About Abortion Online Clinics by State International Abortion Clinics Clinics by Category Clinics Alphabetically Ultimate Birth Control Abortion Rights Articles Abortion Choice Links Comments About ACOL ACOL Press Release Lisitng a Clinic in ACOL Abortion Clinic Feedback Return to Home SPECIAL July 27, 1996 From: Ann Rose, Women's Health Consultant P.O. Box 500788, Atlanta, GA 31150 Phone: 770-350-6161 Fax: 770-350-6162 Anti-Abortion and Centennial Olympic Park. Is there a Connection?   After enjoying Centennial Olympic Park until about 9:30 pm last night, I was rudely awakened at 1:30 this morning with the news of the bombing. I was saddened and sickened. As a 25-year "native", I love Atlanta and the Olympics. But, the old cliche of "Give them an inch, they'll take a mile" seems to be at work here. Now, the entire world knows how it feels to work in an abortion clinic. For years, the abortion clinics in this country have been living under the mandated daily routines of: be wary of strange packages, interrogate suspicious people. investigate your mail, install metal detectors, wear bullet-proof vests, evacuate due to bomb threats, carry guns, and worry about death threats. We saw short- haired white guys in camouflage near the clinics years ago and nobody cared to investigate. Medical professionals had to become "security experts" along with performing their routine medical duties. My last death threat was over the internet last week and said: "I think anyone that promots (sic) the destruction and death of human life does not deserve their own life. get your crap off of the web." Under the command of anti-abortion hypocrites, I've personally seen anti-abortion terrorism escalate. Picketing in the 70's was largely peaceful groups of nuns and quiet religious types. Except, that is, for a kidnapping of an abortion doctor and his wife. In the 80's, we saw "Operation Rescue" type events, the same events that crippled Atlanta for 6 weeks during and after the 1986 Democratic Convention. It also brought us bombings, burnings, acid attacks, invasions, and other domestic terrorism. Then, the 90's brought us murder. Murders in Pensacola and Brookline. And shootings of abortion doctors in Kansas and Canada. See the pattern? You give them an inch, they'll finally take a life. Finally, the abortion clinic community fought back. A RICO case filed in the 80's and still pending has stifled some anti-abortion activity. The FACE bill enacted by pro-choice President Clinton and Congress protected abortion clinics as well as churches and anti-abortion agencies. So far, only anti-abortionists have been convicted under this law. And a series of monetary damage verdicts against anti-abortion groups has continued to chip away at their recruitment base. We now behold in disgust the Centennial Olympic Park bombing and burnings of largely black churches. Do I see a connection? You bet I do. The majority of the perpetrators of the hundreds of abortion clinic burnings were never caught or convicted. It was a crime that garnered little publicity or public sympathy. Then, last year the monumental bombing of them all ...Oklahoma City. When the first information about the bombing was trickling out of Oklahoma City that morning, the first thing I did was go to my computer data base and see if there was an abortion clinic located in that area. I anticipated that another clinic had been blown up. I was not shocked when two white right-wing militia types were arrested. Now, the bombing of innocent revelers and the world at the Centennial Olympic Park. So, the perception of successful escalated domestic terrorism grew over the years. Get away with an abortion clinic acid attack. Get away with an abortion clinic bombing. Bomb a Federal Building. Get away with burning black churches. Now, get away with bombing the Olympics. The message sent by the lack of success in catching abortion clinic bombers was that Federal Buildings and churches and now even the Olympics could easily be next. We should have stopped this terrorism in its infancy at the abortion clinic level. But, even though abortion clinics don't get much public support, we are supported whenever a pregnancy is unwanted, unplanned, untimely, or dangerous. And then, we're forgotten afterwards. I believe that if previous administrations had aggressively gone after the abortion clinic bombers instead of funding futuristic and costly sweetheart weapons projects, then maybe the Centennial Olympic Park bomber(s) would have been strangled out of business before the fact. Michael Griffin, Paul Hill, John Salvi: convicted abortion murderers. Timothy McVeigh and Terry McNichols suspected Oklahoma City bombers. Another right-wing militaristic Christian wingnut at work here? You bet I think so. They are allowed to cloak their sick rhetoric and actions under the guise of "Christianity". I think that over the years abortion clinics were used by them as safe target practice for culmination in this world-wide act of domestic terrorism. So, I'm headed downtown to face the Olympics with the same trepidations as when I walk into an abortion clinic. Welcome to our world. Ann Rose is a Women's Health Consultant in Atlanta Georgia who has worked with many local and national abortion facilities. She has also presented educational inservices for over half of the 1000 abortion clinics nationwide. She maintains an internet site, Abortion Clinics OnLine at: http://www.gynpages.com, where she creates and hosts HomePages for over 300 abortion facilities in 40 states. Permission hereby granted to re-post, link or quote. © 1995-2001 Abortion Clinics OnLine. All Rights Reserved. To find out how to add your clinic to this listing, send E-Mail to Ann Rose feedback@gynpages.com or call 770-350-6161.