Public Health Students, Staff Protest Abortion Violence

Students at the School of Public Health (SPH) wore white ribbons yesterday to protest violence against the staff of the nation's abortion clinics.

The school said in a statement that an ad hoc committee of students, faculty and alumni formed last weekend to respond to the killing of two receptionists at two separate clinics in Brookline on Dec. 30.

Students in other parts of the University, including the College, also passed out white ribbons.

At a press conference yesterday morning, Dean of the School of Public Health Harvey V. Fineberg '67 and other SPH affiliates condemned recent attacks on abortion clinics. They made specific reference to the Brookline shootings. A suspect, John C. Salvi III, has been charged with two counts of murder.

"We call on all Americans, regardless of their personal views about abortion and reproductive choice, to join together in opposition to the anti-abortion terrorism perpetrated this past Friday, December 30, in Brookline, Massachusetts, and also in Pensacola, Florida and elsewhere," Fineberg said in a statement first released last week.

"We cannot by our words, deeds or silence, condone such actions," Fineberg's statement continued. "We must condemn and isolate those who refuse to respect basic constitutional principles. The rights to protest and legitimate free speech do not extend to murder and armed assault."

Dr. Ruth Fretts, a School of Public Health graduate, said she lives across the street from the Preterm Clinic in Brookline, where receptionist Leanne Nickoles died. She recalled placing flowers in front of the clinic in remembrance.

Fretts also said "that if we promote the reproductive rights and choice of women, we must also promote the reproductive responsibility for young women and men alike."

"If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we could do much better at preventing abortion," said Fretts, an obstetrician at Beth Israel Hospital. "Although abortion is safer than childbearing, many women could avoid the difficult decision and surgical procedure if contraceptive options were improved and if safe, effective and easy-to-use methods together with family planning were more widely available."

Dr. Devora Lieberman, a Beth Israel obstretician and current SPH student, outlined what she called "are ongoing nationwide anti-choice campaign of terror and violence."

"This increasingly violent harassment is jeopardizing the availability of comprehensive reproductive health care," Lieberman said. "In 83 percent of counties in the United States there is not a single physician providing abortion services."