An anti-abortion activist outside Missouri’s last operating abortion clinic in St. Louis (SAUL LOEB)

St. Louis (AFP) – “Free pregnancy test, free ultrasound,” reads the sign on a bus parked in the US city of St. Louis, close to the only clinic still authorized to carry out abortions in the state of Missouri.

Inside the vehicle, three young women welcome visitors with broad smiles, although talking to a member of the press is out of the question.  

Nearby, Linda, a 63-year-old African-American woman who came here with her church group, the Restoration Assembly of God, said that she urges young women headed for the clinic to visit the bus and have an ultrasound.

“It kind of gives the women a chance to hear the heart beat and realize it’s a human,” she said. 

Linda, who did not want to give her surname, said she “wants to save the lives of the unborn.”

She and her fellow congregants came to pray in front of the clinic, run by Planned Parenthood and the only one still offering abortions in the Midwestern US state. 

The clinic is in the crosshairs of the authorities but won a judicial reprieve from closure last week. It remains under threat, however, and if it loses its license, Missouri will become the first state in the union without access to abortions since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling in 1973. 

At the same time, Missouri, like other conservative and religious states, has adopted an extremely restrictive law on abortion in the hope that the Supreme Court, which has tilted conservative under President Donald Trump, will be able to undermine the ruling that granted women federal rights to an abortion.

Anti-abortion activists are closely following the political maneuvers and say they are “cautiously optimistic.” But they see their most important role as being on the ground and maintaining direct pressure on clinics.

– ‘Soft’ versus ‘old-school’ –

In front of the St. Louis clinic, the “Coalition for Life” group, which brings together some 4,000 activists and 95 churches, has organized shifts so that there are always two people to greet patients headed for the clinic.

Dressed in orange vests, they offer patients a leaflet listing all the services they provide, including free ultrasounds and a dozen “pregnancy centers” in the area which seek to dissuade women from going through with an abortion.    

One of the centers is an airy, bright office where young mothers are offered free diapers, and directed to various counselors. A sign reads, “We don’t pray, picket, show graphic pictures.”

Mary Maschmeier, a 69-year-old Roman Catholic who has raised 11 kids and founded a group called “Defenders of the Unborn,” considers this approach to be “soft.”

“I prefer to tell the truth about the horror of abortion,” she said, adding that she comes every Saturday to what she calls the “abortion mills.”

She hands out her own leaflets, which refer women to the same services but which also feature pictures of aborted fetuses or claim there is a link between abortions and breast cancer.

She happily identifies herself as “old school” and said she had been arrested six times for her activities. 

– Praying in front of courts –

If the tone and methods are different, the end goal is exactly the same: “To get that abortion-minded girl into our center and show her that that is not a blob of tissue,” said the manager of one of the “pregnancy centers” who asked not to be identified.

“I just had a girl come in yesterday, 20 years old, who had an appointment with them today. She cancelled her appointment, because she said I showed her what her baby looks like. And she started crying. And she’s going to keep her baby,” she said proudly.

With a piece of Scotch tape stuck across her mouth, 39-year-old Melissa Jacobs represents a different approach to anti-abortion activism: for the last 13 years, she has been a member of the national group “Bound4life,” whose activists put tape with the word “Life” written on it across their mouths to promote their cause. 

“We don’t reach out to the women, we focus more on praying, especially at courts,” said Jacobs, a mother of seven, removing her piece of tape to speak.

As much as the activists deploy on the ground, they know that ultimately the fate of the issue rests with the courts. And they are counting on the two conservative justices appointed by Trump to the Supreme Court to tip the balance their way.

“It’s time to reverse Roe v. Wade,” said Jacobs. 

Maschmeier echoed that sentiment. “It’s about time, we have been working at this for 30, 40, 50 years.”

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Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.