The purpose of this post is not to argue against anti-abortion protesters. It is to narrowly and briefly explore what the harms done by principled, committed anti-abortion protesters when they assume that Reproductive Health Clinics, and procedures they perform, are primarily for the purpose of abortion.

This image shows a small subset of the roughly 500 anti-abortion protesters which gathered on August 22, 2015 near the Richmond, VA Planned Parenthood to advocate for the total defunding of the organization. The crowd appears to be almost entirely Caucasian, dressed for hot weather with hats and sunglasses. One man is holding a wooden cross. Many are holding signs. One reads “2,290 babies died here in 2014” while another says “women need love not abortion.” Many read “DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD.” One says “DEFUND EVIL.” IMAGE CREDIT: P. Kevin Morely/Richmond Times-Dispatch

This image is a screenshot from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. It shows the title of a 2014 post called “Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does, Part 24: Miscarriage Management and Counseling.” This is one of the diverse array of services that many Reproductive Health Clinics provide, whether or not they are part of Planned Parenthood.

Part of this harm stems from the fact that both miscarriage treatment and abortion require overlapping services. I have written about the effects of the confusion between miscarriage and abortion elsewhere. These range from laws aimed at abortion incidentally targeting women who miscarry since both are forms of pregnancy loss, to medical students opting out of surgical abortion training and incidentally opting out of learning some of the very same procedures (Dilation & Curettage; Dilation & Evacuation) needed to help women who miscarry.

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When anti-abortion activists limit access to clinics–through policy or through obstructive protests and comments to women going into those clinics–they also limit access to miscarriage treatment and to the very contraceptive and family planning services that would also serve to reduce abortion. This harms a much larger number of women than I think most principled anti-abortion activists realize. And when they protest with venom, they not only would be emotionally harming their intended targets at one of the most difficult times of their lives, but also many women who are not their intended targets at all and who are also in very difficult situations such as spontaneous pregnancy loss.

Is this an acceptable cost? Some will say yes. But I know many people who are anti-abortion, and consider themselves feminist and pro-woman, who would be appalled to realize the kind of harm that is being done by such actions if they only knew of it.

I leave you with the personal testimony of anonymous acquaintance to illustrate this harm.

This [defunding of, and angry protests outside of, reproductive health clinics] hits me hard. I had to have a D and C after a dead fetus appealed my body’s eviction notice. I had to go to an abortion clinic and pay $2000 because it was the cheapest place in the state that could see me. I had to go past protestors that took photos of me, assuming I was “murdering” that which was already dead inside me. I had to sit through a video saying the increased risk of cancer and the horrific risks of ‘”surgery” should make me reconsider the risks of continuing to be poisoned by the rotting flesh inside my uterus. I had to come back days later so I had time to think over whether or not I wanted to go through the procedure that would save my life. After, when I didn’t then have the money to pay for the follow-up care because Indiana’s Planned Parenthood is legally barred from offering sliding scale fees, I had to go to the emergency room because I did not stop bleeding and was one unit away from needing a transfusion. I still suffer from complications of not having appropriate after care. Finally, I had to field the call from the adoption attorney to explain I had miscarried and wouldn’t be moving forward in the process of giving two of my friends the baby they’ve been trying so hard to have on their own. But, by all means, continue the myth of the casual abortion seeking slut.

So, I ask, what cost are anti-abortion activists willing to incur? This cost? Because it is surely the result of limiting access to abortion by the broad and simplistic means that are being deployed in both policy and protest.