The State : Abortion Foes, Backers Clash

About 200 people were arrested in San Francisco after anti-abortion protesters surrounding a clinic clashed with pro-choice demonstrators, police said. Police estimated 250 anti-abortion protesters demonstrated at the facility on Bush Street in San Francisco as part of a national protest against abortion. Pro-choice demonstrators mobilized a counter-demonstration that drew 50. The overwhelming majority of the arrests were among the anti-abortion faction. “We’re just trying to prevent abortions,” said Liz Brouth, a spokeswoman for Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group claiming 1,000 members in California. But clinic patient Michele Jackson, 26, of San Francisco, said she was annoyed at the abortion foes. “These people kind of get on your nerves, what they’re saying,” she said. “They’re not being sensitive to what I’m going through. Times are hard, you know. I have one baby already. It’s hard enough taking care of one baby. What do I want another one for?”