Alabama Reproductive Freedom Summer Calls for Volunteers

[eridani]

Our friends in Birmingham, Alabama, have issued an urgent call for the help of the religious, pro-choice community. , Operation Save America (formerly Operation Rescue) will descend on Birmingham to shut down the women's clinics there. OSA considers itself a "religious" group - but we know this crowd is a bunch of bullies who spend their time harassing and intimidating women and spewing hatred toward anyone who doesn't agree with their ideology. And they believe they are above the law.

In its own words, OSA is coming to Birmingham to bring "the Gospel of Christ to the gates of hell - the abortion industry in Birmingham." It is up to RCRC, as the voice of religious Americans, to debunk this irreligious propaganda.

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice has joined Alabama Reproductive Freedom Summer to stand up for the safety and dignity of women and the right of women's clinics to provide services. A week of reproductive justice-related events is scheduled, from July 14-22. Join us for a day, two days or a whole week. We will rally for women's lives, educate others about faith and reproductive freedom, and much, much more!
http://www.alabamanow.org/

On July 14, the Rev. C. Joshua Villines of RCRC's Clergy for Choice Network will address the kick off rally, along with Emily Lyons, Rep. Patricia Todd, Michelle Colon of MidSouth NOW, and Howard Bayless of Equality Alabama. Emily Lyons is the clinic nurse who was gravely injured in the 1998 bombing of The New Woman All Women Health Care, the very clinic that Operation Save America intends to shut down. The bombing left her with severe physical damage but the determination and courage to speak out to stop the violence and hate.

After the rally, we will hold Peaceful Presence at the clinic, which provides safe abortions for women throughout Alabama and from as far away as Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Peaceful Presence is RCRC's non-violent, non-confrontational, law-abiding, all-volunteer program to offer solace and comfort to patients, families, and healthcare providers. On Sunday, July 15, we will take part in a clergy forum to discuss faith and reproductive justice.

I hope those of you who are able to do so will consider going to Birmingham to join our sisters and brothers there. Please contact Barbara Kavadias, our Field Services Director, at bkavadias{at} rcrc.org for more information and to let her know when you plan to arrive. We also welcome donations to help support the work of our staff and volunteers in Birmingham.

http://www.rcrc.org/getinvolved/contribute.cfm

[eridani]

1. Update

Our friends in Birmingham, Alabama, are asking for our help. The hate group Operation Save America (formerly Operation Rescue) has brought more than 120 demonstrators to the city, vowing to shut down the two women's clinics there. While clinic defenders have been holding their own, they are getting tired and their numbers are dwindling as the first wave of defenders go home. One of the clinics has specifically asked for RCRC escorts because our Peaceful Presence training and faith commitments are so reassuring to patients.

The siege on the clinics began Saturday, July 14, and is scheduled to conclude Saturday, July 22. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice has joined Alabama Reproductive Freedom Summer to stand up for the safety and dignity of women and the right of women's clinics to provide services.


I hope those of you who are able to do so will consider going to Birmingham to join other RCRC activists and our sisters and brothers in the reproductive justice movement who are valiantly keeping the clinics open. Please contact Barbara Kavadias, our Field Services Director, at bkavadias

Our Responsibility

In its own words, OSA went to Birmingham to bring "the Gospel of Christ to the gates of hell - the abortion industry in Birmingham." It is up to RCRC, as the voice of religious Americans, to debunk this irreligious propaganda and show OSA's true nature--bullies who harass and intimidate women and spew hatred toward anyone who doesn't agree with their ideology.


Join us for a day, two days or three days as we rally for women's lives, defend the clinics, and teach others about faith and reproductive freedom. Again, please contact Barbara at bkavadias {at} rcrc.org for more information.



Thank you for keeping the faith for choice!

[eridani]

2. Thanks to all who helped

The siege of Birmingham is over. The women's clinic that was targeted stayed open and the "Operation Save America" fanatics went home, mission not accomplished. RCRC's religious voice was heard, grounded in centuries of a tradition of social justice.

RCRC supporters helped in many ways, with prayers, donations, and Peaceful Presence at the clinic. Thank you for bearing witness at Alabama Reproductive Freedom Summer so we never forget the lives lost in violence against clinics, women, healthcare providers, and our democratic way of life.

The clinic that was targeted, New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic, has become a symbol of resistance to domestic terrorism. It was the site of an "Army of God" bombing in 1998 that killed a security guard and left Emily Lyons, a clinic nurse, partially blind, burned, scarred, and unable to return to her profession of nursing. Emily was forever changed, from a quiet person raised to be seen but not heard to a tough survivor who will not be intimidated. The clinic owner also refuses to be silenced. She displayed the door that was blown off its hinges in the blast. You can still see the blood splattered on the door. The clinic owner put a sign on it that said, "You did this."

RCRC supporters from Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia, and New Mexico answered our call to go to Birmingham. Our "Pro-Faith Pro-Family Pro-Choice" placards and buttons were everywhere. Clergy for Choice member Rev. C. Joshua Villines, former Board chair The Rev. Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, and Colleen Bowers of Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options spoke at the rallies and the interfaith forum.

All of our volunteers helped to protect the clinic and the patients and to show that religious people care deeply about the lives of women.

Seminarian Ashley Reynolds, who organized RCRC folks in Birmingham, told us that she felt she was on holy ground at the clinic. While the demonstrators shouted angry slogans in the name of religion, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice spoke for dignity and justice.
Thank you for keeping the faith for choice!