Our focus changed from trying to protect the patients walking in for care,
to trying to get patients to care.
A clinic defender is somebody that helps
to escort patients and defend patients at an abortion clinic.
We protect patients coming in and out of the building.
We shield them from cameras, try to drown out any harassment that they may receive.
Even if you can't cover the patient fully, being there
is enough to lighten the blow.
I was there at the clinic that day with one other escort.
The clinic was full of people.
We'd gotten in quite a number of them.
Our job as clinic escorts that day was to not have
any emotional scenes in the parking lot for cameras to be witnessing.
And the clinic
shut down immediately.
The trigger law that went into effect outlaws the performing of an abortion.
It criminalizes anybody who performs or provides the means to have an abortion.
There are no exceptions except for life
of the pregnant person, which essentially means no exceptions.
It means someone has to be on death's door before they get health care.
As far as patients, definitely out-of-state patients has gotten insane.
And it's a real issue
because we are all they have left, and that's just at the moment.
We are facing the imminent doom of a possible 6-week ban,
depending on the Supreme Court of Florida’s decision.
I think it put all of us into a fighting mode.
What can we do?
How can we do something about this?
Where can we protest? What can we do?
Our focus is always going to be making sure that people have
the information and the resources they need to access abortion. But
some people just cannot obtain abortions for a variety of reasons.
So we wanted to make sure we were able to also provide referrals to resources
for folks who are gonna go with adoption
and—as well as people who are parenting.
We want to take care of the whole person,
whatever their decision was or is.
I think a lot of folks, too, have sort of taken it
upon themselves to look and see what can they do on their own.
A lot of people, I think, are becoming known as the Plan B lady or the,
you know, abortion information person.
I have encouraged people to stay educated and become the abortion access expert
for their friend group, for their community.
We've definitely had to constantly
reassure patients and make a point to promote on our socials
that there is still abortion that is legalized
up to 15 weeks in Florida, as it stands right now.
Even if we were to see a decision soon from the Florida Supreme Court
that may strike down that right to privacy clause that would make way
for the 6-week ban, that it wouldn't go into effect for 30 days after that.
And that really, sort of, calms patients down and makes them feel a lot better,
especially all those border states who already have bans.
If we end up not
being able to have a clinic to defend in Florida,
we would love to work on practical support as much as we can,
finding pretty much the next closest clinic that they could go to, whether that,
at that point, would be
something like Virginia, which is insane to say.
I'm old enough to remember Roe.
I remember it. I remember the court.
It was a 7-2 decision.
I remember that it was a change for a lot of people in this country, but not for others.
We kind of—that divided country feel.
Now we've got that divided country for us again.
Now, what state are you in?
How are you going to do it
when you find yourself in a situation that
you desperately need help with?
If you could prick my finger and get some magic elixir out of it
that would save everyone from a particular kind of a cancer,
I would still have the right to share that drop of blood.
I have the right to control my body.
I've seen men control women's bodies.
I've seen fathers control them, husbands control them.
The idea that a state is going to control them is beyond my comprehension.
That will never be something I will ever support.