Ruthless Valkyrie B*tches
An insult that became a badge of honor — and a nickname for our supporters.
On September 23, 1988, more than 200 anti-abortion activists descended on Cedar River Clinic in Renton, Washington.
They blocked all the entrances and exits. They pulled on the arms of patients and staff. They verbally harassed anyone who tried to get in or out. And by the end of the day, more than 150 were arrested by police. The attack was just the latest in a series of blockades conducted by Operation Rescue: a national campaign to shut down reproductive health clinics.
Though Operation Rescue has succeeded in some locations — even transforming a clinic in Kansas into its headquarters — the story has been different in Washington. Because Legal Voice and its partners fought back.
While building our case against Operation Rescue, we went undercover to infiltrate its meetings. It was during one of these meetings that we overheard one of the opposition’s lead attorneys describe us with a one-of-a-kind phrase:
Ruthless Valkyrie B*tches.
Perhaps he foresaw his own loss. In Norse mythology, the Valkyries are supernatural maidens who decide who dies on the battlefield and who gets to go to Valhalla (a “warrior heaven”). They fly over the carnage on horseback — or sometimes on wings of their own…
After two years of litigation, we went on to secure a first-in-the-nation injunction that stopped Operation Rescue from blockading clinics anywhere in the state. And then, to ensure no one else followed in their footsteps, we worked with a coalition to pass the Clinic Access Bill in 1993. That law protects all health care facilities in Washington from harassment.
Though much has changed in the three decades since those battles, our mission remains the same and we still wear the Valkyrie name with pride.
And you can, too.
To shop our Ruthless Valkyrie B*tches apparel and mugs, visit our online store. All proceeds support our fight for gender justice across the Northwest.
