For the past several weeks, the early morning shifts have been added to the Washington location where I volunteer. That’s because antis started to show up very early in the morning every day of the week.
Since this location is less than tw blocks away from my office, it is relatively easy for me to come out and help; the only problem is that my early mornings are busy because I need to catch up with what had happened in the UK office by that time, and our “sync” meeting overlaps with that one, and also sometimes, I use this time to call Boris, not mentioning that I need to have breakfast at some point:). That all being said, covering this morning shift requires planning, but I am figuring this out and committing to coming at least once a week.
Last Thursday, right before I arrived, the city streets’ services painted the yellow lines by both entrances to the clinic, identifying the border of the bubble zone. I do not know how much this will help, but at least we feel supported by the local authorities
At the PAC event on March 18, the speakers mentioned the number of out-of-state abortions performed in Illinois per year. Even before Dobbs, the numbers were high: 19K in 2022 and 87K in 2023. They didn’t have the numbers for 2024 yet, but I can only imagine!
That’s for this Saturday morning, when I was once again in escort by the FPA clinic on West Washington.
The anis are trying to blend in with the colors very similar to ours, but you can still tell them! And you can see how close to the clinic entrance they are!
One woman I was escorting to another clinic entrance said that she “didn’t expect these people to be there” and asked: Are they here every day? I said: yes, and they are not coming from other states, those are ours, “homegrown” antis. And she said: Oh, I am not from here, I am from Texas! Then we had a usual conversation about ” why are they doing this? what are they trying to achieve? that’s my choice.”
I knew that people from Texas come to Illinois to have an abortion, but that was the first time I met someone who went such a long distance to get the care they needed. And once again, it reminded me how important it is to preserve all rights and freedoms in our state.
Tuesday was the day of the DevOps conference, and after it was over, I went to one more event: a staged reading of the excerpts from the Turnaway Play, a play by Lesley Lisa Greene that looks at what really happens when a woman is denied access to abortion. The play was inspired by the Turnaway study, which offered the first scientific examination of the consequences of abortion bans. The reading was followed by a discussion with Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
Several things were interesting about this event. The venue was Theo Ubique Cabaret, which I patronize several times a year, and it was a political fundraiser I hadn’t attended for a while. Adding to that, the topic is really close to my heart, and I felt the unity and readiness to fight, which I didn’t feel for a while.
The best moment from the play reading was when the lecturer posed a question to the class. She described a young woman getting into exciting educational program, being able to participate in a research of her dream. However, she does any rainy day fund, and she is not in a stable relationships, and she finds out that she is pregnant. What should she do? – asked the lecturer. Should she get abortion or should she keep the baby? And the answer is: it’s not your business! Only she can decide what’s the best for her! And that’s the statement I agree with 1000%!
The political speeches were very empowering. Sarah Resnick and Daniel Biss talked about the importance of the local elections and our commitment to defend the humanitarian values locally when the federal governments doesn’t. So were the talks with the guest – I didn’t feel so good for a very long time!
Overall, this day, which ran from 7 AM to 9 PM, was prefect: revitalizing and inspiring.
The City Council voted for the Noise Ordinance on June 12. When I was escorting on June 15, we were not sure how soon the sign would appear. It turned out that it was up just a week later! And as other escorts shared, it somewhat helped. They were quiet, even though the number of antis is gianormous.
I went escorting this morning even though I had another million things to do, but after I examined my schedule for the rest of summer, I realized I wouldn’t be able to escort until August 17. One of the fellow escorts took this picture of us under the new sign:
It is, indeed, a win, but we’ll see what will follow. Today, we talked a lot about the case that a Jewish Orthodox woman brought up this week. According to the Old Testament, life begins at birth, not at conception, so the court ruling goes against their believes.
Once again, we’ll see!
P.S. Noise ordinance is indeed against noise, not against anties, and it passed the City Council almost unanimously. The protected area is the whole perimeter of the clinic.
On Thursday, we had our first meeting of the Howard and Evanston Community Center (HECC) Community Board. This is my newest volunteering activity, and I had many thoughts on whether I should engage before I said yes.
