June 25, 2022
"Kleinfeld began taking the women out of the waiting room, one by one, to deliver the news.... Since she opened Houston Women’s Reproductive Services in 2019, Kleinfeld had worked hard..."
"... to create a space where her patients would feel comfortable. She keeps a vase of lilies in the waiting room and lines the walls with motivational posters in various pastel shades.
As Kleinfeld told patients about the ruling, a Spotify playlist called 'Peaceful Guitar' played in the background.
Meanwhile, other patient advocates turned to the phones: They had 35 scheduled patients to call.... Some of the patients took the news in stride, calmly asking questions about various clinics in other states. Others asked if she was sure about the ruling. One begged.
'I can pay extra,' the woman said.... The phones kept ringing through much of the morning with new patients calling to schedule appointments, completely unaware of the Supreme Court’s ruling.... Finally, Kleinfeld decided that she needed to record a new outgoing message. 'I’m sorry to report that as of today, Friday, June 24, 2022, Roe v. Wade, the right to legalized abortion, has been overturned,' Kleinfeld recited. 'As of today, we are no longer able to provide abortion services.' She paused, then added one more thought. 'We hope you all remember this when it’s time to vote.'"
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76 comments:
Boo and a hearty hoo.
"She keeps a vase of lilies in the waiting room..."
I suppose a jar of baby parts in formaldehyde would harsh the vibe, wouldn't it?
One clinic had that many abortions scheduled? Give lie to the “rare” idea. Doesn’t it?
Progress.
I know I’m supposed to somehow feel sorry for these women, but I’m just happy that 35+ unborn women (and men) live to see another day. If they’re lucky, they’ll get to live to a ripe old age and not die by vacuum or dismemberment.
Yes, hello, I need to procure a hasty abortion
- Juno (2007)
"She couldn’t advise people to order abortion pills illegally online, Kleinfeld said with a smile — but she could hand out recommended reading."
This tells you everything you need to know about Ms. Kleinfeld.
So many plots for writers.
Any abortion provider in a state with trigger legislation that was still scheduling abortions was negligent if they hadn't warned the women the service could shut down at any time. It's not like they didn't know what the ruling was going to be weeks ahead of time.
I'm actually surprised that any clinics are closing. The situation seems made for massive resistance and business-as-usual.
What are the D authorities in charge of most big cities gonna do? Arrest them?
We'll be treated to stories of heroic underground abortionists by NPR and the other morons all summer. Mark my words.
This is so heartbreaking. Just think of how much money she's going to lose from not being able to sell baby parts. I'm literally shaking.
Seems like this belongs in your discussion of "performative." She's known for months this was coming down the line, but she... hasn't counseled her clients on it? Hasn't sped up procedures to maximize throughput? Hasn't researched or arranged alternative venues/travel/third party support? She closes down, abandons her clients and leaves a snarky voicemail message. No doubt she considers this protesting. But it's not. It's performative (in the modern sense). This isn't about helping other women. It's about her agony in losing her ability to signal her virtue.
(Apologies, of course, if I've missed something behind the paywall that undermines my point.)
Now it is time for the left and the right to step up and fill the gap.
First, The left should immediately pass the Republican bill that makes the pill over-the-counter, so that there are fewer barriers to birth control, helping to obviate future abortions.
Second, the left needs to put its money where its mouth is and work to make the need for abortion rare by focusing on prevention.
Third, Both parties need to make sure that the biological father is on the hook for the pregnancy, making them less inclined to bypass birth control methods.
Fourth, and most importantly, the right needs to put forth the resources needed to support women in crises. There are already crisis pregnancy centers that do this task, but they are under-staffed and under funded for this need. If you support the repeal of RvW, and you have not contributed to this effort, you might be a hypocrite.
Fifth, money going to planned parenthood better keep flowing and be shifted from abortion service to support services. If that money dries up, then these people were not interested in helping women, just supporting killing of babies.
None of this will happen, all the energy and money will be directed at political fights, serving no one and helping no one.
Pay wall.
