Talking to Men Who Are Clinic Escorts
RHRC: What was your motivation to start escorting?
Dan Rudyk: My grandmother, my mother’s mother, died at the age of 32 in 1949, of complications from a back-alley abortion. With five daughters already, ranging in age from 16 to 4, and barely surviving on a milkman’s salary in a two-bedroom apartment, they couldn’t afford any more children. The price she and the family paid as a result of an unsafe, illegal abortion was devastating.
…
One morning several years ago, the first client I escorted that morning was a young woman who was probably about 19 years old. She was accompanied by a companion of the same age. She was very affected by the presence of the protesters. As we approached the door, the throng of protesters grew in density and intensity. I felt her hands and arms wrap around my arm, and with each step she drew herself closer to me. By the time we reached the door her face was buried in my shoulder and she was sobbing audibly. I was still rather new to escorting at the time. I’ll always wish I had held her hands with my free hand and comforted her with assurances that all would be OK. But I will always be glad that I was able to stand in as a surrogate father to this young woman whose actual father, for whatever reason, was not there when she needed him more than anything.
More: Talking to Men Who Are Clinic Escorts
I think what angers me most is that most of the woman going to Planned Parenthood are not seeking abortions. They have to encounter this barrage of protesters in order to get a wellness exam or other services—as they need low or no-cost heath care.
So, the stigma of being unable to pay, or for not having a job with insurance, or being pregmant (under any circumstances) is only reinforced.
People wonder why the Kermit Gosnells of the world thrive.