The most significant decisive factor was the idea that I would be able to make a big impact with a relatively low time commitment by joining the Strategic Planning Group. Now, I am trying very hard to stay with this task and not jump into my usual mode “let me do things myself because otherwise, nobody would do it.”
Overall, I have a good feeling about this meeting in terms of knowing how to ask the right questions and having a good idea about the areas of potential improvement. The worst part is that it looks like the budget figures remain a mystery, although I am determined to resolve it.
We’ll see how it will turn out!
***
Today, I went to the clinic for escorting for the first time in a while. I went for the morning shift, and it was very quiet. The first group of protesters appeared ten minutes before the end of my shift, although they were very loud and annoying right away. At least, it was not like two weeks ago – I was not there, but others told me that there were over a hundred protesters. The noise-controlling city ordinance is still hanging up in the air, and our team leader says that she doesn’t foresee it being approved in the observable future.
I guess I will keep escorting when I retire, which was always my plan.
We have Good Friday off (since we are a trading firm), so I went to Milwaukee and did an escorting shift before that. I rarely can do weekday shifts, so I am always happy when I can.
It was had to tell whether it would be quiet or crazy having it was a Good Friday. It ended up being quiet; however, one episode struck me.
There were two women, presumably mother and daughter, whom I escorted to a different entrance of the building. They had their luggage with them, and when I asked where they were from, they said: from Louisiana. I was speechless. I asked how long the had to drive, and the mother said: we were ready to drive, but fortunately, we got a grant and could fly. But we had to be up at 4 AM today. They were both tired and slightly disoriented, but visibly happy they made it.
… Just one question: why?! Why did they have to travel so far to get an abortion, and when will this craziness stop?!
I haven’t done escorting since early November because I can’t stand still during the cold months, and on Saturday, I finally returned. OMG, I completely forgot how it feels! It’s awful!!! They yell loudly, screaming “mam, don’t kill your baby!” at each patient. They walk around breaking the bubble zone. They yell “go back to Ohio!’ when they see the license plate…
Also, we were told that Mayor Johnson didn’t approve the quiet zone ordinance, so we still do not have any legal protections…
Not sure whether this Tribune article is visible to non-subscribers, so copying it here:
Aldermen move to establish quiet zone around downtown abortion clinic By A.D. Quig Chicago Tribune • Published: Nov 13, 2023 at 3:47 pm
Following anti-abortion protests and alleged “attempts to harass and intimidate women seeking health care services” at a downtown abortion clinic, aldermen moved Monday to create a new “noise sensitive zone” in the streets surrounding the facility.
The City Council’s Public Safety Committee voted to bar protesters from using a bullhorn, loudspeaker or hitting a drum or other object “to produce a sharp percussive noise so as to interfere with the functions” of Family Planning Associates clinic.
Two aldermen voted against the proposal, citing concerns about protesters’ rights and how officials would decide whether protests crossed a line.
The ordinance from Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, follows what he said were multiple noise complaints about loud and disruptive anti-abortion protesters at the clinic, including from nearby residents as well as FPA clinical staff. The clinic offers abortion care and other gynecological services.
Most likely, Saturday was my last escorting day in 2023. It became sharply colder overnight, and no matter how much I tried to prepare for the temperature drop, I was still not prepared and barely stayed till the end of the first shift. That, and all of the things that are coming up in November and December (Thanksgiving, Anna’s surgery, my conference, and Christmas:)) does not leave me any options.
Saturday’s highlight was police presence! Not like it used to be before, when they would come to protect the antis, or they would come responding to our call and leave. No, this time, seven (or more?) officers showed up before 7 AM, and they stayed till after 9 AM. They were exceptionally friendly and asked us many questions about how things looked like, and we explained to them all of the details and our fight for the quiet zone, etc. A couple of the female officers asked us about the abortion costs (we do not really know) and who pays for abortion (different options), and then our shift lead talked about the influx of patients after Dobbs. I mentioned that I am a MAC host and that now, most women do not need to travel that far, but it was a nightmare last summer. In the end, we got “Thank you for all you do!” which we often hear from the organization leaders and passers-by, but it was the first time I heard it from police officers!
Hettie's Reflections 