Citation

Hosp. Secur. Safety Manage. 1989; 9(11): 5-9.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Rusting Publications)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10292794

Abstract

Anti-abortion organizations have extended their protest activities from free-standing abortion clinics to hospitals. In 1988-89, a number of US hospitals faced not only peaceful picketing, but also bomb treats, entrance blocking, and forced entry. This report describes strategies developed by security directors at North Shore Hospital (Manhasset, NY), Highland Hospital (Rochester, NY), Franklin General Hospital (Franklin Square, NY), Sutter Davis Hospital (Davis, CA), and Deaconess Medical Center (Spokane, WA) to contain the treat posed to hospital operations by these protesters. Among the measures recommended are: seriously assess each threat; maintain continuous contact with the local police and their intelligence personnel; obtain as much information as possible on the anti-abortion organizations and their future plans; give a show of strong security presence before any trouble begins; set up barriers to prevent demonstrators from entering the hospital grounds; maintain a neutral stance on the abortion issue; try to keep the mass media away from the protests, and appoint a designated spokesperson to speak to the press when it becomes necessary; and communicate frequently with the hospital's legal counsel. In the period ahead, as each state works to define its own abortion legislation, hospitals that perform abortions should anticipate accelerated protest demonstrations from both pro-and anti-abortion forces.

Language: en