Rebirth of Anti-Abortion Terrorism
The murder of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas brings back old memories of radicalized violence against abortion providers.By Kay Steiger
June 1, 2009
A candlelight vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. (Kay Steiger)Last night candlelight vigils formed around the country in memory of the late Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita abortion provider, who was gunned down in church yesterday after being targeted for decades by anti-abortion activists and extremists. The vigil Campus Progress attended in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. was a mix of reverence and determination, ending with a series of “Hip, hip, hooray!” shouts for abortion providers and members of the DC Abortion Fund. Another will be held this evening at 6 p.m. in front of the White House, and others are aggregated here.
What Tiller’s death represents is something deeply terrifying: the re-radicalization of the anti-abortion movement. Anti-abortion groups have quickly scrambled to deny involvement and condemn the actions of Tiller’s murderer.
Tiller was murdered yesterday at Reformation Lutheran Church, one he regularly attended. He was 67 years old. This wasn’t the first time that Tiller has been attacked by anti-abortion terrorists. In 1993, an anti-abortion activist, now serving in federal prison for attempted murder, shot Tiller in both arms. The clinic where he worked was bombed by anti-abortion radicals in 1986. Tiller’s murder was the first against an abortion provider in more than a decade.
Many anti-abortion groups were quick to condemn the actions of Tiller’s murderer. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, condemned the “vigilante killer” in a press release. Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest released a statement also condemning “this lawless act of violence.” Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, was less generous and called Tiller a “mass-murderer.”
While these groups are quickly condemning and denying responsibility for Tiller’s death, they have a long record of making Tiller the demonic face of abortion and a target for anti-abortion activism.
In April, Perkins held a press conference across the street from the Wichita Women’s Clinic to protest the confirmation of then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services secretary for her “strong ties” to the “abortion industry.” By standing before the clinic where Tiller worked, the implication was clear: This man represented all abortions everywhere.
FRC and other anti-abortion groups often talked of a political PAC founded by Tiller that supported pro-choice candidates like Sebelius. They deemed such support inappropriate.
Earlier this year, Tiller had been acquitted of charges brought forth by anti-abortion groups concerning 19 abortions he had performed in 2003. Kansas law requires the signatures of two physicians to perform a late-term abortion; the charges alleged improper ties between Tiller and another doctor, Kristin Neuhaus. The case was dismissed after 45 minutes of jury deliberation this March.
Operation Rescue’s blog released a statement in response to the court’s decision that said, “Today a jury found late-term abortionist George R. Tiller not guilty of having committed 19 illegal abortions in 2003. While disappointed in the verdict, we at Operation Rescue are not deterred in our commitment to one day bring Tiller to justice.”
Yet another example of a way in which Tiller was targeted by the national media as the most evil abortion doctor in the country was on the O’Reilly Factor. In one of Bill O’Reilly’s famous “ambush interviews” in 2007, one of the show’s producers, Porter Barry, approached Tiller and asked him, “They call you Tiller, the baby Killer. Is that appropriate?” A Daily Kos segment notes that O’Reilly repeatedly targeted Tiller on his show.
Tiller was easily the most high-profile and most targeted doctor willing to perform late-term abortions in America. Anti-choice groups continuously and repeatedly targeted him for his role as a physician. It’s likely that Tiller’s murder was an independent act by a radicalized individual who sought “vigilante justice.” But the murder was clearly a political one, a terrorist act meant to send a message to other doctors who perform abortions around the country. By targeting Tiller for anti-abortion activism, anti-abortion groups also targeted him for more radicalized acts of violence.
Of course, Tiller isn’t the only provider who has been targeted for violence. A driver crashed an SUV into the Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota in St. Paul, Minnesota in January on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Anti-abortion terrorists, it seems, are big on symbolism.
The Department of Homeland Security released a report (PDF) on “Rightwing extremism” earlier this year. In it, they suggested that it was economic issues and racial violence were a cause of concern, along with radicalization of returning veterans and recruitment inspired by illegal immigration. Such radicalized groups, DHS reported, “may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.” It’s unclear if DHS agents were watching for individuals or groups targeting abortion-performing doctors specifically. If they were, they failed, and now perhaps they will keep a closer eye on those who threaten abortion providers.
Tonight pro-choice activists around the country gather to remember Tiller and brace themselves for what could be a new era of anti-abortion violence. The divisive debate about abortion has become more than a difference of opinion. It has become about terrorism.
Kay Steiger is an associate editor at Campus Progress.
Social Bookmarking
--------
Comments
As a practicing Catholic, I am opposed to abortion and the death penalty. As we are told to pray for our enemies, I said a Divine Mercy Chaplet for his soul.
I am aghast that a “pro-lifer” would kill Dr. Tiller and hope Dr. Tiller receives Christ’s infinite mercy. (Well,at least more mercy than Tiller showed the thousands of viable, but inconvenient, babies he killed.)
— mighty aphrodite - Jun 4, 02:44 PM - #Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center successfully sued the KKK for their compliance in the death of Michael Donald. He also successfully sued several other neo-Nazi groups and won large monetary judgments resulting in their bankruptcy. In lieu of Dr. Tiller’s assassination, I feel it would be appropriate for some entity to sue Bill O’Reilly and Fox News, as well as Randall Terry and Operation Rescue. I think you would agree that both individuals and their organizations are responsible for spewing forth HATE, and I feel a good case could be made in court that they contributed to Dr. Tiller’s death, in the same way the United Klans of America, White Aryan Resistance, and other neo-Nazi groups contributed to hate crimes against minorities.
— Tom Hodges - Jun 4, 04:48 PM - #This radicalism as part of a movement to re-institute slavery, pure and simple. That is, slavery over women.
— Frank Lornitzo - Jun 6, 03:08 AM - #They really would like the kind of regime as happened with the
Latter Day Saints colony in Texas. But there is also included a minority among who believe in the institution of “kept” women. “Innocent fertilized eggs” be dammed. They have given away their true motive in the new attacks on birth control and condoms. At least some women will be subdued in the face of the terror and propaganda including falsification of medical data. I believe slavery over Blacks would make them happy, too. While that is politically impossible these folks believe that slavery is part of the natural human condition. They believe the proper use of free speech is to bring
about slavery over those “less than human”.
“viable, but inconvenient”
You have nothing to substantiate this.
— B.BarNavi - Jun 11, 09:37 PM - #