Abortion Clinics

Abortion opponents have a new strategy aimed at reducing the number of pregnancies that are terminated, and it will probably be a lot more effective than the tactics used in the past. So writes Theodore Joyce, a health care economist at Baruch College in New York, in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The largely ineffective efforts to which Joyce refers are ones aimed at reducing demand for abortions by targeting the women who are considering them.

When Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell was put on trial for murder, activists seized on the case as a symbol of all that is wrong with abortion in America, and used it to call for tighter restrictions and stepped-up oversight. But though Gosnell's behavior was deplorable, macabre and unquestionably illegal, it was aberrational, not symbolic. He has now been convicted, and he will be punished. This does not weaken the case for safe, legal and accessible abortion. Gosnell, a 72-year-old doctor who was neither an obstetrician nor a gynecologist (having failed to complete a residency in those specialties, according to a grand jury report)

Police in Clinton warned abortion clinics to be particularly cautious as officers searched for an escaped inmate who allegedly threatened doctors who perform abortions. Clayton Lee Waagner, who once said he was on a mission from God to kill abortion providers, escaped from the DeWitt County Jail while awaiting sentencing on weapon possession and vehicle theft convictions. Waagner, 44, of Kennerdell, Pa.

LONDON - The opening of Northern Ireland's first private abortion clinic Thursday in Belfast drew hundreds of noisy demonstrators, who hoisted placards with messages such as "Keep Ireland abortion-free. " The clinic, operated by Marie Stopes International, will offer sexual health and family planning advice and, in certain cases, treatment with nonsurgical abortion and follow-up counseling. "We understand the culture here in Northern Ireland; we don't want to change the culture … and have abortion on demand.

Four bombs, one powerful enough to kill or maim several people, were mailed to Portland area clinics that perform abortions or provide birth-control information, police said today. Only one of the devices was delivered and it was defused by the police bomb squad after it arrived at the Women's Feminist Health Center, Sgt. Jay Decker said. The other devices were seized by U.S. postal authorities before they could reach their destinations.

Buffer zones meant to keep abortion protesters away from several Houston area women's clinics violate free speech, the Texas Supreme Court ruled. In a 6-3 decision, the Austin-based court modified buffer zones surrounding four clinics and eliminated buffers around five other clinics. Four clinics now must allow up to two "sidewalk counselors" to approach their patients within their buffer zone boundaries. However, the antiabortionists must leave patients alone if asked to, the court said.

The fear of terrorism close to home, unfortunately, is not new to the health care providers who work in abortion clinics. The arrest of Clayton Lee Waagner, who is suspected of sending hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to these clinics, again shows the urgent need to protect reproductive health care providers from violence and threats of violence.

An early-morning fire of suspicious origin caused heavy damage to a busy Portland abortion clinic that has been the target of arsonists in the past. Fire Department officials said the cause was "suspicious." Federal agents are "pursuing all leads," an FBI spokesman said. Fire broke out at the Lovejoy Surgicenter and flames were shooting out a back window when firefighters arrived, an official said. There were no injuries.

A Wisconsin court late Monday barred abortion opponents from staging protests in Milwaukee similar to the demonstrations that led to more than 2,600 arrests outside abortion clinics in Wichita, Kan., last summer. The protesters said they would block Milwaukee's abortion clinics anyway. "We don't need to ask the state's permission to do acts of righteousness," said the Rev. Matthew Trewhella, head of Missionaries of the Preborn.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill that would have imposed new regulations on abortion clinics, saying such matters should be left to medical professionals. The measure would have required the clinics to obtain an annual license from the Department of Health and Environment, hire surgeons as their medical directors and report patient deaths to the state within a day.

A federal judge on Wednesday left in place an injunction blocking a new law in Mississippi that could effectively shut down the state's only abortion clinic, located in Jackson, Miss. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan III extended the injunction but did not say how long it would remain in effect. The law, passed by the Republican-led legislature in April and made effective July 1, requires anyone performing an abortion to be a certified obstetrician/gynecologist with admitting privileges at a local hospital.

POCATELLO, Idaho - When Pocatello police got a tip that Jennie Linn McCormack had ended her pregnancy by taking an abortion drug obtained over the Internet, they showed up at her apartment one cold January day in 2011 and demanded an explanation. McCormack eventually took them out to her back porch, where the remains of her fetus were on the barbecue, wrapped up in a plastic bag and a cardboard box. "My baby is in the box," McCormack said. Officers uncovered the frozen remains of a 5-month-old fetus and erected crime scene tape around the porch before taking her to the police station and charging her with a felony.

ATLANTA — Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Monday imposing new restrictions on the state's sole abortion clinic that could force it to close its doors. The law is one of several recent state measures championed by antiabortion activists and passed largely by Republican allies. Last week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a law that banned most abortions after 20 weeks. In March, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion.

The sole abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi could be forced to close under a bill headed to the desk of Gov. Phil Bryant, who has said he intends to sign it. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported that the state Senate gave final legislative approval to the measure on Thursday. It now heads to Bryant, a Republican who was elected to lead the state in November -- at the same time an antiabortion "personhood" amendment failed when put to a statewide vote. During his first state of the state address in January, however, Bryant pledged he would not give up the fight.

Abortion opponents have a new strategy aimed at reducing the number of pregnancies that are terminated, and it will probably be a lot more effective than the tactics used in the past. So writes Theodore Joyce, a health care economist at Baruch College in New York, in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The largely ineffective efforts to which Joyce refers are ones aimed at reducing demand for abortions by targeting the women who are considering them.

For many Americans, abortion is a political issue. Though many of us may participate in marches, make donations, vote for candidates based solely on their stands on abortion, it remains mostly a theoretical issue. But for some people, abortion, and the conflict surrounding it, defines their daily life. "12th and Delaware," a documentary by Oscar nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady ("Jesus Camp"), offers a glimpse into the literal intersection of those who support legal abortion and those who do not. On one side of the street in Fort Pierce, Fla., A Woman's World provides abortions.

Susan Hill, a national women's rights advocate and the owner of several abortion clinics around the country, died Jan. 30 at a hospital in Raleigh, N.C. She was 61 and had breast cancer. Hill focused on establishing clinics in rural areas where women had no access to abortion services. She opened more clinics than anyone else in the United States, sometimes drawing 1,000 protesters at a time. She sued protesters 34 times for blocking entrances and physically preventing women from entering the facilities.

For decades, Sister Donna Quinn has championed the rights of women to use contraception, seek ordination and end unwanted pregnancies. The Dominican nun has picketed for abortion rights in the nation's capital, petitioned the pope to select a female archbishop and escorted women into abortion clinics. But as the Vatican turns up its scrutiny of the nation's nuns and America's Roman Catholic bishops refuse to support universal healthcare if it covers abortion, Quinn has put her crusade on hold.