Texas Abortion Clinic Opens Despite Boycott
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Construction of a Planned Parenthood (search) clinic is on schedule and nearly complete despite a two-month work stoppage last year organized by an abortion opponent.
The clinic, a 10,000-square-foot limestone building with a red tile roof, will open in November as planned, said Danielle Tierney, a spokeswoman for the reproductive services provider.
Planned Parenthood got workers back on the job after deciding to operate as its own general contractor. Spearheaded by Chris Danze, who also is a contractor, the construction boycott was a new tactic in the long-running debate over abortion.
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"It felt like the whole nation was looking to Austin," Tierney said Thursday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. "We were determined not to let the boycott succeed."
The boycott targeted suppliers of materials and workers — including plumbers and air conditioning and dry wall installers — and ground the project to a halt within six weeks.
Danze was among a handful of protestors at the ceremony, held in the building's parking lot.
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"This will be the most evil place in Austin if it is completed," he said.
Danze said he has been contacted by anti-abortion groups across the country seeking advice on how to conduct similar boycotts. He said one is being waged against a Planned Parenthood clinic project in Houston.
One of the 200 Planned Parenthood supporters at the ribbon-cutting was Sarah Weddington (search), who argued Roe v. Wade (search) before the Supreme Court. The landmark case legalized abortion (search).
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"This building is a national symbol," Weddington said. "Women ought to have a choice."