Spring 1993: Rhode Island Abortion Provider Harassed, Threatened by Anti-Abortion Activists

Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, a Rhode Island doctor and abortion provider, will later discuss the harassment he and his family suffer at the hands of anti-abortion activists during this time. Rodriguez will say that the harassment escalates to a terrifying level after the murder of Dr. David Gunn by an anti-abortion activist (see March 10, 1993). “[I]n the beginning, the harassment consisted of just nasty letters and graphic pictures of dismembered fetuses,” he will say. “Then I began receiving strange packages with dolls inside, as well as subscriptions to gun magazines.… Then the ‘Wanted’ posters with my picture on them began to appear (see 1995 and After).… Then the doors and locks to our clinic were glued several times (see Early 1980s), and protesters blockaded the clinic three times (see 1985).… Just after Dr. Gunn’s death… I realized that my car was steering poorly. I checked my tires and found 45 nails embedded in them.… That evening, my wife painfully discovered with her foot that our driveway had been booby-trapped with roofing nails cleverly buried beneath the snow.… My home, my haven of safety—violated.” [Providence Journal, 11/17/2001; Sarah Jones, 10/20/2010] In 2000, Rodriguez will write an essay about a stint in an unnamed South American country, where he will perform illegal abortions for indigent tribespeople and citizens. [Carole Joffe, 2000; Metro Catholic, 11/10/2010]