Abortion providers in NJ worry they will face more protests after Supreme Court ruling

Outside the doors of the Metropolitan Medical Associates clinic in Englewood, a man shouted into a microphone headset, “You don’t have to murder your child; every child is a blessing,” as a volunteer wearing a brightly colored pink vest ushered a patient into the building on Saturday.

A similar scene plays out each weekend at the Englewood clinic, one of the oldest and largest in New Jersey.

Now, with the Supreme Court's new ruling handed down Friday that ends the federally protected right to abortion codified by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, abortion providers, clinic volunteers and reproductive rights activists throughout New Jersey fear protesters may become emboldened by what they view as a long-sought victory.

Given the new ruling that leaves abortion rules up to each state, roughly half the states in the country are likely to ban abortion or dramatically restrict the procedure. New Jersey, with some of the strongest laws in the nation protecting the right to abortion, is expected to see an increase in patients traveling here to seek an abortion.

More: Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will not change abortion access in NJ

The ruling could also bring more out-of-state protesters looking for a new venue to target as clinics inother states shut their doors.

“We don’t have quiet Saturdays here anymore. It can be pretty chaotic,” said Andrea Long, a director of the clinic escort program at Metropolitan Medical Associates. “We have people who can be incredibly loud and angry and yell some really offensive things. Once the decision comes down and bans start passing, we’re expecting more to come.”

In Cherry Hill, the other New Jersey clinic with a volunteer escort program, people opposed to abortion show up daily. Whenever abortion is central in the news or new legislation is announced, their numbers grow, said Roxanne Sutocky, the director of community engagement for The Women’s Centers, a group of clinics in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Georgia.

“This will really be seen as a win, so that’s something that will galvanize people and bring them out,” she said, adding that Cherry Hill is also preparing for an influx of out-of-state protesters. “All clinics have regular protesters. We expect folks will be looking for new targets."

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The Englewood clinic has been a focal point for demonstrators since it opened in 1973, shortly after the Roe v. Wade  ruling in January of that year.

It was founded by Robert Livingston, an obstetrician and outspoken advocate for reproductive rights who once held a press conference to say he was performing illegal abortions at his practice. That announcement earned him an indictment, which was dropped six months later when Roe was decided.

Decades ago, people would block the clinic’s entrance by stepping in buckets of concrete and letting them dry, said Long, the clinic escort director. Activists chained themselves together outside and bolted the clinic's door shut. Police arrested protesters by the dozens.

Over the years, their numbers ebbed and flowed, but by 2014 the protester presence at the clinic had grown so disruptive that the Englewood City Council adopted an ordinance barring people from coming within 8 feet of its entrance.

“You had these protesters, a lot of men standing outside screaming and carrying on, yelling ‘Murderers, murderers.’ It was pretty outrageous,” said Bonnie Shapiro, then the president of the Northern New Jersey National Organization for Women, which had lobbied the council to take action. “Once the buffer zone went into effect, things became much more civil.”

But in 2017 a judge struck down the law after it was challenged by an abortion opponent who claimed the buffer zone violated her First Amendment rights. It was put back in place, at least temporarily, in 2019 when an appeals court sent the lawsuit back to a lower court. That case is pending, and a decision is expected sometime this summer, Long said.

“I am concerned that the combination of the Supreme Court ruling and losing the buffer zone could be really difficult to manage,” she said. “A lot of us who do this sort of work, we’re trying to take it one day at a time. All we can do is take care of the patients right now and face whatever challenges may come.”

More: How NJ groups will support abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade

Saturday morning, a half dozen picketers stood outside the Engle Street clinic, holding signs depicting images of aborted fetuses that read “This is not health care” and “Abortion is murder.” Many wore headsets to amplify their message through speakers and had cameras strapped to their chests, a necessity, they said, to protect themselves against false complaints of harassment.

“Unfortunately, we have a lot of dishonesty around here. It can get hostile,” said Robert, a protester who declined to give his last name. “I can’t comprehend why someone would want to take another life. We have couples lined up right now who would love to adopt a child.”

A man from Elmwood Park who gave the name Randy called the imminent Supreme Court decision a “step in the right direction” and said he would continue his weekly visits to the clinic.

“This is the hardest place to go. People hate us. I’d rather be home sleeping,” he said. “But these babies are precious in God’s eyes. That’s our validation. That’s why we’re here.”

The protesters said they hoped to change the minds of people planning to terminate pregnancies with offers of free baby showers and financial and emotional support.

But clinic volunteers said the protesters can be intimidating, particularly for people already struggling with a difficult decision.

Long said she and other volunteers have filed roughly a dozen complaints over the past year for harassment and buffer zone violations.

More: In a post-Roe era, the internet could help or hurt women seeking abortions. Here's how.

In November, a Bergenfield man was arrested for allegedly blocking the way as a volunteer escort and patient approached the clinic’s front door. Protesters are free to speak their minds but cannot under federal law obstruct access to a clinic.

Since 2015, when a mass shooting inside a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic killed three people and injured nine, violence by abortion opponents has been on the rise.

The National Abortion Federation, which has tracked statistics on incidents of violence and disruption against abortion providers for more than four decades, found that in 2020, the most recent year of available statistics, there was a notable increase in death threats to providers, reports of assaults outside clinics and an escalation in aggressive behavior from protesters.

“We’ve seen more and more that protesters are willing to resort to violence,” said Anjali Mehrotra, the president of the National Organization for Women of New Jersey. “This is always a concern for people who work at clinics, patients and clinic escorts."

A proposal by Gov. Phil Murphy to expand protections for reproductive rights includes $5 million for security for abortion providers.

Clinics that perform second trimester abortions, such as the ones in Englewood and Cherry Hill, are more likely to be the subject of protests, Mehrotra said. Protesters also tend to gravitate toward facilities on busy roads where people driving past will notice.

Melissa Fowler, the National Abortion Federation's chief program officer, said the organization provides security training to clinics and is preparing for an increase in protests and harassment. Since the Supreme Court draft leak, there has been an uptick in online activity alluding to threats to providers, she said, and members have reported protesters becoming more aggressive.

“We know that political victories can embolden the people who want to harass and terrorize abortion providers. We’ve seen that in the past,” she said. “We do anticipate that clinics who remain open might see a more concentrated effort from people who previously targeted clinics in other states.”

Protesters rarely change the minds of people seeking to end their pregnancies, but it is stressful for patients to walk through a gauntlet of shouting protesters before undergoing a medical procedure, Sutocky said.

“The harassment and shaming that happens outside of clinics doesn’t typically discourage people from having abortions, but it does create undue and significant distress,” she said. “This is something that unfortunately all of our patients have to deal with and that’s really unfair.”

Megan Burrow is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: burrow@northjersey.com Twitter: @MegBurrow

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ abortion providers fear more protesters after Supreme Court ruling