This Fusion clip spotlights medical professionals' experiences providing abortion care to women in the face of harassment and threats of violence from abortion-rights opponents. The clip features commentary from June Ayers -- clinic director at Reproductive Health Services, the only abortion clinic in Alabama's Montgomery County -- and Willie Parker, an OB-GYN and medical director of the West Alabama's Women's Center.
Ayers details some of the harassment her clinic experiences, including protests and letters framed as anthrax threats. Despite this ongoing harassment, she notes, "[I]f I can make this journey easier for [women]; if I can make it a learning process, so that they come out of this being able to move on with their lives and feel comfortable with the decision they made, then I have a good day."
Willie Parker, medical director of the West Alabama Women's Center, notes, "[T]here's no shortage of protesters who on a routine basis harass and cajole women, as well as who seek to vilify or to intimidate providers." He adds, "Trust women. Trust women to make the decisions for themselves and their families that are consistent with their values and with their right to take care of themselves" (McDonough, Fusion, 5/10).
