I have been reminded that this Friday is Good Friday. (I don’t keep track of these things on my own.) That means it’s that special day of the year when schoolkids and other amateur protestors are bused to clinics that offer abortions to show their piety by chanting and carrying signs before going off to church to celebrate torture and death.

In response, two local traditions have sprung up. The first is a counter-protest, which gives something for the protestors to focus on other than the clinic escorts and patients. With amateur protestors, this is important for avoiding incidents. Minnesota Atheists let their Meetup group members–through our own awesome Brianne–know how to sign up for a slot. If you have a local atheist group, they may do the same. If they don’t, you can sign up for Planned Parenthood action alerts and check their advocacy site for your area for details on this year’s counter-protests. Then ask your group to get involved with Planned Parenthood or other local, targeted clinic for next year’s protests.

The other tradition, the tradition that is dear to my evil little heart, is sponsoring protestors. For $10, you can say to a protestor (though don’t do it at the counter-protest; save it for that special family member or college acquaintance on Facebook), “Because of you and your actions today, Planned Parenthood is now better funded than it was before. Thank you for inspiring me to do my part to keep safe, legal abortions accessible.” How is that not irresistible if you have the money to do it?

What else happens on Good Friday on this front in parts of the country or world that aren’t Minnesota?