chart of clinic threats and initimation
By Maya Dusenbery • @mayadusenbery • 9 years ago

Chart of the Day: An uptick in threats against abortion providers

chart of clinic threats and initimation A survey published by the Feminist Majority Foundation shows there’s been an uptick in threats and intimidation against abortion providers since 2010. The proportion of clinics affected by such tactics jumped from over a quarter to over half. 

Nearly 250 abortion clinics, two thirds of which reported frequent and regular anti-choice activity at their locations, responded to the survey, describing the forms of harassment their doctors and staff face for the moral crime of providing life-saving, legal medical care. It ranges from the new school — like cyberstalking — to the old-school “Wanted” posters that include doctors’ photos and personal information plastered around their neighborhoods.

The increase in “Wanted” posters is particularly scary since there was a pattern between these posters and the murders of abortion doctors in the early ’90s. “Drs. Gunn, Britton, Slepian, and Tiller were all murdered by anti-abortion extremists; all had been featured prior to their murder on WANTED posters with their home and clinic addresses and in some cases, their photographs,” the report notes.

St. Paul, MN

Maya Dusenbery is executive director in charge of editorial at Feministing. She is the author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick (HarperOne, March 2018). She has been a fellow at Mother Jones magazine and a columnist at Pacific Standard magazine. Her work has appeared in publications like Cosmopolitan.com, TheAtlantic.com, Bitch Magazine, as well as the anthology The Feminist Utopia Project. Before become a full-time journalist, she worked at the National Institute for Reproductive Health. A Minnesota native, she received her B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. After living in Brooklyn, Oakland, and Atlanta, she is currently based in the Twin Cities.

Maya Dusenbery is an executive director of Feministing and author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm on sexism in medicine.

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