EASTPOINTE (WWJ) -- A few years ago, Stein, a Metro Detroiter, was faced with this question: Will you get an abortion — or will you take the chance and risk death?
Stein found out they were pregnant just weeks before discovering they would need to undergo surgery for a newly diagnosed health issue that increased their chances of dying.
They thought about the two children they already had, and decided to have an abortion.
Walking to Eastland Woman's Clinic on the day of their procedure, Stein was swarmed by protesters who followed and shouted at them, until making it inside.
To this day, Stein still thinks about the pro-life protesters and what they said outside of the clinic on 8 Mile Road and Universal Avenue in Eastpointe.
“The way that it shook my bones is something that I just couldn't let go of -- it really bothered me,” they said.
While scrolling Tik-Tok after that experience, Stein came upon videos posted by abortion clinic escort groups, which inspired them to call Eastland Woman's Clinic to ask if they had any abortion defenders there to protect people seeking abortions.
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In the Metro Detroit area, almost every abortion clinic has its own clinic defenders, but this one didn't. So Stein stepped in.
After a meeting with the clinic and agreeing to follow some guidelines, Stein launched their organization in February 2021. "Gamp Camp" which started out as a clinic escort group of one person, turned into a squad of about 20 dedicated defenders.
Gamp is a word for an umbrella -- especially a large unwieldy one.
Stein chose the word since, they said, their group uses the shield to create a blanket of privacy for the patients walking in, and to make sure that protestors cannot approach or even look at them.
Let’s note here that it’s not just any large umbrella; but rather a huge rainbow one.
The actual escorting process begins with one of the clinic escorts going up to the patient's car with the umbrella to try to block the protestors from seeing the patient.
A.J., a volunteer coordinator with Gamp Camp, said this is especially important, now that protestors are using body cameras to take pictures of the patients and their license plates.
“We just feel like our patients shouldn't be recorded getting out of their car and walking into a clinic -- so the umbrellas really help,” A.J. said.
They then ask the patient if they would like to be escorted, which is usually a yes. Or, sometimes they don’t mind and will just run inside.
During the walk to the clinic doors, the escorts use a variety of noise-makers to drown out the noises of the opposing side, which include travel speakers blasting music, kazoos and cowbells.
Once they get to the door, someone is there to open it quickly.
But their job doesn’t end when the patients are inside.
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The defenders stand in front of the windows with their umbrellas covering them so as the patient is checking in for their appointment, they don’t have people staring at or recording them.
The noise-making also continues while the patient undergoes the procedure.
“Some of them [the protestors] are really wily and they jump around; they do like basketball moves and it looks like they're on the court,” said Stein. "They try to get to the patients to say passive-aggressive shaming things.”
According to Stein, some of the verbal tactics used by the protestors include singing songs about child sacrifice, chanting, yelling, praying and even calling the patients "mom."
And the exact words they say to the patients are even more bothersome, according to Stein, who had difficulty saying the following statements out loud.
“They’ll say, ‘It's murder, mom'; ‘Have mercy on your child'; ‘It could be a little girl in there'; ‘You don't want to do this'; and ‘Why do you need to kill your child?'" said Stein.
“It’s just nasty,” they said.
And it's in these moments when Stein begins to film.
Gamp Camp has their own Tik-Tok page, not only to show how pro-choice people can get involved if they want to help, but also to show people who may not agree with how their peers are protesting to step in and make it stop.
For Stein, it's about creating awareness.
“And somewhere selfishly, I also get joy out of sharing these ridiculous videos, you know -- people act ridiculous out here,” said Stein.
Along with the verbal attacks, Stein said protestors also pass out pamphlets filled with misinformation and medically impossible options, like saving an ectopic pregnancy. They also try to solicit the patients to go to the building they bought across the street from Eastland Woman’s Clinic, which is called Pregnancy Aid Detroit.
Pregnancy Aid Detroit states on its website that they are a 501(c)3 nonprofit Christian organization that "upholds the sanctity of human life by advocating for the lives of mothers and their unborn children, and by offering emotional and material support, as well as education to promote healthy lifestyles."
Stein said they don't think protestors often succeed at turning patients away.
“There’s a chance that they may have been successful at some point, but I’ve been there for over a year now and I haven’t seen anything," said Stein.
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“So far, it’s been really eye-opening,” A.J., who first got involved with the group in early summer of 2021, said. “We have gotten people that just try to argue a lot and try to say certain things that I would see as very triggering if anybody were to stand outside of my doctor's office -- or any other kind of appointment. I just think that it's really strange that they're all there.”
A.J., 25, first found out about Gamp Camp through Tik-Tok when scrolling through videos using the women’s rights and reproductive rights hashtag. She sent a message and now almost a year later, she's still escorting.
A.J. was born and raised in Texas and lived close to an abortion clinic. She remembers driving by on the school bus and seeing older people standing outside with religious signs. But she said she never understood the gravity of it until she grew up, went to college and noticed how important and necessary reproductive care is.
When her family moved to Michigan, A.J. said she began to become more concerned about reproductive care and got involved with volunteering.
She said defending was a bit intimidating at first.
“There have been times where I've wondered how far will these people (protestors) go -- especially when younger people start showing up," said A.J.
A.J. heard one woman at another clinic was pushed up against a car by an older man -- and at their clinic, one of the defenders got cornered against a wall by another man.
“It gets crazy, but just seeing them [the patients] feel a little bit safer -- or not having to worry about somebody recording them walking into a medical facility -- really reassures me and makes me feel better about those situations.” said A.J. “It can be triggering and upsetting, but just remembering why you're there and what you're there to do really helps keep you grounded in the moments like that."
And while clinic defenders may have patients to protect now, ever since the Roe v. Wade draft opinion leak published by Politico, Stein and A.J. are concerned about the future.
“I think most of us expected that this would be the decision," said Stein. "It's surprising to hear it. It's like a process of grieving.”
And A.J. said she "dreads" the day that Gamp Camp pulls up to Eastland Woman's Clinic and the nurses come out to say they're closed.
“We’d love to stay out there as long as we could, but if there are no clinics open, then there are no people to escort -- there's no reason for us to be there, unfortunately," said A.J.
But on the other side of the dread is the hope.
“I think it's really important to let people know that we're not going to go back to the archaic days of back-alley abortions and, you know, I hate to even say the word -- 'coat-hanger'," said Stein.
Stein said they'd like to try and create some type of network to make sure that people who don't want to live under what she calls oppressive laws don't have to.
Gamp Camp has set up a Gofundme where the donations will go towards opening up a shop inside the warming center right next to the abortion clinic. They plan to open up the space to sell art and other pieces for fundraising.
Pro-choice individuals believe a pregnant person has the choice to either terminate their pregnancy or carry it to term.
Pro-life individuals oppose abortion under all circumstances, many contending that life begins at conception. They often believe they are helping women by keeping them out of these clinics, in hopes they will chose an alternative such as putting their child up for adoption.