Death-Scort

Every few Saturdays, I volunteer as a clinic escort outside of a women's health clinic in a neighboring city. I get to wear a bright neon vest that says "CLINIC VOLUNTEER ESCORT" on it and provide cover for patients walking into the center.

A typical Saturday looks like this : 
7:30 AM : Assemble, receive sidewalk assignments
8:00 AM : Find our spots on the sidewalk
8:05 AM : Get yelled at by"Christian" protestors and be called horrible names by "sidewalk counselors", all while trying to buffer patients through this rabid crowd and into the door.
8:10 AM : REPEAT dozens of more times
10:30 AM : Try to ignore the personal attacks the protestors scream at you to try to rile you up.
11:00 AM : Hope that the protestors get tired and pack it up soon because it's getting hot.
11:30 AM : Pack it up and hope they don't follow you to your car.

On any given Saturday, you have no idea how many protestors there will be and how frantic/hostile they will be to you and to the patients. You always hope for a quiet day but rarely does that happen. It's as if their raison d'être is to scream at women and strangers all day long in the name of Jesus.

These protestors aren't just showing up with signs and pamphlets anymore, they are some tech-savvy mofos. They have Go-Pros strapped to their chests to take video of the volunteers and the patients as they walk in, mini-loudspeakers and mics worn like fanny packs to project their vile sermons at decibels that are unacceptable in civilized society, and sometimes they'll even park a creepy sonogram van outside the clinic trying to lure women in.

{PSA, please don't go into a creepy, dark, windowless van because they offer you free medical procedures. This sounds like a set-up to a Criminal Minds episode and not something that should EVER happen in real life.}

Here are a list of only some of the crazy things that have been said to PATIENTS "in the name of Jesus":
"God loves you but HATES what you're doing and will remember this day when you show up for judgement."
"Do you think God love you right now? He HATES you."
"The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, and you are condemned to Hell for what you're doing today."
"Miscarriage is reversible is you pray hard to Jesus." (said to a woman who had miscarried)
"God can save your baby if you pray." (said to a couple who had made the agonizing decision to abort one of their twins in order to save the other. If they didn't, both would die.)

Here are a list of only some of the crazy things that have been said to ME & MY FELLOW ESCORTS "in the name of Jesus":"You are murderer and you have blood on your hands."
"Death-scorts, just like Hitler used to murder the Jews."
"God is going to remember this day and when you try to have children, He isn't going to give you any."
"You're so young and pretty, how do you sleep with your husband knowing that you're so evil inside?"
"You are Satan's brides."
"Death-scorts like you must do what you do because you HATE God and love Satan and his wicked ways."
and the like.

At first, it was a struggle to keep my mouth shut when they would stand in front of me and attack my character or say racist things to me. But now, instead of my body filling up with rage, I feel sadness.

Sadness not because I sympathize with them or feel bad for them but because these fools don't even know what they are doing right now. On the one hand, they profess that they love these women and are trying to save them from the horrors of abortion but then, in the same breath, tell them that God hates them and that they are only doing this to "fit into a bikini". They'll yell and scream into a patients face but then implore them to come see them for counseling and support. GTFO.

I often get asked how, as a card-carrying Sunday church going Christian, I can stand out here and do what I do. My answer is that I don't do this in spite of me being a Christian, I do this because I am a Christian.

Some of these women are walking in with much wanted pregnancies and going through unspeakable pain because of their loss.  On a day where they need love and gentle care the most, they have to walk through a barrage of harassment, try to tune out the screaming and ignore the people shoving crap in your face.

I do not, in my whole heart, believe that God would be standing with the protestors. I do not believe that He would be screaming and assaulting these women and their families during this vulnerable time. I believe that He would be holding the women around the shoulders and shielding them from these attacks.

After every patient I walk safely into the door, I ask God to bring them peace with any decision they have to make and that they find the support they need. Then I also pray that the protestors loudspeakers go out as we pass.

If you see me on the sidewalk, wearing my neon vest, stop and say Hi, or bring me a cold drink (it was hot out there today).