My wife miscarried a child at 10 weeks. She was (we were) emotionally devastated. I can't imagine scheduling an appointment to realize such grief.
When did abortion become a "Red Badge of Courage"?
Fittingly, the woman seeking an abortion has blue hair. Who in the hell is boning that shit???
"and lines the walls with motivational posters in various pastel shades"
Maybe if she had lined the walls motivational and uplifting posters both patients would have been happier, like these,
https://www.google.com/search?q=smiling+babies&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALiCzsa5e6Fqq_VUffwk0ogZ0Lc__Pidwg:1656192794639&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0xtD5xsn4AhX5lIkEHXQyDi8Q_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1295&bih=1158&dpr=0.8
I guess planning was no one’s strong suit.
"The state had already banned abortions at six weeks, but the end of Roe reinstituted an existing all-out ban enacted before the landmark precedent, making it instantly illegal for the doctors at the clinic to perform the procedure."
Except that it didn't. According to ABC News 8 in Dallas:
"Texas' total ban on abortions would start 30 days after a decision on Roe v. Wade."
and WHO Says, you Never read any good news in today's papers?
Kansas and New Mexico have legalized abortion. Mexico has legalized abortion. Cheap flights can get women to NYC or SF/LA in a couple hours.
So, don't care.
Just learned that in Europe (france, Germany, Italy) you can't get abortion past about 13-14 weeks, unless life of mother is in danger.
Why does USA allow late term abortions. talk about barbaric!
one must remember Ms Roe was forced to stay pregnant so as not to moot the case.
this is just more of same to keep D in play for November 22
Wahhhhhh.... Actions have consequences.
speaking of baby parts >>> evidence of successful abortion shall not be thrown away as so much trash == need to recycle.
Way better than DR. Kermit Gosnell, who kept jars of baby parts rather than lilies.
Dr.Gosnell, abortion specialist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Gosnell
I’m not seeing Nugent’s ‘Wang Dang Sweet Poontang’ on that playlist. Tragic.
Wa St Blogger (4:26pm):
Well said, but you missed one essential point. I suggest editing along these lines: "pregnancy centers that . . . are under-staffed and under funded for this need [and have to spend much of their scant money on security, and still may get burned down by the criminal swine on the other side while leftie mayors and lazy police look the other way, thus making it much more difficult to recruit volunteers]". Needs to be broken up into separate sentences, but the thought seems an essential part of what you're saying.
It was a business with a ready and substantial clientele. Now what will those business owners do? Real family planning, childcare services, ob-gyn, etc.? So curious!
Wa St Blogger said
"Fourth, and most importantly, the right needs to put forth the resources needed to support women in crises. There are already crisis pregnancy centers that do this task, but they are under-staffed and under funded for this need. If you support the repeal of RvW, and you have not contributed to this effort, you might be a hypocrite.
Fifth, money going to planned parenthood better keep flowing and be shifted from abortion service to support services. If that money dries up, then these people were not interested in helping women, just supporting killing of babies."
Well, good work, Wa St Blogger, trying to think, to think out what's needed.
That said, your fourth point seems to overlook the point that crisis pregnancy centers are being bombed and burnt down by Jane's Revenge groups and others. Previous to that effort, Planned Parenthood led legislative efforts in many states to close them down. Still there are hundreds of such centers, many more than you think. I worked in several such centers. A lot of work went into getting baby clothes and supplies and baby car seats for people who needed them. Listening to stories made it clear that women don't have or not have abortions for any one single reason but there would be fewer abortions even wanted if these women could be allowed to be individuals and talk. That's what I saw crisis pregnancy centers do - allow women to talk since we weren't making money off them.
Planned Parenthood is not going to "shift to support services." That's been proposed many times and they've always made it clear that abortion and contraceptives are their mission. Contraceptives have a much higher failure rate than people realize so selling contraceptives as a way to have "safe sex" is just a way of guaranteeing a steady supply of abortion customers.
