A is For is Donating Stigma-Busting Comic Books

What would you be willing to do to help protect the rights of a stranger? Would you subject yourself to name-calling and threats? Would you be willing to put your own body next to theirs and run a gauntlet of hate?

They call themselves “Defenders,” courageously protecting and defending those trying to enter facilities where legal abortions are performed. You probably know them as Clinic Escorts, guiding people through hostile crowds as they try to get inside a legal place of business.

A is For was founded in 2012 by activist actresses Martha Plimpton and Kellie Overbey to amplify art and artists who bring their humanity to the subject at hand, because one in four women under 45 will choose to end a pregnancy. They are entitled to the full spectrum of (we’ll say it again, legal) reproductive healthcare free from harassment and obstruction.

A is For wants to share these human stories through a comic book called “Clinic Escorts: Stories From The Front Lines.” It was edited by New Yorker artist Emily Flake, paid for by donors including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Our Awesome Without Borders grant will help buy and ship copies of the comic to a couple of the 17-and-counting clinics hoping to receive them. As Kellie Overbey of A is For says, “Our Clinic Escort Comic Book puts the spotlight back where it belongs: on the needs of patients and the kindness and courage of escorts who help and protect them.” Every clinic deserves to have some copies, and if you want to help, click here. But you don’t have to! That’s what we call “choice.”