Positive Picketing at Planned Parenthood
by Marley Lerner (she/they)
When I first toured CSU’s campus in Fort Collins, I was so excited to see a Planned Parenthood directly across from campus. Being from North Carolina, the sight of a Planned Parenthood is rare. Coming to a progressive state was so exciting for me, to be able to know that, more or less, the ideals that I embody are also embodied by the elected officials of the state. I knew that there would be opposition to Planned Parenthood here in Fort Collins since the opposition is everywhere! But I found something very interesting and unique about the people who choose to picket outside of Fort Collins’ Planned Parenthood.
Firstly, picketers/protesters in Colorado have to abide by the “Bubble Law” which creates a radius from the front door of a Planned Parenthood that protesters are not allowed to enter. Because of how the Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins is placed, this means that the protesters have to be on the sidewalk, next to one of the busiest streets in the city, so everyone always sees them. About a year ago, I was followed by an Instagram page titled “not.with.them.” I was delighted to see that the account was run by Hannah Cowan (she/her/hers) from Greeley, in which she would stand in the same area and offer cards and flowers to patients using the clinic. This is such an important thing to do! And I applaud Hannah for having the courage to do it!
I asked Hannah a few questions, the first one being what compelled her to do this to which she replied, “seeing the protesters outside of Planned Parenthood and their hateful messages really began to wear on my soul even just as someone was driving by. When women visit Planned Parenthood, especially for abortion services, it’s a memory they’re never going to forget. It pains me to know that they are welcomed and ushered goodbye with such hate, so ultimately I was looking for a way to counteract that.” I then asked Hannah if there were any positive or negative memories that she could recall, and she mentioned that her experiences with the pro-life protestors left her feeling unsafe, but that she was able to get through to some of the individuals using the clinic to let them know that Not With Them was a safe project. She also mentioned the support she/they received from the community and said the overall experience was positive and that she gained a bigger understanding of “herself, the community, and Planned Parenthood as a whole.”
I then asked Hannah if she was still doing it, to which she replied “Unfortunately, I’m not still doing it. Like I said I began to feel unsafe around the pro-life protesters. I went into this project with a vision of complete positivity. I was there for the women and the women only. It was in no way meant to be a counter-protest. But in the end, I wasn’t even able to safely hand out the roses and notes, with the pro-life protesters being so combative. I worried not only about my own safety, but the women as well. I would love so much to begin doing it again. I’d definitely need to restructure the logistics so I don’t run into the same problems as I did last time.” Hannah then said at the end of our interview that she would love to find a way to make it safer and noncombative in the future.
Not only was this a great idea, but it was such a noble one. To be able to go out into your community and spread love amongst a presence of hate outside of the clinic is something everyone could take some notes from. It is so important for us to stand in solidarity with clinics like Planned Parenthood that offer access to birth control, abortion, and other forms of reproductive health to our communities. The Brazen Project commends Hannah for her work trying to combat stigma, shame, and hate, and we hope that there will be a future of positivity surrounding health clinics such as planned parenthood, as well as providing abortions to those who need it.