Once the issue goes back to the states, people will find out that most abortion clinics are dirty and unsafe or are staffed by butchers who have been kicked out of several states or have other particular issues. This education campaign can take place effectively once the people are being asked to make the laws in their own state. That's all that happened with Dobbs. Abortion law has gone back to the people.
...money going to planned parenthood better keep flowing and be shifted from abortion service to support services. If that money dries up, then these people were not interested in helping women, just supporting killing of babies.
Actually, I suspect PP is a for-profit business (regardless of how they register). Between the fees for abortions and the revenue from selling baby parts they are going to lose a lot of inbound cash flow in half the states.
Their decisions going forward will be all about the Benjamins.
@Wa St. Blogger, and perhaps law enforcement authorities could provide more protection for crisis pregnancy centers, given that at last count at least 27 of them had been attacked by pro-abortion rioters. Also law enforcement might try putting at least as much effort into tracking down the people responsible for those attacks as they have historically applied to tracking down people responsible for attacking Planned Parenthood centers.
It's very upsetting to some people that they aren't able to kill human beings
I'm not seeing where that's my problem though
Feminists do themselves no good by encouraging riots and attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and Catholic churches in response to Dobbs. They do themselves even less good by applying the N-word to Justice Thomas.
I wonder if the clinic had my favorite motivational poster: A sinking ship, and "It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others."
I wonder if the babies - known to be sensitive to music in the womb - were comforted by the peaceful and calming strings of the guitar playlist. And that they might live to hear a real guitar one day beyond the horror that awaits them if not in Texas then somewhere else where killing them is still a legal and protected thing to do.
Fourth, and most importantly, the right needs to put forth the resources needed to support women in crises. There are already crisis pregnancy centers that do this task, but they are under-staffed and under funded for this need
Especially since the loony left has been burning them down. 40 at last count.
Pretending it is some sort of difficult thing to make a decision to have an abortion within 15 weeks is ridiculous.
These stories are stupid on their face.
The polls are out. 5% of people said abortion was the most important thing. Those people are losers anyways.
This topic is over with. Another failed attempt to distract from the complete failure of the Biden Regime.
I feel like a lot of women are not going to be so nonchalant about their birth control. Condoms don't fail as much as this clinic has appointments per day.
"Fittingly, the woman seeking an abortion has blue hair. Who in the hell is boning that shit???
Transwomen.
Presumably, HWRS is a 501(c)(3). Does he last quip (after the pregnant pause) violate IRS rules on political activity?
Wa St Blogger:
+11
Interesting considering the abortion law in Texas hasn't changed.
According to Politico, they're allowed to provide abortions for the next 30 days.
But, hey, why not make these women miserable and fearful now?
What is happening now is a direct result of legislating from the court. This, and other contentious issues should be dealt with by the states.
Open and honest speech, debate, and yes, lots of yelling and screaming. its not pretty, but it was designed that way. over time, people reach a consensus, a livable solution. yes it takes time.
the court, by making law out of nothing, helped to make this issue seem unsolvable. the current court strikes it down, and the result is the other half of the people freak out.
Our system was designed NOT for the courts to decide, but for the people, thru Congress and the State legislatures. If politicians at the state level fail to produce, it is easier to vote them out. and they have to produce when everything is out in the open.
Holding Congress and the states responsible avoids having 9 people decide life and death matters.
the short version is this=get off your ass, join the debate, run for office, or support someone who will actually do something.
too much whining, and too much reliance on a 'justice' system that has enshrined two tier law, that panders to the wealthy and the corrupt.
"She keeps a vase of lilies in the waiting room and lines the walls with motivational posters in various pastel shades"
Thanks for the details that really puts us in the room..Caroline.
Wonder what those posters say.
I don't believe a word of this story. It was likely written months ago, and is Tumblr level fan-fiction.
Under rather unusual circumstances and while on. business, I was inside Dr.Leroy Carhart’s abortion clinic in Bellevue Nebraska. It is on Mission Avenue and essentially across the street from the Catholic Church where my uncle was pastor.
