Hello, world.
We're in the middle of something here at Planned Parenthood (where I work). The anti-choice people call it "40 days for life." I call it another day at the office.
Basically, the anti-choice groups have decided to picket more than 80 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country for 40 days. September 26-November 4.
I'm used to picketers. Planned Parenthood is used to picketers. It bothers me very much that the picketers aren't just picketing our clinics -- that they're really about making it impossible for women to get health care. But...we don't let them faze us. As for me, the more picketers there are, the harder I want to work.
So, I've decided to do something a little different. I'm inviting you come to work with me. Seriously. Every day, I'm posting to this blog -- some notes about my day, some photos, some video. I want you to know what it's like to work for Planned Parenthood.
That's not all. Since the 40 days thing began, various friends and supporters have emailed us saying they'd like to donate money for every protester that shows up. So we set up a thing over there on the right, at the top of the column -- please pledge 5 or 10 cents, too! You have no idea how far we can make donations go at Planned Parenthood.
Oh! And if you have a medical appointment at one of our health centers -- don't worry! Planned Parenthood works around the clock to protect your health, safety, and security. Plus -- the protesters aren't at many of our clinics (that would be pretty hard, since there are more than 800 clinics), and...well, Planned Parenthood has been doing this for 90 years. We're pretty good at making women and their families feel welcome and well cared for no matter what. C'mon down!
Thanks for reading this. Thanks for your support.
I am Emily X.
I am Planned Parenthood.
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It's over — 40 days, 1,034 protesters. Phew!
Tuesday November 3 was my last official day blogging and videotaping the anti-choice "40 Days for Life" campaign. I'm so proud to say that the 1,034 protesters I encountered allowed us to raise more than $56,000 for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the women our health centers serve — but only if pledges are fulfilled! Please click here to fulfill your pledge today.
It's also not to late to support Emily X, even if you didn't pledge! Click here to make your gift.
Thank you again for coming on this journey with me.
It's also not to late to support Emily X, even if you didn't pledge! Click here to make your gift.
Thank you again for coming on this journey with me.
Write a Note to Planned Parenthood Workers
The people who work at Planned Parenthood get up every day to protect women's health. They get used to adversity, it's true. Still, they would appreciate knowing you support them. Click here to send a note of thanks and encouragement to local clinic workers.
Got More Time Than Money?
Show your support by signing up to volunteer! Click here to search for volunteer opportunities at a Planned Parenthood near you.
About Emily X
- Emily X, a fictional name representing a compilation of Planned Parenthood affiliate staff and activists.
- We have collected the stories of our staff and activists and presented them as the blog entries of Emily X. Some entries are verbatim words written by staff. Other entries were written by us based on stories we heard. Emily X serves as a reminder to the pro-choice community of the harassment and intimidation practiced by opponents of women's health. Emily X was triggered by and focuses on the anti-choice "40 Days for Life" protests, targeting Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers around the country. This year, the protests are taking place September 23 through November 1, 2009.
Blog Archive
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2007
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October
(21)
- There are days I wish I could yell back
- I want to lessen anxiety for Planned Parenthood pa...
- I’m proud to open the doors of our new health center
- The protesters hurt more than they help
- I've never seen a protester turn someone away from...
- Some people can’t believe I’m a minister and a Pla...
- I want to protect our patients
- We created a courtyard to protect our patients
- They vandalize our clinic
- It's my job to walk women into our clinic
- I worry that she won't come in for a pap
- She Took a Picture of My License Plate
- The view from the parking lot
- Why I come to work every day
- They called me a slut for working here.
- Better care
- "I'm here for birth control, lady"
- The protesters are my family
- People Matter
- Live! From New York!
- My name is Emily
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October
(21)
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This blog is a project of Planned Parenthood® Federation of America © 2008 Use of this site signifies your agreement to our terms of use and privacy statement .
*For their safety and protection, Emily X represents a small handful of Planned Parenthood workers and activists, who may or may not be named Emily.
*For their safety and protection, Emily X represents a small handful of Planned Parenthood workers and activists, who may or may not be named Emily.
36 comments:
I love what you are doing for us. Out there and visible on the road.
I look forward to reading your thoghts every day.
