Emma

Many of you have asked what you can do for the clinic. The doors are open, we're seeing patients, and we're loving all the supportive notes. One thing you can do is join us for a presentation of Emma!


The TRAP DOOR THEATRE is graciously donating 100% of tickets proceeds on Friday, October 26, 8pm to PP/CA's effort to keep our Aurora Health Center open! Seats to this special event are limited and tickets are $30.

When: Friday, October 26 at 8pm

Where: Trap Door Theatre- 1655 West Cortland Ave. Chicago, IL 60622

For Information/Reservations: 773.384.044. To purchase tickets online visit: www.trapdoortheatre.com

Emma

Written by: Howard Zinn

Directed by: Kate Hendrickson

Howard Zinn (The Playwright): Historian, author, and a pivotal figure in the American Left, Howard Zinn has written over a dozen books. Among them are his now classic "A People’s History of the United States". He is professor emeritus at Boston University. Zinn has received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Non Fiction and the Eugene V Debbs award for writing and political activism. His plays Emma and Marx in Soho have been performed internationally.

Zinn's drama "Emma" is based on the life of American Anarchist Emma Goldman. Passionate, audacious, an notorious Emma was also a popularizer of the arts, a defender of civil liberties and a proponent of birth control and a free love advocate. Emma explores not only her political life but also the friendships and tumultuous love affairs that sustained and inspired her. "Emma" has been performed in New York, Boston, London and Tokyo. This is its Chicago premier.

Please join us for a fabulous night of local theater!

technorati tags: Emma, Planned Parenthood, Aurora, feminist, theater, Chicago, Howard Zinn

Blog Round Up

Wow what a week! We knew the week just might be a roller coaster, but it still was a doozie. A quick recap:

• Monday: Report back, no fraud, received our permit
  
• Tuesday: Clinic opened, saw clients, dispensed health care
  
• Wednesday: More health care dispensed, anti taking photographs of clients
• Thursday: Followed the paper work to who really does own the vacant lot and yes, it is Safeway
  

If the delays hadn't cost women health care, we would thank the anti's for providing us with a massive amount of free publicity. Our phones are ringing off the hook, much more than we had anticipated. The Aurora area has spoken and they want an appointment.

Here are some of the blogs & media pieces we think are worth revisiting from this past week:

• Bitch PhD celebrates our opening and thanks PP for the work we do. You're welcome.


• Chicagoist weighs in on our opening.


• Curvature reminds us why we can't ever stop fighting for our rights.


• Sin City Siren (love the name!) is a long-distance fan of the clinic. Right back atcha!


• I've had a wonderful life & her mom share joy over our opening. I seriously the love mother - daughter bonding. [edited bad link 10.08.07]
  

Friends...this is not the end of the saga. We know that. We truly appreciate your support, so keep on blogging and we'll keep on fighting.

Press Conference

I drove into Aurora for the opening of the clinic and it was amazing. After coming over a bridge I saw a HOARD of anti's holding their signs, keeping their kids chanting, and the best thing? They were all on the other side of the street. The clinic is located on a private drive thus when a client drives in they don't ever have to see the protesters, even if the anti's hold a vigil for the next 40 years. Sweet, eh?

I walked up and snapped some photos (they will be up on the Flickr site soon) and was stunned by the number of anti's. I was more moved by the number of locals who showed up, some with kids in tow, to express their support. Even after the short press conference was over, supporters were still coming in as one woman said, "Just to show my support. Thanks!"

CEO & President, Steve Trombley spoke for about 15 minutes and took some questions. His statement will be up soon is now up, but here are some the questions he was asked (note these are my notes, not a transcript):

• What now? How do you provide healthcare with 100 protesters outside?
  Planned Parenthood has a long history with dealing with protesters. We have a private drive that will ensure that clients do not have to see or deal with them. You can drive into the shopping center as if going to Dominick's and turn into the drive.
• Do you fear for your safety or the safety of your staff due to the long history of violence associated with the anti-abortion movement?
  We take everyone's safety seriously. We have heard our opponents talk about legal civil disobedience and that's ok. But no, we have not received any personal threats.
• Why Aurora?
  Aurora is a fast growing community, the 2nd fastest growing city in Illinois. The availability of healthcare has not kept pace. There is a desperate need for healthcare in this area and we are here to provide that. Every day that we have been here, women from the area are calling for appointments. They know we are here and they want access to healthcare.

I didn't get a full tour of the facility, but as I've said before, I've been inside the Near North clinic. Both the former location and the current location. This facility kicks ass. It was built with the utmost of privacy in mind. The recovery rooms are private. This along with great security will allow for a woman's loved one to meet her in recovery after an abortion.

Bottomline, this is exactly the type of clinic that all those TRAP laws demand.

It's awesome being in this clinic. I haven't felt this moved about feminism and reproductive justice since the March for Women's Lives.

Who will rule in your hometown?

Sunday's Chicago Tribune brought us a touching, as always, piece from author and reproductive rights supporter, Sara Paretsky. It speaks for itself:

The foes of reproductive rights are concocting a story about Planned Parenthood operating deceptively because the group built the health center in the name of one of its wholly owned subsidiaries. Planned Parenthood did this because every time it tries to build a new facility, its opponents try to keep women from essential health care.

Four years ago in Austin, Texas, zealots intimidated Browning Construction into breaking a contract to build a new facility. The Planned Parenthood building was finished ultimately by contractors from out-of-state. A Colorado right-to-life group has just announced that it will use these same tactics to try to keep a new Planned Parenthood facility in Denver from opening.

According to the Aurora paper, the Beacon News, Aurora officials -- including the mayor -- agree that they knew as early as February that Planned Parenthood was likely building a health center in their town.

It was only when this mob descended on their town that they decided to act outside their normal protocols in approving this health center for opening.

Volunteer Interviews on YouTube!

Yesterday, Emily and I drove down to the Aurora health center for the first time for the volunteer appreciation party. The turnout was fantastic and everyone seemed really energized.

Several of the volunteers were kind enough to agree to be interviewed by me about why they support Planned Parenthood, why the health center is good for Aurora and the surrounding communities and how long they’ve been involved. The results are really inspiring.

Driving down Emily and I decided that if we could get 3-4 good interviews that had some useable footage would have hit a home run.

Each and every person we spoke to was inspiring.

Click here to visit our YouTube channel and see for yourself. We’ll be posting more videos over the next several days.