“The escorts in the orange vests need to take off their vests, fall on their knees and pray for forgiveness from our Heavenly Father. They are accomplices in murder today.”

When summer comes and the weather is nice it is a little good and a little bad, just like rainy weather. We get new antis coming out to put their personal spin onto the judgments and harassing taking place on the sidewalk. We have extremely agitated new antis crowding clients, yelling and posturing before a ready-made audience of the other antis. I don’t know whether the cold keeps them inside during the winter, but they are usually so excited to share the news that “abortion is murder” they forget things like personal spaces, respecting the word “NO”, or just the fact that not everyone in the world agrees with them.

This week we have been treated to one of these enthusiastic antis every day. Of course, he doesn’t know about non-engagement. He stands about one foot in front of us trying to talk to us, or if we do not respond he resorts to yelling at us from the same distance. Then he moves from escort to escort and repeats the process. By Thursday this week, escorts were telling him to stop talking to them and back away. This was said forcefully, but was also ignored.

“You need to hear what I am saying. What you are doing is wrong. You say you believe in a woman’s choice, but how about the babies? 50% of the babies being murdered today are girls. What about their choice? Explain to me the logic behind your belief in choice. It doesn’t make any sense.” An example of total math, science and logic failure.

This day he decided to try the same tactics on a companion. Just at the entrance to the clinic he stood in the companion’s way and said, “You are helping to murder your baby. Don’t commit murder.” The companion whirled around and bumped his chest against this anti’s chest, fists clenched by his side and said, “I had a family member killed last night. Don’t say that to me. You don’t know me.” The response, “Someone should have prevented that murder too.” The companion stood for a few seconds pressed up against this anti, then shook his head and walked into the clinic without saying anything else.

We will really be less anxious for clients and companions when this anti’s newness excitement wears off a little.

I find myself wishing the summer weather would draw these antis to Florida beaches instead of the sidewalk in Louisville.