AUSTIN, Texas — Two months ago, construction crews were busy laying the groundwork for a $6.2-million Planned Parenthood clinic on the city's south side. But the site is deserted now -- gravel blows in the wind, a padlock clangs against a chain-link fence.
Work halted last month after local subcontractors were persuaded by anti-abortion activists led by a building supply executive to steer clear of the project or face the loss of future work. As pressure and controversy over the project grew, subcontractors stayed away and the general contractor -- one of the largest in the state -- pulled out.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday December 18, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Abortion clinic -- An article in Section A on Sunday about a boycott that halted construction of an abortion clinic in Austin, Texas, included a description of services planned for the clinic. It should have said tubal ligation, not tubal litigation.
The construction boycott is a new twist in the abortion protest movement, and one its backers say they hope to see used elsewhere.
Abortion rights activists decry it as economic blackmail.
"They pressured and intimidated mom-and-pop businesses that are not political, people who are just trying to make a living," said Glenda Parks, chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region. "Anti-choice hard-liners are in a frenzy of elation right now, but the boycott does not in any way signify what this community thinks about this clinic. There is enormous support for this project to go forward, and it will."
The 9,931-square-foot clinic would be Austin's fourth licensed abortion provider. The primary services provided by the clinic would be gynecological exams, tubal litigations and other health-care services to low-income women.
Austin, a college town known for its liberal politics and laid-back lifestyle, is a seemingly unlikely location for an antiabortion uprising. "People in Austin are tolerant," said state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, whose district includes the area where the clinic is to be built. "They are for affordable health care. We are not going to let a small group of radicals change that."
Leading the boycott of the construction project is Chris Danze, 48, an executive at a concrete supply business and organizer of the Texas Contractors and Suppliers for Life Assn.
Contractors on the Planned Parenthood project "were given two messages," Danze said. "The first is that it's wrong to build an abortion chamber. The second is that it's bad for future business.... We're compiling a list. If you work on that project, you won't be working on other projects."
