Pensacola, Florida.
Proud of its rich heritage and often considered a landmark in American, this luscious seaside city is home to thousands of retirees, families, and tourist heavy beaches. Behind this beautiful façade however, lies over half a decade of anti-abortion conflict and once served as an anti-abortion battleground as bombings and murders surrounding birthing rights and clinics began to surface nationally.
There was a time when access to abortions was a normal part of life in the US. They were marketed openly and were actually as a matter of fact, a booming business. Laws regulating abortions actually began due to concerns about poisoning rather than clauses on morality, religion, or even politics. And even though the topic was considered taboo in Christianity, the “Catholic Church implicitly accepted early abortions prior to ensoulment” [12]. It was not until 1969 when abortion began to become highly politicized in this country did the church begin to wholly condemn the practice.
In 1984, a triage of anti-abortion bombings took place Christmas Day targeted at the Ladies Center abortion clinic as well as two offices of doctors who briefly practiced abortion procedure. The attacks were later found to be orchestrated under the code name “Gideon Project” as directed by supposed divine evangelical calling to the perpetrators Matt Goldsby and Jimmy Simmons. Specifically, delivered as a “present for Jesus” [11].
The exact origins of the Gideon Project are actually scarce in research, with a quick Google search generating little to no leads. There is a modern group called CORE7 who has overtaken the name Gideon Project and has given it the revitalized purpose of “providing leadership in supporting a church’s staff and lay leadership in designing and implementing… values” [8]. The name itself has arbitrary originating ties to Gideon, judge of Israel -purported greatest of all 15 judges- but had then been ascribed ties to the clinic bombings of 1984, and has now been masked by CORE7 and other modern religious organizations that promote more socially acceptable messages. The fascinating development of the historical significance of the Gideon Project exemplifies the processual nature of memory and how the meaning ascribed to something changes upon the context and the nature of the media covered on it.
Persecution for Matt and Jimmy was delivered at last at the crux of criminal investigations in 1985 after having previously been brushed off the year prior. After being traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the two were taken into custody and confessed to federal agents. In their initial trial in court, the attorneys of those charged announced their intent to use insanity in their defense in which prosecutors agree to drop the charges related to the June bombing [3]. However, as anti-abortion sentiments grew under scrutiny in the following year, the two were convicted and were later arraigned for conspiracy and bombing.
The two 21 year old members of the First Assembly of God may be considered one of the first instances of an intersection in which divinity and abortion law came to be so closely associated. In the eyes of the progressive 21st century woke person, bringing religion into law is libel. God-fearing religious zealots, [predominantly evangelicalisms] transform from being unproblematically recluse to becoming the new villain in the battle for personal autonomy.
The great leap from relative disregard for abortion regulation to bombings and national coverage jolted the discussion on reproductive laws awake. The bombings, having occurred a decade after the official passing of Roe v. Wade into legislation showcased the growing secular and non secular tensions that had grown due to the open practice of abortion. What had previously been two groups maintaining a respectful disregard for each other grew into two groups that constantly clashed in ideology, typically at the clinic. With Roe v. Wade enacted, many pro-life protestors, many of which who fell under the belief that you shouldn’t “kill the baby because you don’t know what the lord has in for them”, went to the streets in front of abortion clinics to guilt-trip, shame, and condemn the practices occurring within [6].
The movement towards women’s rights and reproductive justice grows increasingly complex everyday, with increasing amount of involvement, a varied mix of evidenced situations, and alternative opinions towards the matter. Pre-Roe, roughly 67% of Catholic/Baptists opposed the concept of legal abortion, with the highest racial concentration being 78% White Southern Baptist- aka evangelical [10]. In a more recent 2019 Post-Roe poll, the majority 68% of Catholic/Christians were actually in favor of NOT overturning Roe v. Wade, a testament to growing progressive ideologies and science based futurity. However, within that statistic, 61% of White evangelicals still were in favor of over turning the policy [1].
Extreme anti-abortion displays have gotten more outrageous as time has progressed. Protesting has significantly transformed from mere protest in front of clinics as symbolic sites of controversy instead to usage of free speech to spread messages in a very public and visible manner. In our very own Chapel Hill, protesting clinics such as Planned Parenthood have seen a decrease in physical involvement, but instead, utilization of free speech on public university property has increased.
Just this last year, students may have witnessed the genocide awareness project by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform out in the center of the quad in which very visually grotesque imagery of abortion- images of fetus hands compared to a coin, decapitation, comparison to genocide- were posted up on over 12 foot tall poster boards to draw awareness to the pro-life movement [7]. The group condemns the clinic, however has not chosen to position itself in front of one. In a much more controversial location such as the quad, they gain positioning better.
