Long time Louisiana Abortion Rights Advocate and Clinic Owner Dies

The Shreveport Times has an article on the death of Robin Rothrock who was the owner and operator of the "Hope" Medical Center for Women. On of Louisiana's major abortion clinics and in fact one of the earliest.

See Shreveport reproductive rights activist dies . As the article correctly notes:

Rothrock moved to Shreveport from Cocoa Beach, Fla., at age 29 to open the Shreveport clinic, which at one time was the only abortion provider in a 400-mile area between Dallas and Jackson, Miss.The clinic has operated since 1980 despite increased regulations imposed by state lawmakers. The most recent challenge came in September, when state health officials temporarily closed the clinic, citing health and safety violations. Rothrock, aided by the Center for Reproductive Rights, successfully challenged the action in court and reopened.

This also means her clinic was quite profitable.

The article is a rather glowing piece on her life and includes interviews with friends. The web version has a little bit more than what appeared in today's print version.

My main problem with the article is well what is not in it. For an "activist" the article seems to very much steer away from the passionate politics that she was involved in. She was a force needless to say in the abortion community. When a person that is rather controversial or has controversial position dies it is usual for their opponents to be asked to comment.

In this article the voices of the active pro-life community in Shreveport are absent. Their absence I think is glaring and should have been included. It would have been interesting to hear their thoughts about her passing and their interaction with her.