By Amanda Walker, US Correspondent, in Jackson, Mississippi
A court in New Orleans will hear arguments today that could result in the closure of Mississippi's only abortion clinic.
The case is just one of many abortion battles being fought across the US. In several states laws are being passed that restrict the right to choose by imposing new limits on abortion.
You can't miss Jackson Women's Clinic - the big, pink building sits on a hill where protesters carry banners showing images of aborted foetuses.
It's the only abortion facility in the entire state of Mississippi.
Up to 40 women come here each day. Some are teenagers from the poorest parts of the state; others are working women with families.
What they all have in common is that none of them want to be here. Each woman has to have a scan to determine the age of the foetus.
Shonda, 19, lies back as gel is applied to her stomach. The image of her unborn baby appears on the screen and she can't look.
It is 12 weeks and six days old. Her eyes overflow with tears. Shonda says she has no choice but to have an abortion because she was raped.
For the women, actually getting inside the clinic is the first challenge. A permanent rotation of anti-abortion protesters stand outside and confront them as they enter.
Berkeley Ostrand says God "put it on her heart" to save babies. She approaches women in their cars, showing them a plastic model of a 12-week-old foetus.
Anti-abortion campaigner Berkeley Ostrand at the Jackson Women's Clinic "Little hands, little feet ... It breaks your heart. The women look at this and this is a real baby to them.
"We try to make them realise this is a real baby, not just a blob of tissue - it has a beating heart, it has fingers and toes."
A team of escorts - mainly volunteers - are on a mission to stop the women being approached by the constant rotation of anti-abortion protesters.
Betty Thompson, the chief counsellor at the clinic, says its survival is constantly under threat.
"We have had it rough trying to stay in compliance, trying to follow everything to the letter of the law and we have been very successful at doing that.
The women's clinic is under constrant threat from campaigners "The need that women have for this health service is not going to go away."
The clinic is struggling to stay open amid sweeping measures to restrict abortion across the US.
Ultrasound technician Stephanie Battle says if they are shut down, she believes women will resort to desperate measures.
"They will drink bleach, turpentine; anything that they think will make them have an abortion. Fall down some steps, have somebody kick them, and probably even go back to the coat hanger."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
American State At War Over Abortion Rights
Dengan url
http://malurasanya.blogspot.com/2014/04/american-state-at-war-over-abortion.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
American State At War Over Abortion Rights
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
American State At War Over Abortion Rights
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar