Organization seeks peace in debate over abortion > CUReS aims at keeping abortion protests nonviolent

BANGOR — Signs linking Bangor physicians to abortion and grotesque pictures purportedly depicting dead fetuses lined the sidewalk abutting Twin City Plaza on Harlow Street.

It was Wednesday, and a small but strident group of anti-abortion protesters withstood steamy weather for their weekly vigil near the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center, located in the small shopping mall near the Kenduskeag Stream.

Deanna Partridge watched the ensemble from inside the health center. Representing a new voice in an escalating local debate over reproductive rights, Partridge expressed hope that a reasonable middle ground could be found for both sides in the abortion debate to express their opinions safely.

Partridge is coordinator for the Bangor CUReS Project. CUReS stands for Communities United for REproductive Safety. Funded by a $110,000 grant over two years, CUReS is being touted as a grass-roots organization seeking to promote safety and nonviolent conflict resolution. It functions under the umbrella of the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center and the ProChoice Resource Center, a national program based in New York.

Since she began work in late April as the local CUReS coordinator, Partridge has withstood some of the verbal taunts flung at people who walk into the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center on the days the anti-abortionists are outside.

“Anyone driving into this plaza gets it,” said Partridge, who is 24.

People going for pizza next door “are getting yelled at for killing babies,” Partridge said.

Everyone has a right to express an opinion on the abortion issue, but Partridge, and the CUReS steering committee want to defuse the local debate a bit before it escalates to violence.

“It’s a highly emotional issue for those involved, and has the potential to turn over into violence unless some ground rules are set,” said Partridge, who has a master’s degree in peace studies from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

The CUReS group does not want further to polarize opposing sides in the debate, but does want to stop inappropriate actions and to foster a safe climate for freedom of expression, Partridge said.

Last summer, a few doctors’ homes in Bangor were targeted for anti-abortion protests. Several local doctors’ offices are picketed regularly. As a security measure, police attended a subcommittee meeting of the Bangor City Council three weeks ago when an ordinance on picketing struck a nerve with several anti-abortion advocates in the audience.

“Most people agree that targeting physicians’ houses for picketing is inappropriate,” Partridge said. Pictures of dead babies on signs that line the street weekly in downtown Bangor are inappropriate for children, she added.

Bangor hasn’t seen the violence that has erupted in other parts of the country over abortion. Workers here haven’t been shot dead at their desks as were two receptionists in Brookline, Mass., who lost their lives to John Salvi’s bullets two years ago. The Salvi shootings prompted the idea for the CUReS projects nationwide.

Bangor is one of five communities to get funding for a CUReS project. A $110,000 grant from the Jessie B. Cox charitable trust provided seed money for the local project. In its first year, the Bangor CUReS program also will operate with about $92,000 in additional donations and foundation money.

Other CUReS projects are located in Jackson, Miss., Kalispel, Mont., Phoenix, Ariz., and St. Louis, Mo..

The 17-member CUReS steering committee — 16 women and one man — includes several physicians who have been targeted for protest. The group operates under the motto “Our Community Respects and Protects.”

Its statement of principles pushes for the community to “respect the right of all individuals to pursue their chosen employment,” to “respect differences of opinions,” and to respect the “right of individuals to make personal choices.” The group pushes for the community to protect the “right of all individuals to privacy and safety within the home,” and the “right to express all opinions in nonviolent and civil means.”