Re “Lawsuit claims real estate company colluded with Beverly Hills to block opening of clinic,” Aug. 16 issue

As reported in your article, an abortion clinic preparing to open in Beverly Hills lost their lease, further limiting reproductive care to women locally and across the country. There is evidence to support that [an] extremist anti-abortion group coerced the landlord, Douglas Emmett, to rescind their lease. It is also actively being investigated that several officials from the city of Beverly Hills succumbed to the threats of harassment by the anti-abortion group.

In May 2022, the Beverly Hills City Council announced its official stance to uphold women’s reproductive rights and their legal right to abortion services. So, what changed?

I have no doubt that the city officials and the police are concerned about the safety of their citizens. They may have been measuring what resources are needed to deal with the provocative actions that the extremist group proudly threatened to carry out. I understand their quandary.

However, instead of demonstrating resilience and resolve, it appears that the city bowed to the demands of a group whose vast majority of members reside outside of our community. It sets a very bad and dangerous precedent.

We live in turbulent times, and we are all exhausted. Yet, I implore you to not ignore what happened in the city of Beverly Hills and is occurring across the country. Under the guise of First Amendment Rights, extremist groups have learned that harassment and confrontational tactics have proven very successful.

They target political figures, institutions, election workers, teachers, school boards, doctors and clinics, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, Jews and anyone who does not fall in line with their goals or ideology. Have we not learned from history that our silence and indifference empower those who do not have good intentions?

I do not have the solutions for now but am working with other residents and reaching out to organizations to find strategies to combat this cultural civil war that is diminishing our rights and turning our country into an unrecognizable dystopia. I urge you to join me because right now, the bad guys are winning. We must not surrender!

If inclined, please email the city of Beverly Hills at mayorandcitycouncil@beverlyhills.org to voice your concerns about the matter.

Gay Abrams

Beverly Hills