It's official: Abortion clinic in Austin will not be constructed...

[Bush loves Jiang]

Which unions are responsible for this grave injustice?

We must boycott them and put their members out of work.

If they do not support a womam's right to choose, we should we support their right to work?

[Ilsa]

1. Domestic terrorism.

Plain and simple.

Malloy and my friend Dave are right: this will end in bloodshed.

[i_am_not_john_galt]

2. Some of those who refuse to help build the clinic

believe that abortion itself is bloodshed. Why can't the clinic be built by those who believe in the cause? Habitat for Humanity builds houses and other structures with volunteer labor.

[Jane Roe]

22. what is domestic terrorism?

a. the building contractors' (apparently unsuccessful) boycott;

b. the various boycotts suggested below in this thread; or

c. all of the above.

[HawkerHurricane]

3. Unable to ban it outright...

they seek to ban it by making it impossible to get.

[funkyflathead]

4. Does Austin not have an abortion clinic?

If not this is bad.

[i_am_not_john_galt]

6. According to the article they have 3 clinics

and those who oppose another clinic used non-violent, voluntary economic pressure, just like many causes do (we are boycotting our grocery stores here in SoCal) to make their point.

Seems like a fair action in a free country to me, and not that difficult an obstical to overcome for Planned Parenthood - building a 9000 sq. foot building could be done with volunteer labor, out-of-state contractors, or contractors who are willing to buck the pressure because they support the cause.

[Gulf Coast J]

7. Great point

Non violent protest over injustice should not be frowned upon just because you don't agree that there is an injustice. If somebody is really offended, he should go to Austin and volunteer to help.

[i_am_not_john_galt]

9. Just so we have all the facts,

Austin is a huge city geographically speaking - 272 sq. miles! So even with 3 clinics they may have the business to support more. But also a huge pool of people to help build the thing - if they support it.

[jmowreader]

13. Nine thousand square feet? This isn't a pure-volunteer project

We could start with the roof a 9000sf commercial building will need (no volunteer will have the asphalt heating machine needed to lay modified bitumen roofing, and it's not likely a pro-choice roofer will want to haul his equipment all that way for one job), go through the electrical and other trades...and let's not forget the building inspector. This place is going to have to be absolutely perfect to pass muster. A pro-life building inspector is going to do everything in his power to flunk an abortion clinic--and they have a lot of power.

Couldn't they find an old warehouse or something and convert it?

[liberalhistorian]

23. That's not the point.

The point is that wacko fundie wingnuts who have often never lifted a finger themselves to assist pregnant women and children who are already born, who love to get all judgmental and moralistic and self-righteous and holier-than-thou, should not be able to stop women from receiving the services Planned Parenthood provides.

And no, PP is NOT an abortion clinic, and does so much more than offer advice and information on abortion. In fact, PP services often help to REDUCE abortions. Guess that's just too intelligent for many of those people to realize.

[madrchsod]

5. i doubt they were union guys

probably independent contractors -guys with names on their trucks can`t risk losing their business if they work on the building. i can`t blame them -i blame the fuckers who would hound these guys out of business.

[liberalhistorian]

24. That's an excellent point,

and I think you've really nailed it. Fundies can be and often are nasty, vindictive fuckers who wouldn't think twice about destroying a contractor's business, even though that contractor may just need the job and not necessarily agree with PP.

[LincolnMcGrath]

8. CONtractors are responsible

NOT Unions! Please don't make me open up a can. lol

[zbdent]

10. Okay, so let's "hit back"

Find a lot of businesses that had a lot of $ contributed to Bush.

Then, look at other countries' newspapers (and other resources).

Start sending letters to those companies (especially in the countries who were not supporting the invasion of Iraq) pointing out that, due to the leanings of the contributions, these companies are supporting the illegal war.

Gee, you think that this could actually cause people to lose jobs? Yep. Probably nowhere near a tiny amount that W has helped push over the edge (of the borders).

[Muddleoftheroad]

12. You are pretty casual about job loss

Maybe you ought to try it sometime and see if you still feel that way.

[liberalhistorian]

25. LOL!

I was just about to say the same thing.

[zbdent]

29. Love your idea that I'm "cavalier" about the job loss

(and I have been there)

My point there was that this would be exactly the arguments that people would attack me with.

