All Volunteer Escort Service for the Summit Women's Center (Bridgeport, Conn)

Abortion rights advocacy group.

The All Volunteer Escort Service for the Summit Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut was founded by Patricia Hendrickson in 1993. Its purpose was to escort patients and staff from the parking lot of the Summit Women's Center, (an abortion facility), to the building itself, shielding them from harassment by anti-choice zealots. In 1994, Hendrickson's husband, Donald Hendrickson, began videotaping the clinic location to document the behavior of the protestors; some tapes were used as evidence by the defense in a civil suit filed by the American Family Association of Tupelo, Mississippi against the Summit Women's Center. The All Volunteer Escort Service ceased operations in 2002.