US abortion clinics hike security
COLORADO SPRINGS: As heavily armed police entered the Planned Parenthood clinic to hunt down the gunman and rescue those trapped inside, officers in the command centre outside the clinic tapped into security cameras to watch the siege unfold and instruct officers inside.
“We could see where the suspect was,” said the city’s mayor, John Suthers. Officers also knew where staff members and patients had taken cover to judge when it was safe to rescue them.
The advanced camera system was just one sign of the increasingly elaborate security measures adopted by abortion clinics nationwide.
At least one woman retreated to a protected “safe room”. The clinic also had a supply of bulletproof vests.
“Abortion clinics need to take extraordinary security measures that aren’t necessary for other healthcare facilities,” said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, the professional society for clinics, doctors and hospitals that perform abortions. “That can include bulletproof glass and safe rooms as well as cameras and lighting and security protocols,” she said. In Colorado Springs, she added: “The staff were well-trained and saved a lot of life.”
The facility had a security guard on duty on Friday morning but he left after the day’s patients had arrived and his shift ended, said Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
Ms Cowart also said the gunman never got past the waiting room. After the initial shots were fired, an employee hustled patients and staff members through an access door to the back of the clinic, she said.
Planned Parenthood officials declined to discuss security measures in detail, for fear of giving tips to would-be attackers. But, they said, the measures were extensive.
Since 1977, when more extreme elements in the anti-abortion movement began attacking clinics and personnel, eight doctors or staff members have been killed, according to data collected by the National Abortion Federation. There have been an additional 17 attempted murders, 42 bombings, 186 arson attacks and many thousands of violent threats or other illegal acts against abortion clinics.
Security measures have been strengthened in the last five months, since antiabortion activists released videos purporting Planned Parenthood was illegally selling foetal parts. The claims were disproved, but have led to vitriolic verbal attacks on abortion clinics.
In some locations, doctors have been provided with 24-hour armed guards. Clinics also turn over credible threats to a Justice Department task force which includes the FBI and other law enforcement groups.
But even as they seek to forestall or mitigate attacks, clinics try to keep security measures as unobtrusive as possible for patients already under heavy stress.
“We’re still healthcare providers and we want our patients to feel safe and welcome, said Dr Nancy Stanwood, an Ob-Gyn at the Yale University medical centre who also works in an abortion clinic. “It’s a balancing act,” she said.