On October 16, 2010 at an unspecified time, a group will gather together in front of the Planned Parenthood located at 18585 Coastal Hwy in the Midway Shopping Center. What is their purpose? To hold a public rosary against choice, against religious freedom, and against the secular community.

     A church service has NO place in front of a medical facility and is not fair to the patients utilizing the facility that day. While this group wants to portray their presence as a peaceful one, the ultimate goal is shaming and intimidating women away from utilizing the many reproductive health services Planned Parenthood provides.

    If you live in Delaware, stay tuned. I will be creating facebook events to help organize counter-protest. For now I am seeking someone who would be interested in counter-protest efforts at this location. Contact via email ([email protected]), leave a comment, or on twitter @40DaysForChoice.
 
     A lesser known, but highly effective form of counter-protest is as simple as raising funds for the cause being attacked by the other side.
     This idea was inspired by many different people. First, I viewed a video of a man who organized a fund-raising effort during some anti-gay hate-speechin' by the WBC. He raised money for organizations WBC exclusively singles out for harassment disguised as free-speech rights (while they have their right, the should uphold the responsibility to not ABUSE their freedom of speech and hurling slurs and hate messages at ANYONE is abuse.) Next, was an sizable donation made by @GuerrillaLogic to the National Network of Abortion Funds in the name of a very anti-choice twitter user.
     Instead of escalating the noise outside of clinics, lets encourage bystanders to donate their spare change to the clinic under attack. Or better yet: get individual sponsors for your own pro-choice demonstration/counter-protest. Simply have donors pledge a certain amount of money for each day a pro-choice volunteer is working to help ease the burden of clinic harassment on the patients. Or formulate your OWN counter-protest/fund raising plan!

     In the coming weeks (soon I hope) 40 Days For Life will be updating their clinic listings which will then result in a complete update of my own clinic listings. I will also begin to contact clinics on the list to alert them of OUR motives in helping them overcome the increases in harassment, as well as provide you with detailed information on how you can help at each clinic.

     Here is my ultimate goal: I would like to have individual volunteers who would be interested in running counter-protest/fund-raising efforts at their local clinic. I will ask each volunteer to sign a pledge of honesty and integrity and will require the volunteers to check in via email about their progress as well as provide proof that 100% of funds raised are donated to appropriate agencies. (I promise this wont be as obnoxious as it seems. I just do NOT trust the anti-choicers who frequent my twitter account to NOT stoop to such a level of deceit)

I will post as soon as I begin looking for local volunteers.

Please leave any thoughts, suggestions, or perhaps any online resources that will make organizing fundraising MUCH easier :)