Abortion clinic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An abortion clinic is a medical facility providing certain kinds of outpatient medical care, including abortions, to women. Such clinics may be free clinics, public medical centers or private medical practices.

Planned Parenthood, whose clinics offer abortions as well as other reproductive care and counseling, is a major operator of abortion clinics in the United States. [1] American Women's Services is another operator of private clinics throughout the northeast United States.

The first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) opened on February 27, 1971.

[edit] Attacks on abortion clinics

Main article: Violence in the abortion movement

Because of the controversial nature of abortion in many countries, including the United States, pro-life advocates often protest abortion clinics through picketing, or other means such as holding vigils, although some have taken to more drastic means such as arson to prevent people from using these facilities. Over a fifteen year period there have been 167 attacks on abortion clinics of one form or another. The amount of anti-abortion related violence peaked in 2003. ^[2]

There have been a total of 8 people killed in anti-abortion attacks. These are:

Dr. David Gunn
Dr. George Patterson
Dr. John Britton and James Barrett
Shannon Lowney and Leanne Nichols
Police Officer Robert Sanderson, killed by future Centennial Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph
Dr. Barnett Slepian