Lauren Justice
Meg Robertson, director of clinical services for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, says “it’s unfortunate that part of what we do is defend ourselves” from violent attacks like one that happened in Colorado Springs, Colo., last month.
Whenever a Planned Parenthood clinic is attacked anywhere in the nation, Meg Robertson is reminded just how dangerous her job is.
The director of clinical services for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin says shootings like the one that happened at a clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Nov. 27 are a grim reminder for reproductive health care providers everywhere. “When those sorts of severe attacks happen, there is a sense of fear from our staff at the frontlines,” Robertson says.
“It’s unfortunate that part of what we do is defend ourselves,” she adds. “Most health care providers don’t have that as part of their repertories.”
There were nine criminal or suspicious incidents directed at reproductive health care facilities around the country between July — when the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group, released videos depicting Planned Parenthood officials bargaining over fetal tissue — and September, according to an FBI Intelligence Assessment. The FBI warned at the time, “It is likely criminal or suspicious incidents will continue to be directed against reproductive health care providers, their staff and facilities.”
The attacks on reproductive health care facilities are not new. Since 1977, there have been eight murders, 17 attempted murders, 42 bombings and 186 acts of arson committed against abortion providers in the United States, according to the National Abortion Federation.
Wisconsin is not immune. On May 25, 2011, Ralph Lang was arrested in Madison after accidentally firing a gun in a hotel room on the city’s far east side. When police arrived to investigate, the 63-year-old Marshfield resident confessed that he had intended to find and kill an abortion doctor at the nearby Planned Parenthood. Lang was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
On April 1, 2012, 50-year-old Francis Grady broke a window and set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grand Chute, telling investigators that he heard voices and wanted to “release the children.”
In 2011, 84% of abortion clinics in the United States experienced at least some form of harassment, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice think tank. The prevalence is even higher in the Midwest, with 94% of clinics reporting harassment.
Most anti-abortion activists characterize the perpetrators of these violent acts as “lone wolves.”
Vigil for Life, a Madison group formed in 2007 that claims more than 1,000 members, maintains a “perpetual presence” at the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side, where abortions are performed. Monday through Friday, a few volunteers stand on the sidewalk outside the facility, hoping to discourage women from having abortions. Protesters outside the clinic declined to talk to an Isthmus reporter, referring her to a spokesperson.
Campaign coordinator Gwen Finnegan says volunteers must sign a statement agreeing to demonstrate peacefully and refrain from verbally abusing, threatening or physically touching any clinic personnel or patients.
Finnegan says her group’s presence has drawn mixed reactions. Clinic staff typically ignore the vigil participants. Some patients are receptive to their message and have engaged in conversations. Others have yelled obscenities and thrown things at demonstrators, Finnegan says, claiming a client once put a knife to a volunteer’s throat.
Finnegan says her reaction to the Colorado shooting is one of “sadness.” She urges abortion opponents to seek “peaceful solutions” when addressing the “societal scourge of abortion.”
But, she adds, “Abortion is in itself one of the most violent acts in our society today.”
Abortion and reproductive rights have been fiercely debated for decades, but the release of the Center for Medical Progress videos exacerbated the conflict. Lawmakers at the state and federal level have taken steps to defund Planned Parenthood, and some hope to abolish the agency altogether.
Of all the controversies she’s witnessed over 20 years as a women’s health care provider, Robertson says the backlash from the videos “probably stings the most.” The videos have since been debunked as heavily and selectively edited, and an inquiry into the health agency found no wrongdoing.
Nevertheless, the state Assembly in September passed a bill to strip Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin of $3.5 million in federal Title X money, which funds family planning and health screening for the poor and uninsured. That funding is already barred from being used for abortions.
In October, a state Senate committee approved the Title X defunding bill, along with another that would limit the amount Planned Parenthood can be reimbursed for prescription drugs through Medicaid — a change that would cost the agency $4 million.
Myranda Tanck, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, says the Planned Parenthood bills have not yet been scheduled for a vote. The Senate reconvenes on Jan. 12. Republican lawmakers have also advanced a bill banning the use of fetal tissue for scientific research.
This isn’t the first time Wisconsin lawmakers have targeted Planned Parenthood. In 2013, five rural Planned Parenthood facilities closed as a result of Gov. Scott Walker’s decision to limit Title V funding for family planning facilities and operations.
Robertson says any unease about threats of violence against clinics is overshadowed by an even greater concern: the possibility of women losing access to health care. But she says that fear is driving her and her colleagues to “protect [the] services that are so desperately needed in Wisconsin and nationwide.”
Sixty-five percent of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin patients report that the agency is their primary provider of health care. If clinics closed, Robertson says, other organizations would not be able to absorb the influx of patients — particularly those with limits on how many Medicaid patients they can serve.
“We’re ready to take on whatever comes our way and do whatever it takes to keep our doors open,” Robertson says. “The harder we’re attacked, the more we’re supported by the people who support us.”
