Operation Rescue at Planned Parenthood

rutt · February 3, 2006

I've been down to the Planned Parenthood clinic a few times recently in search of the story of the people who protest against abortion there, a group called Operation Rescue.

I've only been there twice when the Operation Rescue people were present. It took me one try just to find out that they are usually there before noon.

I know something about Planned Parenthood and now I also know something about some of the Operation Rescue people. So here are some facts.

The Operation Rescue people I met weren't actually protesting. I mean they weren't walking up and down with signs and chanting. What they want to do is try to talk women who are going to have abortions out of it. A less important goal is to talk women out using birth control.
The two times I've been the group has been the same four people.
I'm told that on some Saturdays (tomorrow might be one) there are much larger and more vocal groups engaged in something much more like protests.
The Operation Rescue people view the Planned Parenthood clinic as an abortion clinic.
Certainly this clinic does provide legal abortions, but it also provides other medical services for women, namely birth control, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, consoling, and complete gynecologic care.

The same four Operation Rescue people were there both time. They are Claire, Lauren, Bill, and Mike. All are Catholics and very religious. Bill spent a lot of time praying, I'd guess for an end to the activities in the clinic. Neither man has children. Both women have children. Lauren has 3 or 4 (I'm having trouble remembering.) Claire has 8 children (more, again I forget) and 12 grandchildren.

Lauren was the most outgoing, at least in terms of talking to me.

The first time I went, she was obviously very suspicious of me, but by the second time she warmed to me. I tried to keep the conversation low key and neutral, but she really wanted me to read the bible and find god. Actually, the first time I went, she wanted me to find Jesus, but I told her I was Jewish so then she just wanted me to read the Old Testament.

Massachusetts has a buffer zone law which requires these people to keep at least 18 feet away from the clinic. The white lines painted on the sidewalk delineate this zone; nevertheless, they do approach people going in and out of the clinics. Their first interaction is usually to try to give them some pamphlets. Mostly, the women come and go and ignore the Operation Rescue people.

But I've seen some women accept the literature they pass out.

Lauren told me that two women decided against abortions last week. To be honest, I don't know exactly what that means. What role did Operation Rescue play in this? On their web site they keep a count of women "who have decided against abortion" this year. They are up to "#9".

I talked to Mike and Lauren about disagreements in their own families. Mike thinks his sisters are "pro abortion" but they only see each other over holidays and it sounds like everyone tries to stay away from the topic. Mike is by far the most religious of his siblings. Lauren sounds like she comes from a very religious Catholic family and it seems there are no disagreements on this particular topic. She does have friends who disagree with her about it, though.

[David: But how does it make you feel, Rutt?] I have tried to show and tell this story in a neutral way. Maybe I didn't succeed 100%, but I hope I was close. I also made a rule for myself that I wouldn't shoot any recognizable pictures of the clinic's patients.

There is a politically explosive topic here, one outside the scope of dgrin discussions. I'll take a cue from Harry and say that we just won't have that discussion in public on dgrin. There are plenty of places to have that discussion and with any amount of heat. I'll ask the moderators to delete any posts to this thread that touch on the topic of whether either Planned Parenthood or Operation Rescue is doing something right or wrong.

Let's keep our discussion to photography and photojournalism. Did I show something interesting? Did it arouse your feelings? [Maybe you better not say which ones.] Did you learn something? Was I neutral enough? Too neutral? And, yes, does the composition, exposure, color, &etc work?

marlof · February 3, 2006

I could have sworn I've seen a story and two images here before. I was thinking about them, and came back to write a reply. And..... poof..... gone! The suspense is killing me.

rutt · February 3, 2006

You can guess what happened. I hit the submit button when I meant to hit the preview button. I didn't want the story 1/2 posted.

So now, there it is. Let me know what you think.

marlof · February 3, 2006

THANK YOU! My first response, after seeing the first two pictures, would have been that I'd love to see a little more interaction between the two parties (clients and operators) involved. Seeing the rest of your pictures I can tell you've done that, and in my opinion in a very respectful way. And yes, this topic is really explosive, which caused me to swallow my initial response, move on, and come back later to just respond to the observing nature of your post.

I will not state about how neutral I felt you were, since I'm not fully aware of the implications of this subject in the USA, and what would be considered neutral reporting. In the photostory, image 5 and 6 seem exchangeable to me, so I'd drop one of the two.

I do know that I love your last image. Sure, it's far from technically perfect, but it shows what is going on in a very strong image. The fact that it is raining, and people are still there doing what they believe is right adds to my feeling on this image, since it supports their determination. In that determination, a physical line is crossed. If that's also a psychological line, we all can decide for ourselves. Great image!

Shakey · February 3, 2006

I like your approach to this Rutt. Keen and levelheaded, you are to be commended.

As for the series of photos...They are okay, and I am personally looking for more captured emotion in any further series you post. I hope you can accomplish this while still keeping to your ideal of not publishing any recognisable photo's of Planned Parenthood patron's.

Some times it seems that photojournalism is very in your face and possibly quite intrusive to those involved... ethically a tough choice to get the "right" shot.
Or so I imagine.

Looking forward to more pictures and your narrative.

Tim

ginger_55 · February 3, 2006

I like your whole series, Rutt! I particularly like the woman with the black umbrella, the one that takes up a good part of the frame.

ginger

rutt · February 4, 2006

Shakey wrote:

I like your approach to this Rutt. Keen and levelheaded, you are to be commended.

Thank you very much for that. It's actually very hard to find a balance that works for this story. Lauren and Micheal, the more talkative two, have learned to accept the fact that I won't express a partisan opinion. I've told them that I'm working on an assignment for a photography course (true enough.) I'm thinking I'll need to visit a few more times to tell their story.

