My sister does not run into burning buildings. She does not tiptoe across steel girders at high- rise construction sites. She is not called upon to resolve domestic squabbles or chase down carjackers. She does not spend her days in the deep belly of the earth, mining for coal, or out on inhospitable seas, trolling for fish. My sister Martha does not have a job that would typically make the “top 10 most dangerous jobs” list. Still, every day when she goes to work, I worry about her just a little.

 Martha is the head of security and public affairs for Planned Parenthood of New Mexico. On any given day, she deals with miscreants, protesters, religious freaks and various other individuals and entities that take issue with the work of her organization. They are daily fixtures.  From time to time, she has to chase them off of the Planned Parenthood property or call the police if they are harassing a patient. One of the mainstay groups is Project Defending Life, which has its headquarters just 30 feet away from Martha’s office. Their leader, “Father Stephen,” holds mass in front of the Martha’s building every Tuesday. For the most part, Martha and her team can ignore the anti-choice riff raff. It’s all in a day’s work; these pests are an unfortunate but relatively benign part of the scenery. However, of late, Martha and her Planned Parenthood co-workers are dealing with a much more menacing and potentially dangerous problem: Operation Rescue.

 Operation Rescue is a domestic terrorist group that uses intimidation, harassment and violence to attempt to deny women in the U.S. the right to choose whether or not they have an abortion.  They have been linked to a number of violent crimes against clinics and abortion providers across the U.S., including the recent murder of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, KS. There also seems to be a troubling cross-pollination between Operation Rescue and other lunatic fringe groups, such as Army of God, that do make an outright call for violence and “justifiable homicide” against those they deem “baby killers.” Troy Newman, the current leader of Operation Rescue, recently claimed that they do not condone violence, yet in his own book “Their Blood Cries Out,” he discusses the “bloodguilt” associated with those who provide abortion services and claims that the Bible says the atonement for bloodguilt is death.  Cheryl Sullenger, the senior policy advisor for Operation Rescue, spent two years in prison for plotting to bomb a clinic. For every abortion provider that has been murdered in the United States, Operation Rescue has, in one way or another, been connected. Troy Newman’s claims are not merely disingenuous; they are outright lies.

  Operation Rescue has recently set its sights on Albuquerque as a new arena for their tactics. They were previously quite active in Wichita, where Dr. Tiller was one of the few providers that performed late term abortions. In 2009, Dr. Tiller was gunned down while attending church services at the Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was a member. Scott Roeder was convicted of his murder. With Dr. Tiller’s death and subsequent shutdown of his clinic, Operation Rescue is now turning its focus to Albuquerque and on Dr. Curtis Boyd, who also performs second and third trimester abortions. Operation Rescue is slowly increasing their visibility in Albuquerque, which they refer to as the “abortion capitol of the world.” Henry Bud Shaver, an Operation Rescue “missionary,” has recently been picketing Martha’s office, and Operation Rescue’s “Truth Truck” has been parked in front of Dr. Boyd’s clinic. Although Planned Parenthood has no affiliation with Dr. Boyd, it are still being targeted by Operation Rescue. It is troubling to note that the driver of the Truth Truck is also a member of Project Defending Life. It would seem that existing anti-choice groups in Albuquerque are convenient bedfellows for Operation Rescue.

  Martha has been working on behalf of women’s health and reproductive rights for well over two decades. While living in New York, she was an active volunteer for the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). She went on to become a paid staff person at NARAL’s Albuquerque affiliate, and has been with Planned Parenthood for several years. Throughout her career, Martha has seen it all. Clinics have been set on fire, vandalized and shot at. Cryptic notes have been left on Planned Parenthood office doors and on the windshields of vehicles belonging to its staffers. Martha has arrived at work to find red paint splattered on the sidewalk in front of her building. She has been subjected to taunts by probably hundreds of protestors. “Baby killers” has been spray-painted across clinic entrances. Martha has regular meetings with the FBI, as well as other law enforcement agencies. She is briefed on the activities of several anti-choice terrorist groups and the militant and dangerous fanatics that associate with them. The threat is very real. Operation Rescue has an observed pattern of seeking out unstable loners, inciting them to violence and then, when a crime is committed and that individual is caught, distancing themselves from the offender, denouncing the act and denying any association whatsoever. It is this maneuvering that I find especially troubling because so far, it seems to be working for them. 

  At its core, Operation Rescue is about misogyny and controlling women through violence and fear. When any group or entity would attempt to dictate what I do with my own body or to limit my access to health care, it is a political affront and an outrage. However, if any group or entity would threaten or harm my sister, it is a personal violation of the greatest magnitude. I absolutely will not have it. 

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 Footnote: In response to Operation Rescue’s move into Albuquerque, the pro-choice community is planning a rally for July 30 at the Planned Parenthood of New Mexico office site. Citizens, legislators, students, families and activists are coming together to send the strong and unambiguous message that Operation Rescue is not welcome in the state of New Mexico. For every rate that I receive on this post, I will donate one dollar to Planned Parenthood of New Mexico. This is not about me. This is about my sister.