Abortion Protesters Help Save Clinic Guard

Enemies briefly put aside their hostilities when anti-abortion protesters and workers in a Van Nuys clinic that performs abortions teamed up to save the life of a clinic guard who collapsed of a heart attack.

One protester performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the guard, with whom protesters had had “terse words” in the past. Another protester raced into Clinica Medica Para La Mujer at 6900 Van Nuys Blvd. in search of a doctor, apparently violating a court order against trespassing on clinic property.

The guard survived and the episode left both sides feeling closer to each other.

“Maybe there is a little bit more respect between us and them,” said a clinic supervisor who asked that only her first name, Diane, be used.

“Just because we disagree on some things, we should also try to see the good side of each other,” said Lucy Vargovcik, the anti-abortion protester who went into the clinic for help.

Members of a Van Nuys church identified as St. Elisabeth Christian Service, and several other anti-abortion activists, have been gathering outside the clinic during the evening for more than a year, said Laura Sharp, a spokeswoman. They were armed with placards and pamphlets denouncing the abortions performed inside.

The clinic eventually hired a guard, whom the clinic supervisor identified only as Ralph, a “tough old bird” who smoked and drank coffee and who escorted female clients from the sidewalk past the protesters’ shouts and offers of anti-abortion literature.

It was a ritual that took place every evening the clinic was open, three times a week, Diane said. The handful of protesters would yell at the startled women entering the clinic, and the 62-year-old security guard would yell back, the supervisor said.

Ralph had fainted a couple of weeks before, Vargovcik said. Then, last Tuesday, he collapsed of a heart attack in front of the clinic.

“I ran up to the clinic door and called for this doctor named Susan,” said Vargovcik. “And I said, ‘Ralph’s down again. You’ve got to come out and help.’ He was lying on the ground on the driveway, and I went up to him and took the cigarette out of his hand.”

“Then me and one of the clinic workers started praying together, which I couldn’t believe,” Vargovcik said.

“Susan got down on her hands and knees and started pumping on his chest,” Diane said. “At the same time, one of the male protesters got down and began giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation without a shield, which is unheard of in this age of AIDS.”

“It was incredibly frightening,” she said. “The rest of us stood there praying for Ralph.”

Joe Evans, who resuscitated Ralph, said he “was worried about catching a disease or something. But I decided it was either that or possibly (not) saving his life. I didn’t think about that at the time. I just put it aside.”

Paramedics took the victim to Valley Hospital Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition for four days, Diane said. During the weekend, his condition was downgraded to serious, she added.

Meanwhile, the clinic continues to operate. The handful of protesters still show up, and officials at the clinic are looking for a new security guard.

“Everything is pretty much back the way it was,” Diane said. “Sometimes they say, ‘How is Ralph? Let’s pray for him.’ ”

She said she appreciates their thoughtfulness, “but I really wish they’d go away.”