I wanted to do a really quick entry on something that the anti-choicers do that really bothers me. Most of it does, but this is irritating me today.
Most anti-choicers complain that women aren't given the "whole truth" on abortion, that pro-choicers leave out statistics about suicide rates, complications, etc (which we don't, because there's no science behind a "post abortion syndrom", but I digress). So they claim that they protest outside the clinic so that 'women are informed' and they have 'all the information'.
So, a woman comes into my clinic and receives our state-mandated counseling on abortion. We provide her all the information, including risks, procedure types, complications, and other things she will need to know to make a decision. She signs an informed consent. In my state, we have a mandatory waiting period, so she leaves to go home with all the information we give her.
The anti-choicers stop her in the parking lot, tell her she doesn't have 'all the information', and tell her a bunch of untrue information about post-abortion syndrome and how we supposedly kill and maim women (one of their favorite tactics is to tell women our doctor is unlicensed or that they 'saw six women leave in ambulances this week').
Said woman is confused. We have given her all the scientific knowledge we have, but now she has conflicting information, and is probably feeling like we didn't tell her everything. It inspires doubt in our clinic and confuses the woman, making her decision harder. We have even had patients come to the clinic upset because they believe our doctor isn't licensed or that their procedure is going to harm them for life.
Every time this happens, I just want to run to the woman and say, "Don't listen to the anti's, what they're telling you isn't true!" It drives me crazy that they do this, and their anti-science is the basis for claiming that we 'don't inform women'. It especially drives me crazy that some women might actually think that we don't.
Thoughts?
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Could you preempt them by giving them the doctor's qualifications and possibly the truth on "post abortion syndrome"? Perhaps if they're expecting to be lied to by the protesters, they'll be less likely to get very upset.
Interestingly, the same government officials who insist on providing info about procedures you'll never undergo and complications that you'll never have frame this under "women's right to know". Then pass the global gag rule.
Pre-emptive strike is my advice. Don't just give them info on the procedures, but stats on dangerousness, show credentials of doctors, whatever they need. Let them know what protesters will tell them, and let them know what's true and what isn't and where to go to get unbiased info.
Then sneak them out the back door or the fire escape.
Funny as it may sound, I would say that mere acknowledgement of the protesters can go a long way.
When I called Planned Parenthood to set up an appointment for my abortion, the woman on the phone said, "You can't miss us. You'll see the protesters outside. They're our best advertisement."
For some reason, her light-hearted acknowledgement of their existence made me feel really at ease with the establishment...which translated into trust. I almost felt like she was warning me, giving me a heads up about what to expect...but in a way that was above and beyond her duty.
So yea, like the others said...I think preemption is your best bet.