The anti-choice boosterism of the Bush era is over, and in response, the anti-choice movement is ramping up the hysteria, harassment, and violence.

Even before Barack Obama was sworn in as Head of State – indeed, as soon a he began winning state primaries – the

U.S. anti-abortion movement realized that the anti-choice boosterism of

the Bush White House was over. In short order their rhetoric became increasingly shrill.

For example, immediately after Obama’s election, Douglas Johnson,

Legislative Director of the National Right to Life Committee, called

him a "hardcore pro-abortion president." The American Life League

dubbed him "one of the most radical pro-abortion politicians ever," and

Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life warned that Obama will "force

Americans to pay for the killing of innocents." Americans United for

Life, the Family Research Council and Operation Save America quickly

joined the chorus.

By January 22, the 36th anniversary of Roe, the administration’s

appointment of numerous outspoken pro-choicers to high level positions

provoked fury within the Right. The prominence of Hillary Clinton, Rahm

Emmanuel, Ellen Moran and Dawn Johnson, a former NARAL staffer, led

Flip Benham of Operation Save America to make a thunderous declaration

from a Charlotte, NC podium: "No more will we peacefully co-exist with

child killing. We are at war."

And in many places across the country they are, with clinics seeing an

uptick of violence, harassment and menace. Since the start of 2009,

there has been a fire of unknown origin at a Nebraska clinic and

significant property damage at a St. Paul Planned Parenthood caused by a man who

drove his SUV into the facility’s entryway. What’s more, clinics

across the country are reporting increasingly vulgar taunts: you’re

leaving baby road kill, among them.

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According to the 2008 National Clinic Violence Survey compiled by the

Feminist Majority Foundation [FMF] and released in February 2009, 20

percent of clinics reported severe violence such as blockades,

invasions and stalking last year–yes, even before Obama took office–up from 18.4 percent in 2005.

"The anti-abortion extremists lost at the ballot box in November. They lost four anti-choice ballot initiatives and 21 more

members of Congress are now pro-choice," says Kathy Spillar, Executive

Vice President of FMF. "In response, the antis have issued a call for a

return to the streets and there has been intensified activity. The fear

is always there that some will see this as a call to violence. This

means we’re always on guard. We’re already seeing that clinics that

have long been tortured are

experiencing escalated activity."

Hotspots abound: Allentown, PA; Birmingham, AL; Bridgeport, CT; Bryan,

TX; Charlotte, NC; Cherry Hill, NJ; Fargo, ND; Jacksonville, Fl;

Madison, WI; McAllen, TX; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; and Wichita

KS, to name a smattering.

"We know that political losses provoke anti-abortion extremists to retaliate, so clinics need to increase awareness," adds

Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation.

Like others in this field, Saporta can’t forget the eight medical

workers and escorts who were murdered on Bill Clinton’s watch, the

heyday of Operation Rescue, the Army of God and The Lambs of Christ, or

the irony of relative calm at abortion clinics during the

administrations of the Presidents Bush.

NAF also understands that law enforcement is key in keeping the peace.

In places where police respond quickly, stopping infractions against

patients and staff–whether through locally passed ordinances or by

invoking the federal FACE Act, applicable in all 50 states, and

prohibiting the use of force, obstruction, or threats to keep patients

from obtaining, or staff from providing, reproductive health care–the

antis tend to be law abiding, Saporta says. In places where the police

turn their heads, the antis push the envelope.

Pittsburgh is a case in point. "Right after the election we saw a small upsurge in anti-abortion activity," Claire

Keyes, former Director of the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center,

begins. "But since the inauguration, things have gotten measurably worse. There’s been an increase in

picketing by students from Franciscan University in Ohio. On Saturdays

there are 60-plus protesters and there’s been an increase in screaming

and aggression. We don’t have a parking lot so people park on the

street. The antis have surrounded cars, trapping the women inside, and

in several cases the antis jumped into vehicles and touched or grabbed

at them. The police were called but so far they don’t seem to be

responding appropriately."

