Unless you follow the news in Bryan, Texas closely, you probably haven't heard about the news that the Abby Johnson, director of the local Planned Parenthood clinic, resigned and is now claiming to have had a "change of heart." As an escort, volunteer, and friend of Abby, I was shocked at the news. I wrote a blog about it on my good friend and fellow escort's site here: leftofcollegestation.com
Now the story has been picked up by large media outlets, including Fox News and antichoice people across the world are decrying Abby as their heroine.
A few short weeks ago, Abby was my heroine. When I first met Abby, I was touched by her stories about growing up in an anti-choice, Christian home, coming to feminism, and fighting for women's rights in the most anti-choice town in the nation. We had similar backgrounds, similar stories, and I was inspired by her bravery.
It was then I asked her to appear on my radio show, Fair and Feminist, with my co-host and I to talk about the controversial clinic in town.
Her interview, about a week before she left, can be found here:
livestream.com/fairandfeminist
I remember that as Vandy and I conducted the interview, I started tearing up from the moving stories she told about being harrassed, about caring about "every person" who came in the clinic, and about her outstated commitment to feminism. It can be lonely being a feminist activist at Texas A+M, and a breath of fresh air filled the studio that night as we chatted with Abby. After the show, she gave me a sympathetic smile for the tears, and a nice hug.
And now, "the change of heart?"
I don't know how you devote 8 years of your life to something like Planned Parenthood and then up and join the group that you disparaged everyday.
I don't know how you move from defending women's rights to protesting at people's doctor's office.
A few weeks ago, I organized a prochocie rally with other key prochoice allies in town. There are so few of us here. No one heard about it, the media refused to report on it. The local newspaper won't publish my "letter to the editor" about it.
Its disheartening to me to see how the media is making her into a prolife darling. There are lots of rumors going around about what happened, including rumors about money changing hands or an employee who is angry. I don't know about all of that, but what I do know is that no matter what, Abby can't go back in time and undo all the good she did for the women during her 8 years at Planned Parenthood.
-Shelly Blair,
co-host, Fair and Feminist on KEOS 89.1
twitter.com/fairandfeminist
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Resignation of Planned Parenthood Clinic Director in Bryan.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/16957
I hope she'll undo her credibility with time, much like Carrie Prejean.
She made a choice to join Planned Parenthood and now she's made a choice to leave.
As much as she will be missed by those she helped, it may be better that she left after all. Maybe she saw that her heart wasn't in it a while ago but made a slow detraction from it. Maybe she *is* a disgruntled employee siding with the enemy- but in order for her to do that she has to 1) actually be someone who was/is pro-choice and 2) be an extrmely vindictive and selfish person. That's someone you wouldn't want on your side either way.
All speculation aside, let her go. It's her life, her choices her future, her conscience, her ideals. IF you meet her on the abortion "battlefield" just be prepared.
I agree we don't want her on our side, but I'm not happy about the lies she's spreading about Planned Parenthood. Everyone who has known her and worked with her is very skeptical about her "conversion."
Like I said in my blog on leftofcollegestation, I don't have a problem with her being prolife, I have a problem with her lying about Planned Parenthood, trying to copy documents, possibly receiving money for becoming a CFL spokesperson.
I'm skeptical of why she would join forces with the same people that threatened her family.
How horrible it is to be betrayed by a friend - only in this case, she betrayed more than just her friends. But it's her choice to do whatever she wants, so we will respect that. But if she's going to cause problems, something should be done.
And it's creepy to hear that she goes a join, right away, a rather hostile antichoice protest group, supporting it, especially since she knows their tactics and how they terrorize other women. (Note: My mom works in a building where a clinic just happens to be in. She doesn't work in the clinic, just happens to be in the same building. But there's this bunch of antichoice protesters there every Saturday and it scares her very much. If she's scared, and she's not even part of anything, then I could only imagine how scared a patient is.)
But if she's going to cause problems, something should be done.
Such as?
Well, Planned Parenthood already got a petition going for a restraining order. I just hope it works out well.
No, I don't know all the details. Yes, it is her choice. But, to be perfectly honest, all I can really think to say here is:
Thanks a fucking lot. Really.
Eh, it's her choice to go to that side. I really don't find it shocking that she is now a prolife darling. If a prominent prolifer became a prochoicer, we would gobble it up, too. It's her decision to be pro-life and that's swell.
Her shady actions do deserve some more coverage, though.