Letters: Abortion clinic buffer zones
Re “Abortion clinics, not battle zones,” Editorial, Dec. 2
As a family doctor who provides comprehensive reproductive healthcare, I am troubled that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of Massachusetts’ “buffer zone” law.
I used to work at a family planning clinic in Massachusetts, where I witnessed the appalling intimidation tactics of protesters before the law requiring them to stay 35 feet away was enacted. I have seen protesters photographing patients’ faces to post on anti-choice websites, screaming profanities at clinic volunteers and posing as staff falsely claiming that the clinic had been shut down by the health department.
Some of my patients have failed to get crucial services because they were too scared to pass through groups of protesters hurling insults and threats.
I dream of a world where a woman can walk into a medical clinic to access safe and legal abortion care without experiencing fear or harassment. But until then, buffer zones provide critical protection.
Shannon Connolly, MD
Los Angeles
Abortion clinics, not battle zones?
The womb is a war zone for unborn human beings who, without a voice, have no choice. Their only defense rests with those who are willing to stand up and speak for them, exercising their free-speech rights so that others may exercise their right to life.
Brent Stenhouse
Torrance
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