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respectfully ask that the South Bend Common Council reject the rezoning application requested by the <br /> Women's Care Center. Allowing them to open up shop right next to Whole Woman's Health would <br /> create a constant conflict zone that will put women seeking a medical service guaranteed by the <br /> constitution in unnecessary danger.There will be a constant barrage of protestors, news coverage, and <br /> police presence fueling completely unnecessary and traumatic experiences for all involved. <br /> I urge you to protect the physical safety and emotional well-being of women seeking reproductive <br /> health care in South Bend. Please do not allow a private medical service to become even more of a <br /> political football in our community;surely that would only perpetuate injustice at the expense of <br /> women, children, and families in our community. <br /> Respectfully, <br /> Carmella Vizza <br /> Ph.D. Candidate <br /> University of Notre Dame <br /> Dear South Bend Common Council Members, <br /> My wife has provided a separate account of her experience securing abortion services in South Bend. I accompanied <br /> her on those trips to the Women's Pavilion, and there are a few points I wish to drive home. <br /> Foremost is safety. As my wife has already stated, there were anti-abortion protestors present on both trips, and <br /> while their numbers may not have been numerically great,they were none the less much greater than ours. I went to <br /> provide emotional support, but it was frightening to think that should these fanatics decide to get physical,there would <br /> be little I could do to protect my wife and I. <br /> The second point, and very much tied to the first, is privacy. I have read news articles about anti-abortion protestors <br /> following people to their cars and taking down their license plate numbers,or taking their pictures and posting them <br /> on social media. Health is a personal matter, and the very real possibility that this intensely private and already <br /> difficult decision could be made extremely public without our consent was quite distressing.And should we be traced <br /> back to our place of residence, these concerns of privacy and safety intensify dramatically. <br /> While the legal barriers to obtain an abortion in Indiana are significant, unjust, and unscientific, that is beyond the <br /> scope of this hearing. What is in your power is to increase the safety and privacy of women seeking abortion and <br /> other health care services in South Bend. Under current zoning, there will be no place for protestors to legally stand <br /> and invade the privacy of those individuals seeking access to healthcare services. I urge you to deny this rezoning to <br /> help protect these women and their privacy. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Michael Stephen <br /> Y <br /> FEB 2 0 2078 <br /> I <br /> AREA PLAN COMMISSION <br />