Your pockets must be completely empty before the scan. Ts escort in louisville kyle. We have clients that run their mouths to the protesters the entire time, which is their right as well. And then we hang around, the clinic opens at 8, so we have some downtime, during which time the protesters take advantage of the fact that we are a captive audience for them, and that's when there's plenty of preaching, or they try to goad us into a debate, especially if they notice new escorts or they are new protesters. Are there any particularly strong reactions from clients that stick out in your memory? Looking to the coming week of protests, what's been going on?
We get messages from people either asking questions before they accompany someone in or thanking us for being there. Can you estimate the numbers of clients, escorts, and protesters on a given day? Sometimes they'll get to the property line and say their piece and get it off their chest and turn around triumphantly and walk inside. They see our clinic as low-hanging fruit in their mission to create a state with no clinics. They have no option but to walk up the public sidewalk through a literal gauntlet, occasionally it looks more like an obstacle course, of people with signs. Can you talk about how you feel when you see the protesters? Patients described being blocked, intimidated, touched, and shoved. Beginning this weekend, the anti-abortion group Operation Save America will descend on Louisville, Kentucky, in an attempt to shut down the last abortion clinic in the state, EMW Women's Surgical Center. If a patient declines an escort, absolutely we will respect that, and if they start walking on their own sometimes they will sort of realize that they're getting swarmed by people that aren't asking consent from them, and inevitably they will have gotten to a point in the sidewalk where there are more escorts, and those escorts will also check in and ask, "Do you want me to walk with you? We sometimes find that to be the path of least resistance.
I'm good at talking with clients and walking with them. Matt Bevin is interested in trying to close this clinic as well. In general, we've seen an increase in attendance at this clinic because it's the only one. The ACLU caught up with Meg Stern, one of the Louisville Clinic Escorts, earlier this week to talk about her work. And I noticed that people had their arms up, cameras filming, and so instead of going onto the sidewalk from the other side of the line of parked cars, I was like, "Okay, so it looks to me like there's some trespassing going on, so we're just going to keep walking past here and circle back to your car until the police can get this situation under control. Remove your outer jacket, blazer and shoes and put them in a tray. We've been working very closely with EMW staff as well as local and federal law enforcement. Security Checkpoint Hours are: 4:30 a. m. – 9:00 p. daily. And also we have our legal committee in place and a legal defense fund in the event that an escort ends up having to face criminal or civil charges because of these protesters. I was the only escort with this individual, and she was nervous. Some people station themselves at a corner or at a parking lot. Escorts arrive, park, and just immediately report to their post. I sometimes feel intimidated.
Please remove your laptop, tablet and other electronic device from your hand baggage and place them into a separate tray if requested to do so by a security officer. At SDF, we've made our process as easy going as possible. I escort on Saturdays for the most part. Often there are small children playing in the middle of the sidewalk. We had gotten the signal that the doors were open. Here are a few things to remember before going through the scanner: Remember the 3-1-1 Rule: 3 oz. So the day in the spring when the protesters were arrested, can you talk about what you remember from that? If you can skip wearing a belt, then do so – this will speed up things as well. Prepare to breeze through security by making sure you have the essentials checked off on our list of dos and don'ts.
So when we got to the clinic, I noticed that there were about 50 people crowded on the door area. Can you describe their tactics? At the time, it was a very small group of folks, and I wanted to show up and do what I could because I didn't think that that type of harassment was an okay thing for people to have to endure. Their help is an invaluable part of the center's fight to stay open and protect essential services for the women of Kentucky. There are people that are much, much bigger than me that use their bodies and that can be really scary. We can't wait to meet you! We always ask for consent from our clients every time. I've had people ask me if they should bring their guns out of the car. So we start to arrive close to 7 a. m., sometimes a little bit earlier if we're expecting a big crowd.
Escorts are stationed throughout the entire area surrounding the clinic, so it's a pretty busy downtown road, especially on weekdays. Our website has a page called "points of unity. " Or they can make a flat contribution that benefits our legal defense fund. I do not tend to station myself near the door. We have people who just want to put on their sunglasses and their hood and keep their head down, so it really runs the gamut as far as reactions go.
Operation Save America had a 12-foot wide sign that 3 people had to hold, and it had swastikas and lynching pictures on it. And there's no onsite parking for the clients, so they have to park either at a street meter or in a parking garage nearby. Over 87 percent were disturbed by the protesters in some way. The clinic lets people know that there are protesters and escorts. So, fear, on occasion, but that's not the prominent feeling that I have. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Wearing socks are a good idea when needing to remove shoes, for hygiene and warmth; and speaking of shoes, slip-ons such as ballet flats or loafers for men will make things move more quickly. Some people do find our blog or our Facebook page. We're used to signs. I started escorting in 1999 with a group of friends because I had learned that the protests were taking place and that the escorts were a thing.
I have years and years of experience, and also training, so I'm not going to act on that anger in any way. Sometimes people line up along the property line to hold space to allow people to pass from the sidewalk to the private property without being obstructed. Empty your top and bottom pockets of all small items, then put everything into the tray provided. Our regular protesters use big signs that are 2 feet wide and 4 feet tall, and they use those to create blockades or raise them up in the air and take up a lot of visual space. There to assist patients of the center will be the Louisville Clinic Escorts, a group of volunteers who accompany women to the doors of the clinic, often in the face of insults and shouting. OSA planned to stage a week of protests in front of EMW, starting tomorrow, with the goal of shutting the center down. The protesters are aware that Gov.
However, I did walk up to it with a client. In May, 10 of its members were arrested when they linked hands to block the entrance of the clinic and refused to move when asked to do so by law enforcement. They don't go really deeply into what it's going to look like because they have so much other information that they're having to deliver about the medical care. Here are a few quick tips to make it through security a little quicker: Put valuables like jewelry and keys in the pockets of your jacket before you put your jacket through the X-ray – then you can redress at your gate instead on the other side of the checkpoint. Yeah, some people say no. What has it been like to get all this national attention? We never make assumptions, and we focus a lot on consent from the clients and their companions. How has escorting changed over the years? On an average Saturday, we will see between 50 and 70 protesters, somewhere around 20 or 25 escorts, and the number of clients varies, but usually between 15 to 25. When and why did you first get involved with Louisville Clinic Escorts? We do have ways around that, and we'll give options, like we'll offer to sit in cars with the kids.
When clients are setting up appointments with the clinic, are they usually familiar with the number of protesters outside or is that something that they discover when they arrive at the clinic? I'm not so good at being around a bunch of bullies. Will not be permitted in carry-on luggage. We have to practice de-escalation, so it starts with me. The group has targeted EMW, whom the ACLU represents, before.