Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/30780
The Means to a Wichita Abortion A woman physician braves harassment and threats to carry on Dr. George Tiller’s work without an abortion provider. And that’s just how the Wichita-based anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, which hounded Dr. Tiller and his staff for years, wants to keep it. The latest focus of anti-abortion N extremist groups operating in Kansas is Dr. Mila Means, a family practi- tioner who wants to bring needed abortion services back to the city. Af- ter being tipped off by Operation Rescue, the Associated Press reported last December that Means was re- ceiving abortion training in Kansas City, Kan. Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman, who has declared his group would keep Wichita “abortion free,” then organized a disruptive protest outside her office. From that point on, the harassment of and threats against Means and her staff escalated. WANTED-style posters describing Means as a “mass murderer” and fea- turing her photograph have been dis- tributed over the Internet and at the protests. Similar posters of Means’ of- fice manager, Andrea Hamel, which included her phone number and home address, have also been circulated. Means has been stalked by protesters at her rural home. Abortion-rights supporters are alarmed. “In the past, WANTED- style posters and stalking have preced- ed violent acts against some abortion providers,” explains duVergne Gaines, legal coordinator for the Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Clinic Access Project. Means’ office has also been flooded Standing up to anti-abortion protesters at Dr. Tiller’s still-closed clinic www.msmagazine.com 4 EARLY TWO YEARS AFTER the murder of Dr. George Tiller, Wichita, Kan., is still with threatening letters and phone calls. One chilling letter described the consequences should Means provide abortions: “They [anti-abortion pro- testers] know where you shop, who your friends are, what you drive, where you live. You will be checking under your car every day—because maybe to- day is the day someone places an explo- sive under it.” Despite its threatening nature, no action had been taken against the letter writer at press time. Means, however, was sued this win- ter by her office landlord, Foliage Development Inc., which cited the “nuisance” that anti-abortion pro- testers were creating at the office (where she does not perform abor- tions). She has agreed to seek a new office, but that has proven difficult. “I am hoping that there is some corner of this city that is willing to take a chance on us,” Means told Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show. Afterward, Means received a call about a possible space for her new office, but anti-abortion threats and demonstrations against the potential landlord stopped another opportunity. Means, who grew up in a pro-choice home with a mother in NOW and a feminist father, remains undeterred. “The women of Kansas deserve to have their rights,” she explained toMs. Gaines insists that law enforcement officials in Wichita, along with the Kansas attorney general and the feder- al Department of Justice, should pro- tect Means and ensure that she has a safe place to provide women compre- hensive health care. “There are specif- ic state and federal laws at their disposal,” she says. “These extremists are trying to terrorize Dr. Means, her staff and anyone who would do busi- ness with her—exactly as they did to Dr. Tiller before his murder.” Sign the petition to urge the Kansas attorney general and Sedgwick County district attorney to stop anti-abortion terrorism in Wichita before another doctor is murdered: www.feminist.org/ wichitapetition. —MATTHEW BURGOYNE SPRING 2011 | 15 CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP PHOTO