This is the best thing ever. People need to see what it is like on the frontlines fighting these anit-choicers and how nutty they are. You do so much for our society and give women the choices they deserve. I am sorry you have to be accosted for the rest of us, but your efforts are appreciated and respected by those of us who care about th women in our lives.
I am so proud of you! You are doing amazing work.
You are a very courageous person. I enthusiastically support Planned Parenthood because it has people with both courage and clarity who work so hard to let the world transcend the evil that is born of ignorance.
All the best for the important work that you do.
John Baillieul
Brilliant idea! Thankyou SO much for your work.
It must be hard everyday to do what you do but there are alot of us out in this world that appriciate what you do!!!! We are behind you!
This is amazing. I am an adjunct university lecturer with no benefits and low pay -- if it were not for the wonderful and sliding-scale/reasonably priced care I receive at my local Planned Parenthood, I would be in trouble. I love my doctors and health workers at PP -- they are professional yet caring and they are doing noble work. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all you do.
Thank you for the job that you do! Why can't people understand the immense good that Planned Parenthood does by providing quality health care to women who otherwise might not have access to it?
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a Dr at PP. I don't know what I would do if you weren't there. All the workers at PP are wonderful. What a lifesaver you all are.
I will always be a supporter! Thank you SO MUCH for your work! You make a difference in the world, especially to the women you help every day.
Whenever I see Planned Parenthood protesters, I always wonder, "don't you have something better to do with your time?" I'm glad you're putting them to good use, earning Planned Parenthood some money. Who knew that we could actually put them to work??
Keep up the good work!
I fully support your work. It is so important that women have a choice. Accurate sex education, access to birth control and the option of an abortion is in my experience essemtial to women's equality in this and every other society I know. So much harm has been done to women (and their families!) out of ignorance and intolerance, when they were left in despair, when only bad alternatives were left available to them. The care I wish for every women is one that aims to understand her situation and supports her in whatever decision is right for her, one that treats her like someone whose life and life choices are worthy of respect. This is easy to understand for every woman who has ever faced such choices. In these our times, when the same forces that kept women suppressed and subordinate for centuries are at it again, it is important that we make our voices heard and do what needs to be done to keep our hard won freedom of choice over one of the most important decisions in a woman's life.
I wish I could make these protesters understand how misguided their protests are and how much they are being used by people with a much more sinister agenda.
Thank you for your dedication to your work. Your work is important and deeply appreciated.
i love planned parenthood because it was the first place i received the women's healthcare that i needed. you all offer a comprehensive plan of services that all women of child-bearing age should be privy to. i've always felt welcomed and secure at the PP locations I've visited. the staff really helped me through some rough situations. i am pro-choice for various reasons, the main one being that if proper resources are available, women can SAFELY receive the services they need. a woman does not need to be victimized and put down because of her beliefs. while these protesters do more damage to the visitors to PP than they realize (regardless of why a female client is visiting the clinic), the strong support and care received from PP staff make every visit worth it. Keep doing what you're doing!
I honor and respect and thank you, for myself, for my daughter and for my granddaughter.
Thank God(dess) for Planned Parent- hood - where would low-income be without the many invaluable services PP provides for so many needy & deserving women? I have enormous regard for the physician whose mother-in-law doesn't know about her work & wants to join the picketers. Many of those anti- choice fanatics can be dangerous and will actually threaten doctors with violence, as we have so horribly witnessed in Florida some years back. The physician speaking in this video, bless her heart, risks her life everyday to help provide poor women with the same choices more priviliged women have. I hope she is stay safe & has a supportive, caring & protective husband and siblings.
On abortion prevention: The best way
is birth control.
I saddened that these people continue to harass Planned Parenthood & other health care offices in the guise of free speech. 22 years ago I helped organize a group that "protested the protesters" in Spokane, WA. We had nothing but support from the folks who drove by us. Obviously, it's time to do this again - wherever you are.
Did you know you can do a directed donation to Planned Parenthood throught the United Way campaign? I do every year.
This is an awesome thing you're doing. Thank you.
Thank you for your courage and perseverance.