While clinics were previously the alter by which extreme conservatives admonished publicly and privately, the landscape and methods of remembering both pro-life and pro-choice attitudes have changed. Clinics were previously the sites of immense controversy, with many direct protest attempts made physically on site. However, due to it becoming such a highly publicized issue as opposed to discussion in the 1980s, its materiality has changed to fit into the current landscape and has changed from physical protest to movement into the educational, public speech space.
-Anna Wong
Works Cited
[1] Adamek, Raymond J. “A Review: Public Opinion and Roe V. Wade: Measurement Difficulties.” JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2749730.
[2] Blog, Feminist Majority Foundation. “Extremist ‘Army of God’ Group Takes Credit for Atlanta Bombings, Promises to Attack Again.” Feminist Majority Foundation, 7 Feb. 2020, https://feminist.org/news/extremist-army-of-god-group-takes-credit-for-atlanta-bombings-promises-to-attack-again/.
[3] “Christmas Abortion Bombings.” Christmas Abortion Bombings – Pensapedia, the Pensacola Encyclopedia, https://www.pensapedia.com/wiki/Christmas_abortion_bombings.Fahmy, Dalia. “8 Key
[4] Findings about Catholics and Abortion.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 23 May 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/20/8-key-findings-about-catholics-and-abortion/
[5] Ciciarelli, Joe. “Pensacola Water Tower.” Unsplash, 26 Nov. 2018, https://unsplash.com/photos/WCGFYQyElzg. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.
[6] “Frontline.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 Apr. 1983, https://www.pbs.org/video/the-abortion-clinic-1lhd7n/.
[7] “Genocide Awareness Project: Genocide Abortion.” Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, 16 Apr. 2023, https://abortionno.org/college-campus-outreach-gap/nggallery/thumbnails.
[8] “The Gideon Project.” CORE 7, https://www.thecore7.net/the-gideon-project.
[9] Hirsley, Michael, and Chicago Tribune. “4 Guilty in Bombings of Abortion Clinics.” Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2021, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-04-25-8501250018-story.html.
[10] Little, Jim. “Pensacola Was Once the Anti-Abortion Battleground as Bombings and Murders Rocked Nation.” Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola News Journal, 25 June 2022, https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2022/06/24/abortion-pensacola-has-long-complex-role-roe-vs-wade-debate/9648854002/.
[11] O’Brian, Neil. “Analysis | Evangelicals Opposed Abortion Long before Their Leaders Caught Up.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 May 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/18/dodds-evangelicals-roe-conservative-opinion/.
[12] Ravitz, Jessica. “The Surprising History of Abortion in the United States.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 June 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/23/health/abortion-history-in-united-states/index.html.
[13] “Timeline of Important Reproductive Freedom Cases Decided by the Supreme Court.” American Civil Liberties Union, 2 Feb. 2009, https://www.aclu.org/other/timeline-important-reproductive-freedom-cases-decided-supreme-court.
Calling clinics, “symbolic sites of controversy” is both an interesting and accurate take in my opinion. The use of clinics by pro-life advocates and protesters as sites to engage in conversation with those they believe are actively engaging in the problem will not spread their message far, but it will create controversy in person with those they believe are doing something inherently wrong. It makes me question the true intentions of those who engage in protesting outside clinics. If the point was to create real and lasting change, would they not go to their legislators or try to find a larger audience? It seems as if the point of going to clinics is to cause conflict and invoke emotions in those they believe are “sinning” or engaging in an obscene act (abortion). I am curious to see how these protestors will fit into the memories surrounding the abortion debate or if their participation will be forgotten with time.
The progression of anti-abortion protests in front of clinics certainly holds a place in public memory, as these forms of objection often incite media attention and are frequently portrayed in TV shows and films. The quintessential image of protestors holding signs and shouting insults and demoralizing people entering abortion clinics is certainly widespread. I liked the insertion of the examples of Chapel Hill’s own experience with such protest. I think that you are right about the location of the quad anti-abortion movement was quite controversial, but it makes it more memorable, no? I think that it was strategic in that it reached a much larger audience. It haunted all students that happened to pass it by, not just the women who actually go to clinics. Those people knew that they would be more unforgettable with their intensely graphic images and conspicuous appearance in the quad. By appealing to people’s emotions, they made themselves more notable, and ultimately, that is what these protests have in common historically.
This was a very interesting article that was very informative. The Gideon Project is something that I have never heard about before reading this project. There is a lot of detail in the research. Seeing what was done under the title of the Gideon Project is kind of sad for them to violently attack a group because their views are different. Seeing the change in the name impacts the collective memory of what the name was originally used for. The fact that it was difficult to find research can show how memory can be forgotten over time.