Location limits protesters

By Ryan Woodard, Journal Staff Writer | Friday, January 06, 2006

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RAPID CITY - There were no protesters Wednesday when Planned Parenthood gave away an emergency contraception drug in Rapid City, Planned Parenthood officials said. There were about 15 protesters when the nonprofit group gave the drug away in Sioux Falls on the same day. Planned Parenthood officials said the Rapid City location is less accessible to protesters, and would-be protestors said they are evaluating how they might make public shows of their disapproval in the future.

“There’s no good place for them to protest,” Kate Looby, South Dakota state director for Planned Parenthood, said.

Looby said that state law restricts protesters to public sidewalks, none of which are in the vicinity of Planned Parenthood’s location in Baken Park.

“There’s no public sidewalk that’s close to our clinic entrance in Rapid (City),” she said. “Of course, that would likely affect their decision to protest.”

Rapid City resident Jean French, representative for Citizens for Life in Rapid City, said her group has not protested Planned Parenthood since the organization moved to its new location.

“We are not protesting because we are unsure of any legal ramifications. We are looking to the prospect of future protest,” she said. “Our group has been looking into the best way to create awareness with their new location, which provides some interesting variables we want to address.”

Looby called the lack of accessible sidewalk near the Rapid City location an “extra bonus” but said the location has several other advantages.

The controversial pills that were being given away are considered “morning-after pills” that are most effective within 72 hours of unprotected sex but can be used within 120 hours, Mahala Bach, supervisor of Planned Parenthood in Rapid City, said.

She said the pill is a “high dose of birth-control hormone that works in several ways but mostly prevents ovaries from releasing an egg.” In other words, it prevents pregnancy, she said.

“If a woman is already pregnant, emergency contraception is ineffective,” she said.

French said that the high amount of birth-control hormone contained in the pill is dangerous and could harm the woman who takes it or a baby that survives after a woman has taken a dosage. She also claims the pill could be considered abortive if the woman who takes it has already conceived a child.

Looby said the claim that the pill is harmful is “absolutely not true” and said the pill is not abortive but is meant to prevent abortions.

“This is an FDA-approved medication with very minimal side affects, one of them being nausea,” she said. “Most women are willing to sacrifice nausea to avoid unplanned, unwanted pregnancy.”

Bach said that about 60 doses of the pill were given out, with about 20 handed out in Rapid City and the rest in Sioux Falls. She said the other purpose of the giveaway was to “build a lot of awareness around emergency contraception.” She said a doctor visit and prescription for the drug normally costs about $40.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or Ryan.Woodard@rapidcityjournal.com