Keyes is particularly incensed because a Pittsburgh city law bars

protesters from closing in on patients and mandates a 15-foot buffer

zone at clinic doors. But it takes police action to ensure enforcement.

"Past experience tells me that once the police get tougher, the

protesters generally hang back and get more compliant. They’re like

little kids who push until they are disciplined," Keyes adds.

Elizabeth Barnes, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Women’s

Center, admits that she anticipated an upswing in harassment following

Obama’s win. "When the pendulum swung in the direction of protecting

women’s rights, we expected something," she says. Her expectations

were met when, on the Saturday following Obama’s victory, staff arrived

to find that two men-caught on tape but never identified-had sprayed

foam insulation into the facility, delaying its opening for 90 minutes.

This was not a one-shot event; that same month the clinic was blockaded

and staff have since documented an increase in disruptive hollering, trespassing and overall

annoyance. "The way the antis are reacting has changed," Barnes says.

"They’re taking more liberties, pressing the boundaries of legal, civil

protest."

Talks with police have led to promises of better law enforcement, but Barnes has yet to see results. "We’re not to a point where the FACE law is being followed," she shrugs.

In addition, 40 Days for Life have taken their road show to countless cities since their founding in 2004 and are pledging

increased activism throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia and Northern

Ireland beginning in Spring 2009. The group purports to offer "prayerful witness to the evil in our midst" and operates outside targeted clinics

24/7 for their six-week protests. "They don’t physically bar women from

going in," says Tammi Kromenaker, Director of the Red River Women’s

Clinic in Fargo, a facility that has been twice bombarded by 40 Days

activists. "But they are intimidating. We continually talk to staff and

patients about safety and never let our guard down."

Yet despite the never-ending need for vigilance — and the never-ending

fear of an out-of-control anti-abortion presence outside clinic

doors–Kromenaker and other providers are pleased that Obama is in

office. "I’m happy that he repealed the Global Gag Rule and am

cautiously optimistic about him," Kromenaker says. "Clinics feel like

we can finally breathe a sigh of relief on the national level."

That said, providers are strategizing about ways to be proactive and

protect and expand women’s access to reproductive healthcare. Some are

pushing for the federal Task Force on Violence Against Women’s

Healthcare Organizations — active during the 1990s-to become more involved in stopping illegal activities.

"Eric Holder was in Janet Reno’s office when FACE passed," says the

Feminist Majority’s Kathy Spillar. "He was there when the Federal

Marshalls were send to clinics after the murders in Pensacola. Thanks

to the Task Force, clinics have had an ongoing relationship with the

FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Department of

Justice and there were good responses in Birmingham, AL and Jackson,

MS. In those cities the US Attorneys got injunctions against the antis

due to intense harassment and threats." FMF, NAF and other advocates

are heartened by this precedent, and are pushing for a reinvigorated

Task Force to ensure that all levels of law enforcement use the tools

at their disposal to maintain clinic calm-and punish those who violate

the law.

As important as it is for the feds to take a firm stance in support of

Roe, other activists are taking a different tack, creating videos

documenting anti-choice harassment for eventual posting on YouTube and

Facebook.

The project, called BASTA! ENOUGH! Stop Sidewalk Bullying at Women’s Clinics, is the brainchild of the Abortion Care Network. "When people read

about bullying at clinics, their eyes glaze over. It’s old news," says Pittsburgh’s Claire Keyes. "People don’t realize how dangerous the situation is. These protesters are so aggressive. Things can easily escalate because people don’t want someone screaming in their faces or jumping into their cars. Putting pictorials and audios on

YouTube and Facebook will show the public what’s really going on."

Providers are also paying close attention to state legislation. Since

they believe that federal laws restricting choice are unlikely under

Obama, they expect state lawmakers who oppose choice to seize the moment. Already, bills to curtail reproductive options have been introduced in Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota and Tennessee.