Snark Attack!: Protect Clinics from Extremists

Snark: to annoy or irritate

"Snark" has been in English language dictionaries since at least 1906, and Lewis Carroll used the word to describe a mythological animal in his poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1874). Most recently, the word has come to characterize snappish, sarcastic, or mean-spirited comments or actions directed at those who annoy or irritate us.

At first, this blog was just going be a place to gripe, but because it's more satisfying to take action than it is to merely complain, now most of the posts/reposts suggest ways to get involved in solving problems.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Protect Clinics from Extremists

Two anti-abortion extremist groups – Operation Rescue and Operation Rescue/Operation Save America – are mobilizing supporters across the country against women's health centers in Germantown, MD and Orlando, Florida.

We need your help to keep these courageous women's health care providers open and safe!

OR/OSA is mobilizing supporters nationwide to"unsheath[ing] the sword of victory" against the "abortion industry" in Orlando, Florida from July 16-23. This is the same group that has threatened doctors with WANTED-style posters and has even harassed doctors at their homes in Charlotte, North Carolina. We are concerned the group will use similar posters and tactics against the doctors and clinics in Orlando.

We are helping the doctors and clinics in Charlotte and we are determined to help those in Orlando – but we need your help! Please make a tax-deductible contribution today!

What's more, Operation Rescue announced the "Summer of Mercy 2.0" against Dr. LeRoy Carhart at the Germantown Reproductive Health Clinic in Maryland from July 31-August 6. The first "Summer of Mercy" was in Wichita in 1991 where extremists tried to shut down Dr. George Tiller's clinic.

Dr. Carhart, who worked with Dr. Tiller before he was assassinated in Wichita, is now the #1 focus of Operation Rescue nationwide. Given the violent history of Wichita, it is shocking that Operation Rescue would employ some of the same tactics and even the same name in its campaign against Dr. Carhart. We are determined to protect brave doctors like Dr. Carhart and to keep the Germantown clinics safe and accessible to women seeking abortion services.

Please help the Feminist Majority Foundation do everything we can to help the embattled clinics, healthcare workers and doctors this summer. Our organizers and legal teams are traveling to Florida and Maryland to prepare clinics in advance of the sieges.

And with your help, we'll provide on-the-ground support during the anticipated anti-abortion actions.

Please make a tax-deductible contribution today to support our National Clinic Access Project.

Without clinics and dedicated doctors and health care workers, there simply is no choice.

For Women's Lives,