Shakey wrote:

As for the series of photos...They are okay, and I am personally looking for more captured emotion in any further series you post. I hope you can accomplish this while still keeping to your ideal of not publishing any recognisable photo's of Planned Parenthood patron's.

OK, the first time I went there, I have to admit I was looking for a strong emotions challenge entry. But it didn't take long to find out that I wasn't going to find that, at least not from these four. They are like pros, there every day. The do have strong convictions, but they standing there has come to be a routine for them. The strongest emotion I saw from any of them was a look of disappointment from Lauren when someone wouldn't take her literature. I wish I'd captured that, but I wasn't fast enough.

Some of the women who are using the clinic do show strong emotions, but that's off limits. And, it's rarer than you might think. As I mentioned in the story, this clinic provides routine medical care as well as abortions and I think the majority of women coming and going aren't actually pregnant.

So maybe I'm not done with this project. I'd like better shots and I'd also like to learn more about the lives of the people in order to tell their story better. But I don't think it's a "strong emotions" story. No doubt there is a story like that to be found on this issue, just not in this place on a weekday morning. On the other hand, what is actually there has potential to be very interesting.

One thing I'm learning about PJ is that you have to be open to the story you actually find instead of the story you expect to find. Every time I've tried one of these projects, the actual story was very different than the one I expected to find. The only exception was a very deliberately effort to know the story before I told it. It was an assignment by Nir. I don't think that was as successful as the times when I went with a more open mind about what I was trying to get. See: http://rutt.smugmug.com/Stories

Angelo · February 4, 2006

I think you've done a good job of presenting this in a neutral manner. There must not have been much emotion to capture because I know you can do that well based on other threads you've done.

I like your first shot; the lone woman standing in front of the clinic is strong, as are other shots.

rutt · February 4, 2006

Angelo wrote:

I think you've done a good job of presenting this in a neutral manner. There must not have been much emotion to capture because I know you can do that well based on other threads you've done.

I like your first shot; the lone woman standing in front of the clinic is strong, as are other shots.

That's actually Bill. He's also shown holding a rosary in a later shot. The first shot (only) was shot on an early day.

System · February 4, 2006

rutt-

may I say that, to me, it is very obvious where you are in this thing, BUT-

you have done this in a very respectful and fair manner and seem to be open-minded as far as your interaction with the four at the clinic-

not being an expert in the matter, I think it's good photo-journalism-

thanks for sharing
george

wxwax · February 4, 2006

OK Rutt, since you're such a good diplomat, your next assignments are to defuse the war in Iraq and domestic spying.

Nice job putting this volatile subject in the right place for dgrin, John.

The first five shots leave me cold - they don't really communicate much to me, not even the second with the provactive poster.

But as soon as you get to the white line, things come to life. The white line represents the tension and conflict in your story. In that vein, I too really like the last shot the most, by far. The woman is straining to deliver her message over the white line, there's a cautious reaching out from the client and an earnestness from the demonstrator. The big divide between them is created by the white line. Even though it's technically flawed (slow shutter speed?) it's your most powerful shot in the series.

Second place goes to your penultimate shot, where it feels like the clients are cornered. But I reckon you could go back and get a better shot to convey that feeling, if you wanted.

Third place goes to the client who's rushing in and ignoring the demonstrators. I think the gormless guy in the foreground steals a lot of the thunder away from the conflict inherent in the rest of the shot.

I know you've talked a lot about photojournalism, Rutt. And this is the most obvious example of it in your work, that I remember seeing. The shots I've favored do what photojournalism is supposed to do - depict the event and stimulate viewers into responding to what they're seeing. Despite its flaws, the last does that the best.

rutt · February 4, 2006

Thanks, Sid. That's the kind of thoughtful feedback I live for. I appreciate it very much.

I'm glad you like those last few shots in spite of their technical imperfections. The imperfection is mostly motion blur. I set the camera to AV, ISO 400, f/8 (and be there). Then it started to rain and got darker and darker and I was wrapped up in my subtest and the shutter got slow (1/60th), as you guessed. My hand was actually steady enough if you look at the non-moving parts of the image. But a faster shutter would have been my friend. Maybe there will be a next time.

I don't think this was my must successful PJ outing. See this and this. But perhaps with the degree of difficulty factored in, yes then it might be.

I might need to take a cue from Weegee and get a police scanner and sit in my car Saturday nights.

ginger_55 · February 4, 2006

Well, Rutt, in addition to the police scanner, I am considering having them build a police station and jail across from me...............and perhaps a cafe for gangster shootings, too..........if zoning allows, of course.

I thought about that. Weezee had an advantage there.

I came in here, actually, to say that I have changed my mind and I do like the last shot best, though I am not really "there" with it, but as close as I get. I guess it is a difficult subject for me, but that last shot really struck me hard on my last fast go around!

So, I agree with Sid. When have I ever not? Yeah, at a certain challenge. Hi, Sid......saw your photo of Ginger on the revolving challenge winners, yesterday when I was admiring all the many and varied shots we dgrinners have had! So many! I think that was the only time I thought differently from you, and it was the last time.

What ever happened to your Stadium Shot? Didn't you use it on the dGrin game once?

(Hi jack!)

oh, sorry,

yeah, Rutt, I have come around. Sid is sooooo right!

ginger

ginger_55 · February 4, 2006

Uh, Sid, I think we should send him to Iran and skip over the other issues for the moment.

g

Operation Rescue at Planned Parenthood

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