{"id":235779,"date":"2020-12-08T09:50:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T15:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=235779"},"modified":"2020-12-07T15:52:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T21:52:44","slug":"abortion-escorts-protect-experience-sidewalk-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-escorts-protect-experience-sidewalk-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion facility escorts say they protect women. My experience on the sidewalk says otherwise."},"content":{"rendered":"
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According to Planned Parenthood’s website,<\/a> abortion facility escorts are “an extremely important volunteer position here at Planned Parenthood.” One pro-abortion volunteer referred<\/a>\u00a0to escorts as “the first point of compassion that we can demonstrate to people coming for health services,” and described escorting as her chosen form of “community service.”\u00a0Unfortunately, in my experience, the clinic entry door is where their “support” for women ends.<\/p>\n

For over a year and a half, I’ve been praying on the sidewalk outside of an Illinois Planned Parenthood\u00a0on Thursdays, the facility’s surgical abortion day. For the majority of that time, I’ve gone to pray in the morning, when the abortion escorts are out in full force at the facility entrance and also by the road. Wearing their fluorescent pink “Planned Parenthood” vests, they wave women into the parking lot with bright orange flags.<\/p>\n

But several times during these last few months, praying in the afternoon has been a better fit in my schedule. Each time I’ve gone, I’ve been struck by a piece of the morning “picture” that’s missing. In the second half of the day, when women are leaving after their appointments, the escorts are gone<\/em>. The pro-lifers are still praying on the sidewalks, offering hope and healing resources to the women and their drivers as they leave in vehicles after abortion appointments. But the pro-abortion escorts are nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n

A realization hit me forcefully during my most recent visit to the facility:\u00a0Once the women are herded into<\/em> the doors of Planned Parenthood, the escorts’ job is finished. Their only job is to make sure women enter \u2014 but they aren’t there to help them once the abortion is over.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Clinic escort: We present abortion in the \u201ccheeriest\u201d way<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Interestingly, Wikipedia<\/a> claims the role of an abortion clinic escort is “to assist patients and staff to enter and exit<\/em> these facilities safely,” (emphasis added) but Planned Parenthood makes no such claims. Their main purpose<\/a>, according to Planned Parenthood, is to “help get patients to<\/em> the door of our clinic with as little harassment from protesters and picketers as possible.” (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

This can be seen in a\u00a0YouTube<\/a> video for Planned Parenthood North Central States (which covers Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota). The video says an escort’s role is to “walk you into the building.”<\/p>\n