There is a SCOTUS case with his name on it. The federal district court judge wrote an opinion of hundreds of pages. He has since recused himself from all abortion cases.
The clinic is built like a bunker. Block brick glass blocks for windows. Interior garage parking for the doctor. Double doors to get inside. Metal detectors. The most memorable feature is a bulletin board that reads, “You are a hero Dr. Carhart.”
'We hope you all remember this when it’s time to vote.'
They did vote. They voted for noted Catholic Joseph Biden, who wanted a Constitutional Amendment to outlaw abortion, and bragged that he voted in the Senate 50 times to defund abortions at the federal level.
That's who they voted for.
In an age where birth control pills and the like are universally available, cheap, and in many cases covered by insurance, it is the height of irresponsibility for a woman to let herself get knocked up.
(No bullshit, please, about rapists and abusive boyfriends---they are involved in only a tiny fraction of cases, vs the six hundreds of thousands of abortions done each year in the US.)
@Dr Weevil
@wildswan
@Big Mike
@Michael K
Agree. I posted about the issue of attacks on the Pregnancy resource center attacks on an open thread earlier. I am hopeful that these will be "own Goals" by the left. There is no convincing the radical element of abortion uber alles, but there are a lot of people in the middle who are uncomfortable with abortion but allow it out of sympathy for the woman. When they see the attacks on agencies that actually try and help women they will be less inclined to support the agenda of the radical pro-aborts and likely to vote more conservatively on abortion issues.
Right now those attacks might get people who used to send donations to PP to consider CPCs instead. At least that is my optimistic hope.
Like someone up thread, I hope this topic dies down and each state passes the abortion laws it wants. I'll give my unasked for and no doubt immoral thoughts on the subject:
1) Don't want an unwanted kid? Don't have sex.
2) If you have sex, use birth control.
3) So, leaving aside accidents, rape, etc. the vast majority of abortions come from stupid women having unwanted kids because they didn't use birth control. Sorry, no sympathy. Get your tubes tied if you can't control yourself and can't think ahead.
4) For those who have 'accidents' - consider putting the baby up for adoption.
Having said that, I wouldn't oppose a law like that in Germany. Abortion in the first 14 weeks after counseling and getting approval. Even if you grant abortion is a sin in the eyes of God, we don't pass laws against all kinds of sin. You can break the Sabbath, and 4 of the other commandments and not go to jail. We just leave it up to the individual to tresspass against God and go to Hell.
Even the Catholic Church, until recently, wouldn't speak out in any real way against Catholic Pols who were pushing for paid abortions up till 9 months. This indicates even they don't REALLY think Abortion is "murder".
That said, I think abortion is creepy and disgusting. And I'm glad my wife and every female relative has never had one, or even openly favors it. And if they had one, they had the decency to hide it.
@Wa St. Blogger, I will be 76 in a few days. I used to have optimistic hopes myself when I was younger. Now I’m just cynical. Sorry. There is nothing about the American political system that can possibly lead anywhere else. I do snarky jokes because laughing at the world is all that’s left.
Except that it didn't. According to ABC News 8 in Dallas:
"Texas' total ban on abortions would start 30 days after a decision on Roe v. Wade."
Wait, whaaaaat??? @Jersey Fled, if this is true then why is Kleinfeld closing her clinic with no notice? Is the story, like so many others in the Post, just totally bogus? Or is Kleinfeld an idiot? (Yes, I am familiar with the word “and.”)
Blogger FullMoon said...
Way better than DR. Kermit Gosnell, who kept jars of baby parts rather than lilies.
Gosnell was a slacker. Don't forget about Illinois abortionist Ulrich Klopfer. He kept 2,000-3,000 aborted babies as trophies in his home.
One of the good things about returning this issue to the states is that those on both the left and the right will be prevented from taking outrageous stands the will never be implemented because "the people" are going to demand a workable solution at the state level. As a for instance, the TX trigger law that reverts to all abortions being illegal after 30 days of the Roe reversal was a cinch to pass when they thought Roe would not be reversed and those legislators would never be called to account. I am willing to bet that TX and many other states will call special legislative sessions soon to deal with the realities of Roe's reversal rather than continuing the political posturing behind the "trigger law". Probably take 10 minutes to repeal the TX trigger law leaving the 6 week "heartbeat law " on the books until a compromise at about 12-15 weeks can be worked out.