Twenty five years ago I had to fight my way into a Planned Parenthood office 250 miles from home...the closest to me.The long snowy drive added more time on top of the weeks I thought about my decision to have an abortion. Seeing the crowd gathered outside did not change my mind. Being pushed and yelled at could not convince me I had made a bad decision. It was MY decision to make and no one else's. Many things factored into that decision. None of the people outside asked me why I knew this was the right thing for ME. All they were concerned with was their belief that it would be the wrong thing for them to do. I do not believe that any woman that comes to the decision to have an abortion takes that decision lightly. The people inside that Planned Parenthood that day understood that. They asked why.They listened and understood I was making a well thought out choice. Today I have two great kids. I tell them every day that I am the luckiest mama in the whole world. I hope my daughter is never faced with the situation I was in. But, I am raising both of my kids to be strong,educated,trust in their abilities to handle anything that may come their way and to stand up for what they believe in. I think thats what Planned Parenthood is all about too. Please keep up the good work and Thank You.
Planned Parenthood is one of the worthiest organizations there is. Thank you for doing what you do.
Every sane person has the right and responsibility to make decisions about their own body. Keep up the good work.
Thank you and all the other great people working at Planned Parenthood for all you do. I have received excellent reproductive healthcare and family planning services I could not otherwise have afforded from three of your clinics in two states. When I forwarded our local clinic's Pledge-a-Picketer message to friends I discovered many of them had also been or currently were patients of PP who were more than happy to donate to such a worthy cause. I will never understand why people who claim to be caring, Christian, and anti-abortion will go to such great lengths to fight an organization that provides such essential services to those less fortunate in our society and does so much to prevent unwanted pregnancies. If they really wanted to prevent abortions they would be joining you in your education and prevention efforts instead of blocking access to your clinics.
I love what you do for we women. I have to say that I personally have had to experience protestors out in front of a clinic and its no fun. Its insulting, but its nice to know that not all people are so clouded by their own beliefs.I guess some are incapablr of producing compassion for anyone but themselves.
The Protesters are certainly interesting. I don't think I'd like them protesting my workplace.
And, I can't say I'd have much patience with them either.Can the cops chase them off? I know they certainly chase off other protesters for various reasons.
Totally support what you're doing Emily - thank you for helping women and publicizing the abuses of some anti-choicers.
Stay strong and stay safe.
Go Emily! Go Planned Parenthood. I used to work at the one in Lakewood Ohio years ago and they were protesting even then. The other day they were out in droves in my local area holding up signs saying "Abortion kills children" that made for a fun conversation with my 9 year old. Have you ever noticed how if the weather's bad there isn't as large a turnout to protest?
EVERY CHILD A WANTED CHILD!!!!!
I commend you for your courage and thank you every day for the services you perform. The people of your community are honored to have you to serve them.
Don't ever forget that for every anti-choice protester there are thousands of women who support your work. My wife, my 4 daughters and my granddaughter and I salute you!
I applaud you for this. I volunteered at Planned Parenthood twice and the things those protestors said was ridiculous! We need to stand up for our rights and make decisions that are best for us as individuals. Thanks so much.
All of you at PP are a Godsend, especially in today's times. Young women are getting the wrong information about sex in school and you are there to educate, help and protect them. You were there for me when I needed you and I firmly support all of you and the work you do as a necessary and appreciated part of every community.
Thank you for all you do.
I have tons of respect for what you are doing, and I will always be a supporter! Thank you!!!
Protesters should find something else to do that makes them feel important. One example: They could offer to babysit for mothers who were denied access to birth control. Planned Parenthood is not there to feel important - it is there to provide a needed health service to women.
Hi Emily, Keep up the good work. Resist feeling intimitated by the protesters. In my town, most of them have gray hair. They're not getting pregnant anymore! Planned Parenthood and people like you are providing safe, affordable health care, in a non threatening environment. Having worked in health care for my entire career, I have encountered many of the protesters you describe. We live in a country that allows them to carry signs but the same country legalized abortion. I feel the protesters could better spend their time by volunteering their services in day care centers, shelters for the homeless and orphanages. They tout that they are pro life. Well...they should get to work improving people's lives. You keep doing your job with the knowledge that you are helping to provide a much needed service. You rock.
on behalf of every woman in the world. i am SO grateful for everything you day, everyday. thank you for being so awesome and strong!
keep up the great work!!! volunteered with PPH for a couple years, and great to see the fight still going on!!
I think a per-protester donation drive is a fabulous way to turn their efforts back on them.
I only wish I had money to donate - like, at all.
Good luck to you!
--Ember--
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