Tag: clinic

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Get rid of buffer zone: City of Madison should listen to the Supreme Court

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

On February 25 of this year, the Madison city council passed a new ordinance requiring a 160-foot “buffer zone” around any healthcare clinic in the city.

A modified version of the ordinance was passed in March, narrowing the zone to 100 feet from a medical facility’s entrance and 30 feet from its driveway.

This ordinance was proposed primarily in response to the presence of pro-life “sidewalk counselors” who have kept up a regular presence outside the Planned Parenthood Clinic on Madison’s east side for 10 years.

Supreme Court rules against buffer zones

The Madison ordinance could now be in jeopardy after the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on June 26 that struck down buffer zones at abortion clinics. The Supreme Court decision reversed an appellate court decision upholding a 2007 Massachusetts law that made it a crime for anyone other than clinic workers to stand within 35 feet from the entrances of Planned Parenthood clinics in Boston, Springfield, and Worcester, Mass.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

‘Celebration of Life’ held

MADISON — If there were one word to describe the recent “Celebration of Life” event at the Alliant Energy Center, it would be “thanks.”

The evening had a mood of gratitude from both those who put on the benefit dinner and those who attended.

The event was an opportunity for Our Lady of Hope Clinic and the Women’s Care Center of Madison (WCC) to show how they have worked to build a “Culture of Life” in Dane County.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Allow free speech in Madison: Common Council should vote against buffer zone

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Last fall, a couple leaving the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Madison stopped at the driveway to tell the sidewalk counselor with Vigil for Life that they were going to keep their baby.

Vigil for Life volunteers didn’t know if this couple had come to the clinic for a pregnancy test or for an appointment for an abortion. In any case, these parents chose life for their baby.

Praying and working for a change of heart

In an email named “Baby Saved,” sent to volunteers after that incident, Bette Weisshaar, then director of Vigil for Life-Madison, said, “That’s why we’re out there — to pray for a change of heart, for God’s graces to show them a way other than abortion. Our prayers on the sidewalk are offered for parents, that they will choose life for their babies . . . and that’s exactly what happened today!  Praise God!”

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Kevin Wondrash

City considers buffer zone around clinics

MADISON — The city of Madison is considering a proposal to impose a buffer zone of 160 feet around abortion clinics in the city.

“This buffer zone is quite severe — over four times the size of the controversial Massachusetts buffer zone being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court — and it would effectively end all sidewalk counseling at the Planned Parenthood abortion center on Orin Rd.,” said Pro-Life Wisconsin in a statement.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

40 Days for Life vigil ends with look to the future

MADISON — The so-called “drizzle” that had the appearance of a full-blown rain shower wasn’t enough to keep about three dozen people from coming out to mark the end of the 40 Days for Life vigil in Madison.

40 Days for Life is an annual vigil of prayer, fasting, and peacefully witnessing to end abortion. For the past several years, the vigil has taken place outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side. This year’s vigil ran from September 25 to November 3.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Sidewalk counselors perform ‘God’s mission’

MADISON — Every Friday afternoon, Jen Dunnett stands on the sidewalk outside the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Madison talking to those who will listen, and those who won’t.

On one recent Friday, someone listened.

Dunnett is a volunteer sidewalk counselor with Vigil for Life, an organization whose members pray, fast, and peacefully witness for an end to abortion in the Madison area.

She hands out informational brochures on abortion and birth control, informs people about free services offered at the nearby Women’s Care Center of Madison (WCCM), and talks with women and men about to go inside the Planned Parenthood Clinic.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Planning for ‘40 Days’ in Madison

MADISON — The volunteer meeting for Madison’s 40 Days for Life vigil was highlighted with the news of an abortion clinic ceasing operations in Green Bay. That development is serving as motivation to help the same thing happen here.

The next 40 Days for Life is scheduled to take place Wednesday, Sept. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 3. The effort calls for people to come out and pray near abortion clinics to help end abortion.

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