Lakhota
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On the same day that Texas abortion clinics fought in court to remain open, anti-abortion activists held a training session at the state's capitol on how to keep the facilities closed.
The meeting, held on Aug. 4 in Austin, was conducted as a network of abortion providers challenged the Texas legislature's HB 2 law, passed last year, that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals and for clinics to become ambulatory surgical centers.
More than half of TexasÂ’ abortion clinics have closed since the law went into effect. Only six or seven clinics for Texas' 13 million women will remain open as of Sept. 1 if a judge does not rule in the clinics' favor, forcing patients living in areas without a provider to travel hundreds of miles to access the procedure.
The training session, conducted by various anti-abortion rights groups, covered a variety of tactics aimed at dissuading patients from obtaining an abortion. Audio from the meeting was released this week by NARAL Pro-Choice Texas and Progress Texas, a progressive advocacy group.
“You track license plates ... coming into any abortion facility," Karen Garnett of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas told the audience. "We have a very sophisticated spreadsheet, everybody keeps track. This way you can track whether or not a client comes back.”
"You have license plates, car make, model, description of the person. As far as the staff member, you can identify if you have a new abortionist," Garnett continued.
Garnett touted the protesters' strategy of "lining" the sidewalk with people to intimidate patients.
"Abby [Johnson] tells us about the number of cancelled appointments, no-shows ... just because they don't want to drive in because they see our presence there, that's one impact."
The group also explained how they helped turn away "the poorer ones."
"When you're out there every day, you start learning the street talk," Eileen Romano of 40 Days for Life said. "The poorer ones that are going there for abortions, they heard that it was going to close, so they quit going there."
"God is good," Romano said.
On the provider side, bombings, arsons, vandalism, burglaries, shootings, harassment and stalking are par for the course. Nationally, since 1993, four doctors, two clinic employees, one clinic escort and one security guard have been killed by anti-abortion activists, and there have been 17 attempted murders of abortion clinic staff since 1991.
More: Undercover Audio Reveals How Anti-Abortion Activists Pursue Patients, Providers
Anti-choice zealots are really hateful people.
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