"Any abortion provider in a state with trigger legislation that was still scheduling abortions was negligent if they hadn't warned the women the service could shut down at any time. It's not like they didn't know what the ruling was going to be weeks ahead of time." At least given a head's up to the frequent flyers.
According to the Texas Tribune, they're stopping abortions now because Ken Paxton has said it might be that the old pre-Roe law banning abortion immediately takes effect, and there is no need to wait 30 days for the trigger law.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/24/texas-clinics-abortions-whole-womans-health/
I'm just pleased to think/hope that my neighbor, the PP Abortion Queen of Houston, sat idle in her house all day Friday. She's been caught on secret recordings talking about ripping babies apart in utero with multiple forceps, so I'm really not a fan of hers.
I am one of those pro-life people who have donated to a Crisis Pregnancy Center as a way to celebrate this decision, and I plan to continue to do so. If abortion had been legal when my birth mother was pregnant with me, I wouldn't be here now; we're connected on Facebook and she's made that crystal clear in her posts on the subject. Maybe I can help someone in her shoes now - and even if, in the end, she regrets not having an abortion as much as my mother does, so what? At least there will be a child out there who doesn't feel that way.
"Now what will those business owners do? Real family planning, childcare services, ob-gyn, etc.? So curious!"
Learn to code?
(No bullshit, please, about rapists and abusive boyfriends---they are involved in only a tiny fraction of cases, vs the six hundreds of thousands of abortions done each year in the US.)
Start providing the Plan B pill in rape kits and that issue goes away. It also shouldn't take 4 months to decide under any circumstance.
We'll be treated to stories of heroic underground abortionists by NPR and the other morons all summer. Mark my words.
I don't doubt that this is true. tsk. While I'm sympathetic to women who are dealing with unwanted pregnancy, and do what I can financially and otherwise to fund those who support them, too many more media whitewashings of what is actually going on in such places, with their (supposedly) relaxing music and vases of lilies and calming pastels, will prove a severe challenge to my patience... although the reality is that while this has been ongoing for almost fifty years I haven't shouted at anyone yet.
What will the proprietors of this abbatoir do? Find a way to make a buck off people’s misery. That’s what they do now.
I guess planning was no one’s strong suit.
Oohhh, Tom, that's going to leave a mark.
With my less snarky hat on: yes, contraception can fail, even the Pill. But there are readily available contraceptive measures that can be used together to reduce failure rates to an effective zero, and that's been known for decades now. I am a big fan, especially versus abortion. (I personally recommend the Mirena IUD, but it may still be indicated primarily for women who have already had as many children as they intend to have because of the possible risks associated with any IUD.)
Anything I have to say about these women could be deemed prejudicially misogynistic.
Men don't get pregnant.
Oh, I could also sound transphobic.
Here's what we have to face. The Pill is not effective and the condom is less so. 7 women out of every 100 on the Pill have a "breakthrough" pregnancy. Planned Parenthood and others disseminate the idea that "breakthrough" pregnancies while on the Pill are rare and that sex is effectively separated from reproduction unless the woman is irresponsible. And many people (see comments above) believe this is so. It isn't so; it's just a narrative. Women, and men, too, should choose how they conduct their life based on facts, not narratives and the fact is that The Pill fails and abortion has always been seen as a necessary back-up by those involved in birth control as providers. But providers have never wanted to say so outright, Saying so would force women (and men too) to reconsider the culture because people would realize how high the risk of pregnancy really is, even with The Pill. Women (and men too) would realize in advance while they had the peace of mind to think rationally and morally what they were getting themselves into rather than being startled by a supposedly rare breakthrough pregnancy and then rushed into an abortion by self-interested (or startled) men and by smooth-talking, wealth-seeking abortion providers.
