2020 - The Year that Was

For We Engage, 2020 was our first full year as an “real” organization. It wasn’t the year we had envisioned (thanks, 2020!), but with your support, we still made some noise, made some waves. So what did 2020 look like for We Engage? We might say 2020 was the year the rules of engagement changed.

In February, pre-covid, We Engage gathered the Pinkhouse Defenders along with friends from as far away as Ohio and went to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to counter a large rally held by the large anti-abortion extremist groups Operation Save America (OSA) and Free the States to abolish abortion completely at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

There were over 1000 antis gathered at the Oklahoma capitol to lobby legislators and convince them to pass a bill to completely ban abortion with no exceptions. If we hadn’t been there to counter protest, there would have been no one there to be a "pro-choice voice", no one to stand up in the public eye for our rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination.

Then in early March, Derenda and Kim joined with Abortion Access Front, Feminist Flag Corps and hundreds of other repro rights supporters in Washington DC at the U.S. Supreme Court to attend a rally organized by the Center for Reproductive Rights. It was critical that as many people as possible be there to show support as the Court heard the June Medical Center v. Russo matter, a case that could have potentially closed two of the three abortion clinics in Louisiana, as well as many others across the nation.

Then right after that, COVID-19 hit hard. Everything started closing, including clinics. Early on, we weren’t sure if our one clinic in Mississippi would even be able to stay open, but the Pinkhouse – Jackson Women’s Health Organization – stayed open through it all, and the Pinkhouse Defenders were here for patients every day.

And you’d think “pro-life” people, the antis, would be all about masks, social distancing and staying home to protect other people’s lives. And you’d be wrong. Antis, for the most part, all over the country have been a large part of the anti-mask, anti-lockdown group defying all of the safety protocols. They have been more aggressive toward escorts and patients since COVID-19, and so many of them aren’t concerned about COVID-19 in the least. So again, “pro-life”, not so much.

On our side, several of our defenders had to take time away from escorting due to COVID concerns, or having high risk family members. But even fewer in numbers, we are still out here, and have been out here through it all. The amazing clinic staff has done a great job of implementing COVID-19 precautions to protect the patients inside, and we work to do the same outside.

Something new that We Engage worked on this year with your help were signs. Through the years, we ALL have seen some pretty horrible anti signs - big, ugly photo-shopped affairs designed to shock the public and shame and horrify patients. So we decided to make big signs of our own for the sidewalks, to counter the lies antis' signs spread. Our signs are simple, attractive, and they cite FACTS. We created and delivered 3’ x 5’ signs to defenders at eight clinics in six states. And with your support, we will do even more to counter the antis lies and harassment.

And this year through podcasts, articles, and social media, We Engage worked to get the word out about what is happening on the clinic sidewalks. We talked to anyone who would listen about how people are being harassed as they access clinics - the ladders, the blockades, the bullhorns…and shared stories about the people that are here to defend and escort them to the door. People are beginning to see things from the sidewalks and understand that this is no way to access healthcare. And abortion IS healthcare.

So, as 2020 comes to an end, we THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support during this year.

Your support of We Engage supports so many things. We Engage supports people’s rights to self-determination and bodily autonomy. We Engage supports the work on the ground of the Pinkhouse Defenders, escorting and defending patients at the last clinic in Mississippi. We Engage also works to educate people about what is happening on the ground at clinics everywhere in America – the realities of accessing abortion care in America. Abortion care is healthcare, and no one should have to walk through a gauntlet of fear, shame and intimidation to get healthcare. That should be unacceptable.

Antis promote false narratives that drive that stigma and shame, and are the ones who make up the gauntlets outside clinics. We Engage works to both defend patients from the literal gauntlet on the sidewalk and change that narrative to an abortion positive conversation so the harassment at clinics stops.

And just because the federal administration is changing in 2021, don’t become complacent, thinking everything is going to magically be "OK". The new administration will have to be held accountable.

Since 2011, 468 restrictions on abortion have been enacted, making access almost impossible in places, and a Democratic administration was in place for most of that time. Thanks to the GOP, the federal judiciary has been packed with anti-abortion judges, and in the states, legislatures have become even more Republican in the last elections. We have a LONG way to go. Your engagement, along with ours, is what will make things different.

Again, thank you for your support of people having safe, legal, accessible abortion care, and your support of increased visibility and engagement, of We Engage, and the Pinkhouse Defenders.

May 2021 be a much better year for everyone. Let's make it a better year by staying engaged and making a difference together!

#ClinicDefender #ClinicEscort #WeEngage #PinkhouseDefenders #Bye2020