In the wake of the shootings at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs much has been written and said about the role that hate speech has played in sparking the violence. While I certainly agree that this was an act of "stochastic terrorism," there is more at work here than manipulative use of the mass media on the part of anti-choice activists and politicians. Their vitriol builds on a solid foundation in the United States that stigmatizes the abortion procedure, providers, and the women who seek abortions. For example:
•Abortion is the only medical procedure to be subject to U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
•Abortion is not always taught to medical students, and even ob-gyn residents can opt out of abortion training on religious or moral grounds.
•U.S. domestic and foreign policy specifically singles out abortion and denies public funding for the medical procedure and technologies related to it.
•Abortion procedures are most often provided in separate, stand-alone facilities and not integrated into hospital care.
•Laws are enacted that mandate that providers recite false or misleading information to women prior to the procedure.
Abortion stigma certainly isn't a U.S. phenomenon. It exists in other parts of the world as well, though in different forms. In South Asia, there are stories of providers who coerce abortion patients to use contraception and, even, insert IUDs or implants without informed consent. In Kenya, young women who have had an abortion have been expelled from school. In Latin America, abortion providers are harassed and intimidated in ways similar to here in the United States.
Other countries have laws and policies that stigmatize abortion, politicians who are vocally opposed to the procedure, providers who hesitate or refuse to perform the service, media that sensationalizes abortion, and anti-abortion opposition. What is it about the United States and its relationship with abortion that makes the dialog so extreme? This month human rights experts visiting an abortion clinic in the United States called the hostile political climate around abortion "a kind of terrorism." The uniquely violent U.S. context may in essence be a product of our leaders' refusal to recognize and put limits on dangerous hate speech and hate crimes related to abortion.
But consider Australia for a moment. It's the closest to the United States that I've seen in terms of abortion politics and provision of services. Abortion remains in the criminal code in most of Australia's states and can only be performed under certain, generally broad, criteria. Abortion services, though publicly funded, are mostly offered through private providers and not via public facilities. Many barriers to equitable access to abortion care exist in Australia and there is an active anti-abortion movement in the country that incited two violent episodes. In comparison, according to the National Abortion Federation, the United States has had 6,984 violent incidents another 194,615 incidents of disruption to clinical services including things like bomb threats, and 801 incidents of clinic blockades since 1977. It is thought that these numbers are actually underestimates.
There are two more crucial differences: 1) Gun control laws are much tighter in Australia and gun culture less embedded, and 2) The government at all levels has taken action to limit the action and influence of anti-choice extremists. Recently, for example, the state of Victoria banned anti-abortion protesters from harassing women within 150 meters of clinics. In addition, the government refused to allow anti-abortion extremist, Troy Newman, in the country. High Court Justice Geoffrey Nettle ruled that Newman posed a threat "to the good order of the Australian community." In other words, Australia has recognized hate speech and action for what it is and is cracking down on it. It's time our politicians do so as well and begin to clamp down on those who would deny women their constitutional rights. I had hoped President Obama would call attention to domestic terrorism, such as the horrifying acts by alleged shooter Robert Dear in Colorado Springs, in his address earlier this month. But I heard no mention of domestic terrorism. And even though Dear admitted in his first court hearing that he purposely targeted Planned Parenthood, our politicians still turn a blind eye.
In the United States, with its decades-long history of stigmatizing abortion care, providers, and women, the incendiary rhetoric falls on fertile ground which is also littered with firearms. Indeed, we have an entire political party that is dedicated to demonizing abortion.
Extremism in all its forms has no place in a democratic, lawful society. As Australian Labor party politician Terri Butler stated, "We don't welcome extremists into our country and we don't welcome extremism." And neither should the United States.