Breaking with protocol again, I invite you to have a look at this diary.
What it details is something that got little press outside of Colorado, as far as I'm aware.
In short (and don't settle for my clunky summary here -- really, go read), Dr. Hern has been providing abortion services in Boulder for the last 20 years. As a result, he's been the target of some hideous, un-Christian behavior delivered by the -cough- pious folks at Operation Save Denver. When they plastered his neighborhood with flyers meant to identify him as a "baby killer", he didn't scurry down in his basement to hide as they might have hoped. Instead, he ran a full page ad in a couple of local papers condemning the OSD for their actions.
Any outrage we might feel toward the OSD crowd, while justified, is as worn and familiar as a stinky old pair of sneakers. What's inspiring is Dr. Hearn's response, and that of the community that rallied in his support. Many of their letters are included in the diary and, to me, are the most heartening part of the tale.
This story demonstrates, yet again, how the staunchly anti-choice weild their misplaced rage, and how little they give a damn about hypocrisy. Dr. Hern's service to women and his reaction to these totalitarian efforts to assassinate him (literally and figuratively, to hear him tell it) are a lesson for all of us. The radically anti-choice believe that intimidation and harrassement are effective tools. It's our job to prove them wrong.
(Profound and sincere thanks to Moiv for spreading the news.)
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