skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Unusual Protest Squashes Clinic Picket Lines

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 3, 2007   


The recent U.S. Supreme Court abortion restriction seems to have increased protests on all sides of the issue. Planned Parenthood of Western Washington is seeing more picketers at its 23 women's health clinics, so it has launched a counter-protest. "Pledge a Picketer" allows people to donate an amount of money for every picketer who shows up. A sign placed outside the clinic is updated to show picketers just how much they're raising for the "other side." Kristen Glundberg-Prossor of Planned Parenthood says it's been an effective tactic for dispersing the crowd
and clinic patients are grateful.

“A lot of our patients are coming in to get birth control pills or get a breast cancer screening, and for them to have to run the gauntlet and face this harassment just to get into the clinic is just demeaning.”

So far this year, "Pledge a Picketer" has raised $15,000 in Western Washington. The most recent national survey of women's clinics (from 2005), found that 59 percent report patient and staff intimidation by protesters, and one-in-five clinics is targeted with violent tactics, including death threats, bomb threats and stalking.

Picketers believe their vigilance will result in fewer abortions. Glundberg-Prossor notes that the face-offs are uncomfortable for everyone.

“It's been pretty much picketing. There's an occasional bit of vandalism or graffiti. We have seen some activity at clinics that we don't normally see clinic protests at.”

More information about "Pledge a Picketer" can be found online at www.plannedparenthood.org/westernwashington. Clinics in Bremerton, Centralia, Tacoma and Seattle have participated so far this year, and Olympia begins this month. The 2005 National Clinic Violence Survey results also are online at www.feminist.org/research/cvsurveys/clinic_survey2005.pdf.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021