Lauren Rankin On Her New Book, Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America
Starting in the late 1970s, people have been serving as clinic escorts at abortion clinics, guarding and protecting patients from anti-abortion protestors. Since then, volunteer clinic escorts have devised several strategies for making sure patients access the care they need and continue to use their bodies as shields against anti-abortion protestors every day. Lauren Rankin, writer, consultant, and author of Bodies on the Line, sits down to talk with us about the history of clinic escorting and the continued need for such a vital community-based practice.
Anti-abortion protestors often camp out in front of abortion clinics, where they harass, threaten, and attempt to coerce those who are attending appointments. Clinic escorting has often involved walking the patient to the door, standing between a patient and a protestor, and calming a patient through conversation.
Unfortunately, the federal government has shown time and time again that meaningful abortion protections will be challenging to pass. But there is hope—you can push local elected officials in your community to recognize the importance of abortion care.
Find Lauren Rankin’s book at your local bookstore or on bookshop.org.
Links
Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force
Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund
Take Action
Check out Lauren’s book, Bodies on the Line, here! You can also keep up with Lauren’s work but following her on Twitter.
Rally for abortion protections in your community. If you are interested in becoming a clinic escort and you live in a state where abortion is still legal, reach out to your local clinic and see if there is a pre-existing escort group. If not, make your own!
You can also contact the abortion fund near you and see if there is anything that they need. You can also donate here.
For more information, check out Aborsh: https://www.aborsh.com/
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