Anti-abortion Violence in the Now
On April 1st, Lucy Flores, a representative in the Nevada state assembly, went public with a personal story during hearings on revamping Nevada's sex education laws to provide age appropriate, full sex education and overturning Nevada's "abstinence only" sex education mandate. She had an abortion at the age of 16. Within a week of that public admission, she canceled an appearance on a local news program because she was receiving death threats.
In Kansas, Julie Burkhart, head of Trust Women, the foundation opening South Winds Women's Clinic in Dr. Tiller's old clinic, is due in court on April 11th. She is seeking a permanent protection from stalking order against Mark Holick, a Wichita pastor that she has accused of threatening her. During a protest at her private home led by Holick, signs were being carried that said, "Where's YOUR church", (a reference to the fact that Dr. Tiller was murdered in his church).
Also on April 1st, Operation Rescue released the name and private information of one of the physicians who will be working at South Winds Clinic. Troy Newman, Executive Director of Operation Rescue, phoned her, pretending to be a reporter. Operation Rescue is calling it an "undercover investigation", never mind that no "undercover investigation" was necessary and by releasing these details he's placed her in a precarious position of being bodily threatened and possibly even a victim of attempted murder. We're fairly certain he is quite aware of this but continues to maintain the fiction that Operation Rescue doesn't "advocate violence".
In Kansas, as well, is Angel Dillard and the ongoing investigation of her death threats against Dr. Mila Means. In a story from April 4th, it was revealed that papers were filed in Federal court stating that Robert Campbell alleged that Dillard solicited him to firebomb Dr. Mean's home. The entire situation with Mila Means is suspect. The state of Kansas refused to investigate it and Means, on her own initiative, took it over their heads to the FBI, who immediately took action.
In the mean time, Warren Hearn and Leroy Carhart, the only doctors left in the country that are doing third trimester abortions for gross fetal anomalies, continue to wear bullet proof vests and take security precautions worthy of the Pentagon. They receive death threats on a nearly weekly basis. Just as it was for Dr. Tiller, suiting up in a kevlar vest and going to work in an armored car with bullet proof glass are all part of their daily routine.
All of these events are recent and in every case the perpetrator has claimed to be a "Christian" doing "God's work". They belong to organizations with names like "Operation Rescue", "Army of God" and "Lambs of Christ" but they harbor nothing less than domestic terrorists.
Most disturbing is that the violence is becoming more diffuse, no longer targeting just doctors but also clinic directors like Julie Burkhart. Lucy Flores was singled out to be threatened merely because she had an abortion fifteen years ago and dared to speak about it openly. One in three women in the US has had an abortion. What kind of threat does this constitute to them?
Part of the problem is that, to date, these domestic terrorists have been successful. They have managed to intimidate doctors into refusing to perform abortions out of fear for their very lives. They have shut down clinics after successful firebombings and acts of other violence. The biggest travesty is that certain states have done nothing to protect those people giving this kind of healthcare and refuse to get involved. Instead, they harbor these groups and even, in some instances, give them special protection.
One of the worst states for this kind of "passive aggression" against abortion providers is Kansas. Operation Rescue headquarters are in Wichita and they and Kansans for Life (of which Angel Dillard was a member) had already forged links with the state when Phill Kline was Attorney General of the state. With the election of Sam Brownback as Governor in 2010, a known religious right wing anti-abortion zealot, things went to a whole new level.
Cheryl Sullenger, "senior policy analyst" (a high sounding title for a storefront group) for Operation Rescue, is a known Federal felon. She was convicted in 1988 for attempting to fire bomb an abortion clinic in California and spent two years in prison. In 2009, her personal cell number was found on the dash of Scott Roeder's car when he was arrested for the murder of Dr. George Tiller. Prior to being confronted with that discovery, Sullenger denied even knowing Roeder.
Despite these known facts, in 2011, the state of Kansas permitted Cheryl Sullenger to file a formal complaint against Dr. Kristin Neuhaus, a former associate of Dr. George Tiller, based on documentation that should have never legally been in Sullenger's possession. In a proceeding where Dr. Neuhaus wasn't even allowed to present defense witnesses, her medical license was summarily revoked. On March 25th, the Kansas state legislature permitted Janet Porter, president of an Ohio group called Faith2Action, to introduce "heartbeat" legislation under the sponsorship of Troy Newman and Mark Gittrick, executive director of Kansans for Life. Given these facts, although it is circumstantial, there is ample evidence to believe that the state is colluding with groups that are bordering on domestic terrorism.
