By Emily Bregel, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
Aug. 6–The ruckus over a rumored abortion clinic in Chattanooga continued Tuesday as dozens of young people who oppose abortion gathered to protest.
The event took place at the supposed future site of an abortion clinic on Hixson Pike. Young people ranging from about age 3 to the late 20s attended.
The protest was organized by Charles Wysong, president of the American Rights Coalition, a Chattanooga-based advocacy group that gives counseling and support to women who have had abortions and has protested the rumored clinic in recent weeks.
Sixteen-year-old Stephen Wysong, son of Charles Wysong, said the group, called Teenagers Against Abortion, aimed “to tell the abortion clinic, or whoever’s opening it, that he’s not welcome here, and we just don’t want an abortion clinic here in Chattanooga.”
Abortion-rights supporters said prevention of unwanted pregnancies is a more effective way to decrease abortion rates.
“We think it would be a much more effective use of time and energy rather than protesting a hypothetical clinic … to join us in our efforts to prevent unintended pregnancy through access to medically accurate sexuality education and contraception services,” said Mark Huffman, vice president of organizational development for Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, based in Nashville.
Controversy over a rumored abortion clinic began in July when abortion opponents here noticed a Web site claiming that such a clinic was coming to Chattanooga, which has not had an abortion clinic since the early 1990s.
The Web site — www.tnabortion.com — previously said a clinic would be opening in Chattanooga in August but now simply lists a number for Chattanooga.
Local abortion opponents say that Charlotte, N.C.-based Preferred Woman’s Health Center intends to open the clinic at 4066 Hixson Pike, but employees at Preferred Woman’s have denied that they intend to move to Chattanooga.
Multiple calls placed to Preferred Woman’s Health Center on Tuesday were transferred to a voice-mail system.
Abortion clinics typically are licensed as ambulatory surgical treatment centers and require a certificate of need from the state health department to be licensed. So far, no certificate of need has been filed with the state to open such a facility in Hamilton County, Jim Christoffersen, deputy general counsel for Health Services Development Agency, said Tuesday.
The process to get approval for a certificate of need typically takes at least 120 days, state health officials have said.
Members of Teenagers Against Abortion, also called Teenagers for an Abortion-Free Chattanooga, said the group plans to open chapters in the other cities in which Preferred Woman’s Health Center has clinics — Augusta, Ga.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Charlotte.
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