Four Houston women’s clinics on July 8 were attacked with what is believed to be butyric acid. This acid, which has been used before in efforts to close clinics, is a noxious chemical that aggravates the skin, eyes, and nose. It can also cause nausea and create breathing difficulties. The acid was spread across the first floors of the clinic and distributed through the air conditioning systems. Eleven people were treated for nausea, three were hospitalized with breathing difficulties, and one person was injured slipping on the acid.
The FBI was called in to investigate and clean up the hazardous chemical. The attacks in Houston followed the five clinics in New Orleans that were hit the day before, and the ten clinics hit in Florida during the month of June. The four clinics hit in Houston were Aarons/Women’s Pavilion, A to Z, AAA Concerned Women’s Center, and America’s Women’s Clinic. Kathy Spillar, the national coordinator for the Feminist Majority Foundation, spoke to the Washington Post regarding the reaction of the clinics and the pro-choice community to the attacks. She commented on the feelings of the clinic community that the attacks are not isolated incidents, “We believe that there is an orchestrated campaign of terror that is spreading now across three states.”
