthood for 30 years. and a lot of the loudest of those stations have done it while being endorsed by our university and pro sports teams.

americans need to destroy the RW talk radio monopoly and it can be done simply w/market demand - it's not enough to vote, GOTV, donate.

artificial intelligence makes it easy, cheap to digitize talk radio - the ad industry will do the work once they become aware of how easy it is for activists to record, transcribe, and list advertisers with hardly any listening required.

talk radio is the only unique advantage they have and at $1000/hr 1200 stations x 15 hrs/day is worth about $5BIL/year FREE to them - and the kremlin trolls piggybacking it.. they know how important it is and democratic and media leadership clearly think it's irrelevant. ad it should not be considered part of the free speech spectrum as long as it is a well protected and coordinated monopoly. destroying the talk radio propaganda operation will help on every level, every issue, every election.

it wouldn't take much activism for the ad industry to get the message it has to start asking radio ad clients if they REALLY want to support the global warming denial, racism, hate, and ignorance

RW has perpetuated the myth that the monopoly is a reflection of the market demand for hate and lies ---advertisers will head for the hills and many stations will have to change programming to stay alive

and it wouldn't hurt for students and communities to start protesting anything trump at the 88+ universities that broadcast sports on 260 limbaugh stations. those schools need to be asked what they would do if the KKK bought those stations, because basically they did 20 or 30 years ago

[dalton99a]

6. +1

[Hekate]

7. KnR