HotSpots for March 1–31, 2010
HotSpots is a summary of incidents of harassment and violence directed at Planned Parenthood affiliates, national offices, and other reproductive health care providers, produced monthly by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Minnesota 03/31/10 A man entered a Planned Parenthood health center with anti-choice materials and began making anti-choice statements to staff. The man was asked to leave but refused. Police were called and the man was removed from health center property.
Arizona 03/31/10 Multiple Planned Parenthood sites received a letter that contained biblical quotes and anti-choice statements.
Maryland 03/30/10 An intruder broke into a Planned Parenthood health center, which tripped an alarm. Police arrived and apprehended the individual.
Indiana 03/28/10 Protesters appeared at the home of a Planned Parenthood staff member, shouting and holding graphic signs.
Washington 03/22/10 Someone threw a rock through the glass front door of a Planned Parenthood health center.
Florda 03/21/10 Protesters picketed at the home of a Planned Parenthood health center clinician. A neighbor was quoted in a news account as saying about the clinician, "He is a wonderful person and a great neighbor. I hold him in the highest regard."
California 03/19/10 In the early morning hours, a man had been seen dumping a bucket of liquid under the lobby door of a Planned Parenthood health center. Upon opening for the day, staff smelled urine in the front lobby.
Texas 03/18/10 A protester trespassed on a Planned Parenthood site under construction. He walked through a construction gate and began yelling at the people inside.
Tennessee03/17/10 A male caller phoned a Planned Parenthood health center and told a staff person that she was “part of an international eugenics conspiracy” and that “they want to kill you.”
Texas 03/16/10 A staff member at a Planned Parenthood health center was threatened by a protester, who told her that "something bad is going to happen here today."
Indiana 03/16/10 An elderly man was seen near a Planned Parenthood health center, driving a white truck with a picture of an aborted fetus on it. The truck also had a picture of a local politician with a message that encouraged him to oppose funding for abortion.
Indiana 03/15 & 03/16/10 Over a two-day period three Planned Parenthood health centers saw a plane flying overhead towing a banner of images of aborted fetuses and an anti-choice message.
Indiana 03/13/10 A group of protesters was observed outside the home of a Planned Parenthood staff member. The staff member was not home at the time.
California 03/13/10 The exterior plate glass window of a Planned Parenthood health center was broken and a television was taken from the waiting room.
New York 03/11/10 A protester at a Planned Parenthood health center approached a patient's car as she was driving in, asked her to roll down her window, and began discouraging her from having an abortion — the patient said she was just there for birth control, and the protester began discoursing on the evils of birth control.
California 03/09/10 A Planned Parenthood health center parking lot fence was damaged sometime after the close of business. Multiple wooden panels on the fence were broken and removed; others were chipped or cracked. The damage suggests that someone repeatedly hit the fence with a hard object.
Tennessee 03/08/10 Planned Parenthood health center staff received what sounded like a pre-recorded call of a young woman's voice reciting anti-choice rhetoric. Eventually, a “live” woman came on the line and started screaming “Pro-Life!” When staff did not respond, the caller hung up.
California 03/05/10 The window in the front lobby of a Planned Parenthood health center was broken.
Colorado 03/03/10 The mother of a patient who had been tested for an STD called and claimed that a Planned Parenthood health center was trying to kill her daughter, and she said she was coming down to the center to "fix" it.
Connecticut 03/03/10 Protesters on the sidewalk at a Planned Parenthood health center shouted and used a megaphone.
Virginia 03/02/10 A Planned Parenthood health center received flowers with a card saying that people were praying for Planned Parenthood. A fetal feet lapel pin was also attached.
Indiana 03/01/10 A Planned Parenthood health center received an envelope containing a list of names the sender had given to each “aborted baby.”
Missouri 03/01/10 An unidentified individual phoned a Planned Parenthood health center and began yelling anti-choice statements. The caller was put on hold and hung up.