Abortion providers in “safe states”—states in which abortion has remained mostly accessible following the fall of Roe v. Wade—are under pressure by antiabortion extremists. Instances of harassment mark a troubling trend of escalating aggression toward reproductive health facilities.
The DuPont Clinic, a critical provider of complex abortion care in Washington, D.C, was targeted as the site of protests and harassment two times within five days by two prominent antiabortion extremist groups, the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust (SAH) and Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU).
June 28
On June 28, antiabortion extremists gathered outside of the DuPont Clinic, as well as the Kindbody fertility clinic, as part of SAH’s Washington D.C. Mission, a nine-day campaign during which they protested outside of various clinics in the D.C. area, harassing patients and clinic staff.
At the DuPont Clinic, the extremists shouted slogans such as, “not your body, not your choice,” at workers and pedestrians, staged mock “deaths” on the sidewalk, and wrote inflammatory messages such as “murder committed here” in chalk.
At Kindbody, they shouted, “IVF is murder.” SAH associate Kristin Turner claimed she was assaulted by Kindbody clinic workers who poured water on her sidewalk chalk. Police later stated that they “couldn’t see the assault.”
July 3
On July 3, PAAU executive director Caroline Taylor Smith and intern Will Reynolds returned to DuPont. A video posted on PAAU’s Instagram reveals that Smith unlawfully entered the building to perform an “opportunity rescue,” a harassment tactic in which a protester enters a clinic waiting room and distributes antiabortion propaganda to patients. As a result of this most recent intimidation scheme, Smith has been barred from the premises for a period of five years, a violation which could result in arrest for unlawful entry.
Antiabortion Extremists Coordinate Intimidation Campaign to Stop DuPont West Coast Expansion
This is not the first time a DuPont clinic has been under siege. DuPont was set to open a second location in Beverly Hills, Calif., in the summer of 2023. But, following protests from SAH associates, the opening was halted.
Beginning in November 2022, antiabortion groups launched their campaign against the Beverly Hills DuPont by posting on social media and distributing fliers with inflammatory messages, such as, “Help us stop the killers before the ever open their doors.” In April 2023, SAH projected “MURDER MILL” onto the location of the soon-to-be DuPont clinic. Protests outside the space continued until the end of July 2023.
In a letter sent to the city of Beverly Hills, DuPont alleges that, amidst these protests, the City Council held “secret meetings” with SAH, conspiring to stop the opening of the clinic. DuPont has also filed a lawsuit against Douglas Emmett, the leasing company, demanding compensation for the millions of dollars invested in renovating the space.
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