Abortion clinic
Encyclopedia
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortion
s. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.
, an organization of abortion providers, cites over 300 attempted or completed instances of bombing or arson, thousands of invasions and vandalism incidents, as well as other attacks, between 1977 and 2009. According to the NAF, the first instance of arson at an abortion clinic took place in March 1976 in Oregon, and the first bombing was in Ohio in February 1978. Some notable incidents are:
In the United States, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
was passed in 1994 in response to these acts of violence. It prohibits the use of force or obstruction to interfere with a person's attempt to obtain or provide reproductive health services, and the intentional damage of a reproductive health care facility such as an abortion clinic.
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.
Canada
- There were 197 abortion providers in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2001. - 34 of the 197 providers in Canada in 2001 were clinics and 167 were hospitals.
- The provincesProvinces and territories of CanadaThe provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
with the most providers were OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
(76 hospitals, 6 clinics), QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
(30 hospitals, 19 clinics), and British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
(37 hospitals, 3 clinics) in 2001. - The provinces and territoriesProvinces and territories of CanadaThe provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
with the fewest providers were Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
(none), NunavutNunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
(one hospital), and YukonYukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
(one hospital) in 2001.
United States
- There were 1,793 abortion providers in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2008. - 381 of the 1,787 providers in the U.S. in 2005 were clinics at which the majority of patient visits were for abortions.
- Every stateU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
(and the District of Columbia) had at least one provider in 2008. - The states with the most providers were CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(522) and New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(249) in 2008. - The states with the fewest providers were North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
(one) and South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
(two) in 2008. - 13% of all countiesCounty (United States)In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
in the United States had a provider in 2008. - 31% of metropolitan counties and 3% of non-metropolitan counties had a provider in 2005.
Anti-abortion violence
Abortion clinics have frequently been subject to anti-abortion violence. The New York Times cites over one hundred clinic bombings and incidents of arson, over three hundred invasions, and over four hundred incidents of vandalism between 1978 and 1993, and the National Abortion FederationNational Abortion Federation
The National Abortion Federation is an organization of abortion providers. Though originally a U.S. group, NAF has expanded to include practitioners in Canada and Australia as well as many European countries and Mexico...
, an organization of abortion providers, cites over 300 attempted or completed instances of bombing or arson, thousands of invasions and vandalism incidents, as well as other attacks, between 1977 and 2009. According to the NAF, the first instance of arson at an abortion clinic took place in March 1976 in Oregon, and the first bombing was in Ohio in February 1978. Some notable incidents are:
- In 1993, Dr. David GunnDavid Gunn (doctor)David Gunn was an American physician. He received his bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University and earned his M.D. at the University of Kentucky. Gunn moved to Brewton, Alabama, after his residency, choosing to provide OB/GYN and abortion services in rural America.Gunn was murdered in...
, one of a number of doctors murdered by opponents of abortion rights, was shot and killed outside as he arrived at his clinic. - In 1993, Dr. George TillerGeorge TillerGeorge Richard Tiller, MD was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He was the medical director of a clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy .Pro-life group Operation Rescue kept a daily vigil...
was shot in both arms by Shelley Shannon outside his clinic. Tiller would later be murdered in church by another opponent of abortion rights. - In 1994, Dr. John BrittonJohn Britton (doctor)John Bayard Britton was an American physician. He was murdered in Pensacola, Florida by anti-abortion terrorist Paul Jennings Hill...
, another doctor, and James Barrett, his escort, were shot and killed by Paul Jennings HillPaul Jennings HillPaul Jennings Hill was the first person in the United States to be executed for murdering a doctor who performed abortions.-Early life:...
as they arrived at a clinic. Barrett's wife June was also wounded. - In 1994, John SalviJohn SalviJohn C. Salvi III was an abortion opponent who carried out fatal terrorist attacks on two Planned Parenthood reproductive health clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts, on December 30, 1994. These were the subject of intense media coverage...
shot and killed two abortion clinic receptionists, Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols, and wounded five other people. - In 1998, a remote-controlled pipe bomb that Eric Robert RudolphEric Robert RudolphEric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
set outside a clinic killed security guard Robert Sanderson and maimed nurse Emily LyonsEmily LyonsEmily Lyons is an American nurse who was gravely injured when Eric Robert Rudolph bombed an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, where she worked. She was a prominent figure during Rudolph's trial and sentencing, and has also become an activist for abortion rights.-Bombing:Lyons was born in...
. - In 2001, Peter James KnightPeter James KnightPeter James Knight is a pro-life activist who shot dead a security guard in an Australian abortion clinic.He led a hermit's life in the years leading up to the incident. He lived in a small camp in the suburbs, 'off the grid' without a telephone or electricity...
shot and killed a security guard, Steven Rogers, at the abortion clinic where Rogers worked.
In the United States, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is a United States law that was signed by President Bill Clinton in May of 1994, which prohibits the following three things: the use of physical force, threat of physical force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, interfere...
was passed in 1994 in response to these acts of violence. It prohibits the use of force or obstruction to interfere with a person's attempt to obtain or provide reproductive health services, and the intentional damage of a reproductive health care facility such as an abortion clinic.
See also
- Center for Reproductive and Sexual HealthCenter for Reproductive and Sexual HealthCenter for Reproductive and Sexual Health , at the time the largest freestanding abortion clinic in the world, opened in New York City after New York legalized abortion in 1970. It was run by Bernard Nathanson....
, once the largest freestanding abortion clinic in the world, opened in New York City after New York legalized abortion in 1970.