February 18, 1998

The Birmingham Bombing: Without Strong Laws, It Could Happen Here By State Senator Catherine M. Abate The recent fatal bombing of a family planning clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, should serve as a wake-up call to New York lawmakers that violence at health care clinics is not going away any time soon. In fact, here in New York, fully one-third of clinics that provide family planning services received bomb threats in 1997, and half reported being vandalized, according to a survey of 17 New York clinics conducted by the National Abortion Foundation. No person should be forced to walk a gauntlet of terror to access the health care to which she is legally entitled, and no health care worker should have to put his or her life at risk to provide that care. On the 25th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it is shockingly irresponsible that we do not have a law to better protect innocent people from violence and intimidation at health care clinics. Currently, federal law enforcement officials can intervene to stop physical blocking and obstruction of a health clinic. But the law is inadequate, as there are too few Federal Marshals and U.S. Attorneys to enforce it effectively. We need a law that gives state and local law enforcement officials the ability to crack down on violence and harassment at our health clinics. The Health Care Facilities Anti-Violence Act does just that. The bill makes it a crime to block entrance to a health care facility, allows the court to issue temporary restraining orders and create "buffer zones", and creates a new civil rights cause of action against an individual who blocks access to a health care facility. But despite passing the Assembly year after year, this common-sense measure has been stonewalled in the Republican led State Senate, where the Majority Leader has refused to allow it to come to the floor for debate. Their fear is that a vote in favor is a vote for a women's right to choose. But this is not about ideology, it's about public safety. And anyone who blocks this bill is putting the public at risk. It is naive to think that the terrible tragedy that occurred in Birmingham cannot happen here. It can. Let's pass the Health Care Facilities Anti-Violence Act immediately to help ensure that it does not. State Senator Catherine M. Abate (Senator Abate (D-Manhattan) is the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Investigations Committee) February 18, 1998 Editorial # G1