But hiding the facts about contraceptive effectiveness has to end because the law is back in the hands of the people. Thinking and deciding for oneself isn't pre-empted by the Supreme Court. And so now it's time to face some facts about the effectiveness of The Pill (and the condom) and to face all that those facts imply.
What are the D authorities in charge of most big cities gonna do? Arrest them?
I smell theater. And it's particularly gross that it comes at the expense of women in crisis.
"She keeps a vase of lilies in the waiting room and lines the walls with motivational posters in various pastel shades."
Hang in there, baby!
"... crisis pregnancy centers ... Especially since the loony left has been burning them down. 40 at last count."
To paraphrase Stalin, one burned abortion mill is a tragedy, (a million) 40 burned pregnancy centers is a statistic
Re: Vonnegan:
I think these are the old pre-Roe laws at issue. Haven't run this down, but it looks kind of like the legislature tried to restore them by reference in 2021 after a federal court implied they had been repealed. As drafted, they appear to apply from conception, and as such are probably too extreme even for Texas -- I assume there's a reason their statute allowing third party suits only kicked in at ~six weeks, that reason being that they envisioned it would actually be enforced and that was what they thought the public could accept. This gives Texas Democrats an opportunity to arrange for some sympathetic defendants to be arrested publicly for performing abortions at 2 or 3 weeks. As long as they don't screw it up by proposing unlimited abortion as their alternative, they could potentially push abortion laws in Texas well past the six week mark (although it would probably still be more restrictive than the average in the US).
Remember the people who wanted to help you kill your baby someday when you're holding her hand walking to the park.
You are doing great.
If you were in a "crisis" enough to have scheduled an abortion in advance, wouldn't you have been aware of the likelihood that the Dobbs opinion was coming down, and that Friday was in fact the last day of the session and therefore the most probable day that it would be issued?
I understand that most young women in this situation are not necessarily very good at planning things and looking ahead, and probably aren't thinking as rationally as they should, but it seems like having an abortion would be a big enough issue to get you thinking about it.
And if you were in the business wouldn't that be something you have been counselling your clients about since the big leak?
More theater.
Since Roberts' investigation into the leaker doesn't seem to have resulted in any public action, we don't really know the motivation--but possible the advance planning angle had something to do with it?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — With Friday’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, many expect the Texas “trigger law” to take effect in 30 days, but that’s not exactly how it works.
The law — which automatically bans most abortions in the state — takes effect 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court issues an official judgment, not an opinion, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“The Court will issue its judgment only after the window for the litigants to file a motion for rehearing has closed,” Paxton said in an official advisory. “A judgment can issue in about a month, or longer if the Court considers a motion for rehearing.”
40 burned pregnancy centers is a statistic
Not to the women who needed their services.
"Probably take 10 minutes to repeal the TX trigger law leaving the 6 week "heartbeat law " on the books until a compromise at about 12-15 weeks can be worked out."
Democracy, is there anything it can't do?
Jersey Fled and Balfegor
I'm not sure who is right on what Paxton has said - or if he's saying this and then saying that in an effort to confuse people. This clinic wasn't the only one shut down in Houston on Friday; I heard from some Crisis Pregnancy Center folks that one of the big ones in Midtown was closed; they were parked across the street with their mobile center, trying to help the women whose appointments were cancelled.
What I'd like to see (and I don't know how easy this is or not in Texas) is for someone to propose some sort of compromise (9 weeks, 12 weeks, something) and then have it be a referendum for everyone to vote on. Get rid of the politicians on both sides posturing and yelling, and just let every Texan have a say. I think the pro-abortion folks here would be smart to agree to that; I know a lot of conservatives, especially men, who would vote yes on that, because they really don't think it's their business. Which is a very Texas attitude in general, come to think of it - just leave people alone to make their own decisions.
And don’t forget it was Democrats who refused to codify it when they were in the majority.
Why, one would almost think they’d rather use abortion as an issue than do what they claimed they’d wanted to for decades.
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