Bush is creating more jobs by having bodies or disabled vets come back to jobs that they can't perform anymore due to being either dead or unable to physically do the jobs.

I guess that when it really starts hitting these companies on who they're backing, then they might rethink it (unlikely).

I also remember, in 1992, there was a concerted effort by the car companies to show exactly how much of their vehicle was made in the USA. Guess that's not important anymore. Car companies don't buy the USA made steel (well, until the dollar went flat) because they could buy the dumped steel from the cheap labor countries.

How many autoworkers in the 70s who talked about the furren cars noticed that the radios and other things they put in the US cars were made in a different country?

I'd rather have the jobs here. Repukes have been throwing NAFTA around like it was all Clinton's fault. Except that, once he signed the legislation which had started under Bush41 (remember Perot?), the Republicans were screaming that it wasn't lenient enough (language used was "it didn't go far enough").

[jburton]

11. Isn't this old?

THere was an AP story in today's Dallas Morning News about how Planned Parenthood went around this by becoming their own general contractor. They said many companies called them and offered to work for them to replace the scaredy-cat contractors.

[xxqqqzme]

14. with unemployment as it is

there R no workers 2 construct this? Go out of state...there have 2 B contractors willing 2 work.

[Selwynn]

15. Abortion Clinic? Correct me if I'm wrong but it was Planned Parenthood?

That's not exactly an "abortion clinic" which to me is a pro-life talking point term of about the same caliber as the term "partial birth" abortions.

If it was a planned parenthood clinic, planned parenthood offers medical treatment to women, often at no cost to them, as well as many other services, counseling and information, including information on alternatives to abortion, if requested. It is not an "abortion" clinic. It is a medical clinic that caters especially to poor women. God forbid we have another one of those!

[yankeedem]

19. Thank you!!!!

I guess womens access to pelvic exams, pap smears, and other health care is unimportant to these people.

But I guess that since poor women are only good as baby breeders for the Imperial Armed Forces, it doesn't matter if they die from a preventable disease now does it?

[Selwynn]

20. Yeah - I wish Democrats wouldn't use republican talking points :)

[liberalhistorian]

26. Women's health

care, especially for low-income women, IS very unimportant to these people, they don't, and never have, given a shit about it, and they definitely don't care about lack of access many poor women have to such care.

They equate it all with "promoting abortion" as if the woman's a little robot who can't think for herself and make her own decisions.

[catzies]

27. Men use Planned Parenthood clinic services too.

They offer their reproductive health care services to them too, such as STD testing, vasectomies, and condoms.

PP provides HEALTH CARE. Reproductive health care. :)

[i_am_not_john_galt]

30. Usually when they get their girlfriends or mistresses pregnant

[kskiska]

16. This article says work is resuming

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2362886

Work resumes at Planned Parenthood site
Associated Press

AUSTIN -- Two months after a contractor boycott shut down work on a Planned Parenthood clinic that will offer abortion services, construction has resumed at the South Austin site.

Project planners hope to meet their original fall completion date.

"We're more committed than ever," Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Danielle Tierney said today. "We've been encouraged and inspired by support, not only in this community, but from pro-choice supporters everywhere."

The boycott drew national attention in November when the previous general contractor, Browning Construction of San Antonio, pulled out. Browning said it couldn't get subcontractors to do the work.

[Bridget Burke]

17. Misleading thread title--&--Unions NOT mentioned in story.....

First: It's definitely a Planned Parenthood clinic that's being built (despite delays). Planned Parenthood supplies various health services to women, mostly at low or no cost. They also terminate pregnancies--but the number of unwanted pregnancies prevented by the birth control they offer is probably much larger.

Second: Various contracters had been pressured to drop the job, but others have stepped in. Unions had nothing to do with this--they are NOT that strong in Texas.

So, why this call to boycott unions & throw their members out of work? I love the smell of flame-bait in the morning.

[Bandit]

21. Exactly throw out the Right-wing term Abortion Clinic and boycott unions

and we have A. A loyal Democrat (Ha Ha )
B. A Freeper disrupter
C. Just plain ignorant disrupter.
D. Flame Bait

[pstokely]

18. it has started again

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2362886

[liberalhistorian]

28. That's great, but I hope those

working on it have good security because I don't trust these nasty, vindictive, judgmental, moralistic, self-righteous, holier-than-thou, arrogant, dumbass freeper fundie fuckers.