When even the state supports these groups, there isn't much hope for the state of women's reproductive health.
In Kansas, Julie Burkhart, head of Trust Women, the foundation opening South Winds Women's Clinic in Dr. Tiller's old clinic, is due in court on April 11th. She is seeking a permanent protection from stalking order against Mark Holick, a Wichita pastor that she has accused of threatening her. During a protest at her private home led by Holick, signs were being carried that said, "Where's YOUR church", (a reference to the fact that Dr. Tiller was murdered in his church).
Also on April 1st, Operation Rescue released the name and private information of one of the physicians who will be working at South Winds Clinic. Troy Newman, Executive Director of Operation Rescue, phoned her, pretending to be a reporter. Operation Rescue is calling it an "undercover investigation", never mind that no "undercover investigation" was necessary and by releasing these details he's placed her in a precarious position of being bodily threatened and possibly even a victim of attempted murder. We're fairly certain he is quite aware of this but continues to maintain the fiction that Operation Rescue doesn't "advocate violence".
In Kansas, as well, is Angel Dillard and the ongoing investigation of her death threats against Dr. Mila Means. In a story from April 4th, it was revealed that papers were filed in Federal court stating that Robert Campbell alleged that Dillard solicited him to firebomb Dr. Mean's home. The entire situation with Mila Means is suspect. The state of Kansas refused to investigate it and Means, on her own initiative, took it over their heads to the FBI, who immediately took action.
In the mean time, Warren Hearn and Leroy Carhart, the only doctors left in the country that are doing third trimester abortions for gross fetal anomalies, continue to wear bullet proof vests and take security precautions worthy of the Pentagon. They receive death threats on a nearly weekly basis. Just as it was for Dr. Tiller, suiting up in a kevlar vest and going to work in an armored car with bullet proof glass are all part of their daily routine.
All of these events are recent and in every case the perpetrator has claimed to be a "Christian" doing "God's work". They belong to organizations with names like "Operation Rescue", "Army of God" and "Lambs of Christ" but they harbor nothing less than domestic terrorists.
Most disturbing is that the violence is becoming more diffuse, no longer targeting just doctors but also clinic directors like Julie Burkhart. Lucy Flores was singled out to be threatened merely because she had an abortion fifteen years ago and dared to speak about it openly. One in three women in the US has had an abortion. What kind of threat does this constitute to them?
Part of the problem is that, to date, these domestic terrorists have been successful. They have managed to intimidate doctors into refusing to perform abortions out of fear for their very lives. They have shut down clinics after successful firebombings and acts of other violence. The biggest travesty is that certain states have done nothing to protect those people giving this kind of healthcare and refuse to get involved. Instead, they harbor these groups and even, in some instances, give them special protection.
One of the worst states for this kind of "passive aggression" against abortion providers is Kansas. Operation Rescue headquarters are in Wichita and they and Kansans for Life (of which Angel Dillard was a member) had already forged links with the state when Phill Kline was Attorney General of the state. With the election of Sam Brownback as Governor in 2010, a known religious right wing anti-abortion zealot, things went to a whole new level.
Cheryl Sullenger, "senior policy analyst" (a high sounding title for a storefront group) for Operation Rescue, is a known Federal felon. She was convicted in 1988 for attempting to fire bomb an abortion clinic in California and spent two years in prison. In 2009, her personal cell number was found on the dash of Scott Roeder's car when he was arrested for the murder of Dr. George Tiller. Prior to being confronted with that discovery, Sullenger denied even knowing Roeder.
Despite these known facts, in 2011, the state of Kansas permitted Cheryl Sullenger to file a formal complaint against Dr. Kristin Neuhaus, a former associate of Dr. George Tiller, based on documentation that should have never legally been in Sullenger's possession. In a proceeding where Dr. Neuhaus wasn't even allowed to present defense witnesses, her medical license was summarily revoked. On March 25th, the Kansas state legislature permitted Janet Porter, president of an Ohio group called Faith2Action, to introduce "heartbeat" legislation under the sponsorship of Troy Newman and Mark Gittrick, executive director of Kansans for Life. Given these facts, although it is circumstantial, there is ample evidence to believe that the state is colluding with groups that are bordering on domestic terrorism.
When even the state supports these groups, there isn't much hope for the state of women's reproductive health.