I found out later that similar letters were received yesterday at clinics in Kansas City and Delaware, as well as at the National Office of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, and that today a clinic in Pittsburgh was targeted. According to the National Abortion Federation, approximately two dozen clinics have been targeted with Anthrax threats in the last two weeks.
Thankfully, all of these letters have thus far proven to be hoaxes. But they communicated their intended message: Right-wing terrorists will stop at nothing to stop women from exercising their right to choose.
Given the growing number of cities targeted by this threat, there need to be protocols in place from the moment of the 911 call onward to ensure that the threat is treated seriously and contained as quickly as possible. Yesterday's ordeal left me with two conflicting impressions. I learned that the Police and the City Administration take this matter quite seriously, and that they had every intention of following protocols designed to handle the threat of biological weapons. However, I also learned that those protocols have a long way to go in order to be effective, particularly in the first instance.
For example, before I was placed in isolation yesterday, I was in the presence of at least 15 police officers and five civilians, all of whom would have been exposed had the threat not proven a hoax. I was faced with ignorance on the part of police as to how to handle the situation, confusion on the part of the hazardous materials team over what was and was not considered a threat, and in-fighting between agencies that caused dangerous delays. The most sensible and informed voice in the entire team was the representative from the department of health, who, coincidentally perhaps, was the only woman on the scene.
The attacks over the last two days underline the fact that everyone is at risk. While the prior attacks have effected mainly abortion providers, this is the first such attack targeting an advocacy organization. And it is the first such attack in the New York City area.
I hope that this will galvanize the pro-choice community in New York City. The overwhelming majority of New Yorkers are pro-choice, but they don't realize that this kind of thing can happen in our backyard. Yesterday's incident at NOW shows that it can.
NOW is committed to demonstrating that such attacks will not shut us down—in fact we will keep fighting harder than ever. We will continue to push for a clinic access bill in New York State that will protect doctors and clinic staff in their workplace and in their homes. We will push for meaningful enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Law, and the City Clinic Access Law. We will push for meaningful police protection of clinics that are facing threats of violence daily. And we will push for improved protocols for handling the specific kinds of attacks that clinics and pro-choice groups are facing.
We will not be intimidated or silenced, because the right to control our own bodies is the most fundamental right we have gained over the past thirty years. And we are not about to let these hypocrites and thugs take it away from us.