Women Deserve To Access Health Care Without Interference

By Ona Marshall. Originally published in the Courier Journal.

Extremist politicians are trying to close our clinic, but we won’t stop fighting for our patients.

Right now, anti-abortion politicians in Kentucky are pushing hard to enact a law with a sweeping set of abortion restrictions and medically-unnecessary red tape. Yes, abortion is still legal in Kentucky, but our rights are on the line. These measures contradict the recommendations of all major health expert associations and raise serious concerns about patient privacy as well as the importance of providing medically accurate health information to the public. It’s clear that extremists intend to push abortion care out of reach entirely and shut down our health clinic. 

As one of only two clinics remaining in the state, and the one that provides the majority of abortions, we know how devastating this would be for Kentuckians.

Fortunately, a federal judge just ruled that the law can’t be enforced for the next two weeks while they consider next steps. That means, yes, abortion is still legal and available in Kentucky. However, the court didn’t strike down the law entirely, and we must brace ourselves for another fight as anti-abortion extremists double down on their attempts to ban care.

Lawmakers have recently been emboldened by the possible weakening or overturning of Roe v. Wade—the landmark Supreme Court ruling that protects the legal right to abortion–but this law isn’t entirely new. It’s part of a long history of attacks on Kentuckians’ freedom and safety. For instance, when surveyed, two out of three patients report anti-abortion harassment at our clinic, and our abortion providers have experienced threats of violence. These threats extend beyond the clinic property–to our homes, other offices, friends and family members.

Incidents of violence, including hate emails, death threats, loud noise, obstruction, trespassing, and assault have and will continue to rise. This harassment prevents patients at our clinic from receiving the best possible care, and our friends, family, and Louisville community members will continue to be harmed until we address anti-abortion stigma at the root. 

All people, in Kentucky and beyond, deserve the right to access quality health care without fear or political interference. We’ll continue to fight hard to protect all Kentuckians’ access to abortion care. For instance, we work with the Louisville Police Department and the County Attorney’s office to enforce the buffer zone to ensure patients have safe, assault-free, unobstructed access to and from our health care facility. But we still need more support from our leaders and our neighbors.

We need all Kentuckians to join us and help counter extremism and misinformation that allow anti-abortion laws to flourish. Extremists don't represent the views of most of us in Kentucky, and our voices can drown out theirs. Most of us–including the many people of faith in our state–support the right to abortion. We’re proud to consider the Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice as one of our strongest allies. Our movement represents people from all backgrounds and all walks of life, unified by the shared understanding that access to reproductive health care is critical to building healthy, thriving communities. 

While our independent clinic continues to provide care to our patients, we urge you to join us in this moment of crisis. 

We must work together to fend off politicized attacks on our health care and support the abortion funds and independent clinics that play a critical role in our communities. We must call upon our representatives to protect and expand access to abortion care with legislation based on research and medical best practice, instead of misinformation. 

Most importantly, we must speak out in our communities to reject stigma and affirm that everyone deserves to be able to make decisions about if, when, and how to start a family–without political interference.