The last week of June was a busy one for Twin Cities Clinic Defense – a coalition including some of our TC DSA socfems. We participated in DSA National Socialist Feminist working group’s call for a National Day of Action for Reproductive Justice.
On Wednesday afternoon we gathered to fold pamphlets and make signs in preparation for our action Saturday the 29th outside a Crisis Pregnancy Center near the St. Paul Planned Parenthood. We held signs telling passersby and people looking for pregnancy and reproductive health options the truth about the center. Crisis Pregnancy Centers mislead would-be patients into believing they are clinics that provide patients with medical care and resources. This is false. They are conservative lobby-funded fronts with the agenda to mislead people into making decisions that align with their restrictive and patriarchal values. Patients deserve quality medical care and a full range of options and autonomy to make informed choices about their bodies and futures.
Our signs carried slogans like “this is not a doctor’s office” “this place lies to pregnant people” “this place is anti-choice” “this is a fake clinic” and “abortion whips ass”! In the sweltering sun we handed out pamphlets explaining what CPCs are and where to go instead and waved our signs. We were all sweaty and some of us walked away sunburned, but it was worth it to begin to take back the space around clinics and support access to choice based reproductive care!
We also have members of Twin Cities Clinic Defense who organized a motorcycle ride fundraiser and auction (extremely bad ass, IMO) to benefit the Abortion Care Network. They kicked off in South Minneapolis and weaved their way to Lake St. Croix Beach and back to the Bull’s Horn Bar. The prizes included cool stuff like tattoos, knives, beautifully carved wooden utensils, and tarot readings!
The fight for reproductive freedom has been raging for decades. For far too long the left has given large national non profits the authority to set the tone and agenda for the pro-choice fight. So much ground has been ceded to anti-choice and forced birth rhetoric that we now see a wave of horrifyingly restrictive bills crop up across the country. Twin Cities Clinic Defense is committed to the fight for reproductive justice across methods and strategies. Keep an eye on the chapter calendar and like https://www.facebook.com/TwinCitiesClinicDefense/ to join the fight!
– MacKenzie B