November 14, 2003
Folly.
According to CNN online, a boycott stopped an abortion clinic project in Austin, Texas. It appears that a bunch of anti-abortion people got together and intimidated local building contractors and material suppliers into refusing to take part in the Planned Parenthood project.
Naturally, the leader of the boycott is a person who will never be forced to make a decision regarding abortion, a 48-year-old man named Chris Danze, whose picture shows him to be looking all too smug. I'm sure that at the moment he is happy that this "abortion clinic" is not being built. Of course, the clinic will not solely provide abortions. From the article,
The clinic also would provide health care for women and men, including gynecological services, AIDS testing, vasectomies, cancer screening and contraceptives, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Danielle Tierney said.
So Danze is also preventing people from receiving those services as well. His justification? Claiming to speak for his diety, he claims that
"God does not want this thing built."
Well, I don't know what God, if such a being exists, is doing these days, but I seriously doubt that He, She or It is having long talks with a 48-year-old construction industry executive. As for me, whether or not I support or oppose abortions in the specific, in general I strongly support every woman's right to choose what happens to her body. On top of that, Planned Parenthood does a lot of good for a lot of people, the ravings of religious nuts notwithstanding. Those people do their work in the face of protests, violence, even death threats and bombings. If there is any organization that could possibly be said to be doing work out of compassion and concern for their fellow human beings, it is this one. (Not, of course, to exclude others that do as well in similar circumstances.)
I just donated to that organization. Maybe that will, in some small way, help counter the efforts of small-minded bigots like Danze. If you want to donate as well, and I urge you to do so, even if it's only a little, here is the donation link. They accept online contributions and they do indeed deserve the money. They use it well. And it doesn't hurt that the contribution is tax deductible as well.
Oh, I forgot to mention that, as usual, the CNN headline is misleading in the extreme. Planned Parenthood is planning to act as their own contractor and build the clinic anyway. That is why I sent them money.