[R-G] The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing

[Sid Shniad]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cristina-page/the-murder-of-dr-tiller-a_b_209562.html 

Huffington Post May 31, 2009 

The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing 

By Cristina Page 

For those who would like to think today's murder in church of Dr. George 
Tiller, an abortion provider, is an isolated incident, here's the horrifying 
news: You are wrong. The pattern is clear and frightening. 

In March 1993, three months into the administration of our first pro-choice 
president, Bill Clinton, abortion provider Dr. David Gunn was murdered in 
Pensacola, Florida. That was the beginning of what would become a five-fold 
increase in violence against abortion providers throughout the Clinton 
years. 

Today's assassination of Dr. George Tiller comes 5 months into the term of 
our second pro-choice president. For anyone who would like to believe that 
this is a statistical anomaly, a coincidence that doesn't portend anything, 
again, you are wrong. 

During the entire Bush administration, from 2000-2008 there were no murders. 

During the Clinton era, between 1994-2000 there were 6 abortion providers 
and clinic staff murdered, and 17 attempted murders of abortion providers. 
There were 12 bombings or arsons during the Clinton years. 

During the Bush administration, not only were there no murders, there were 
no attempted murders. There was one clinic bombing during the Bush years. 

One can only conclude that like terrorist sleeper cells, these extremists 
have now been set in motion. Indeed the evidence is already there. The 
chatter, the threats, the hate-filled rhetoric are abundant. 

In the last year of the Bush administration there were 396 harassing calls 
to abortion clinics. In just the first four months of the Obama 
administration that number has jumped to 1401. 

And so the execution of Tiller, 67, is not only tragic but ominous. He was 
born into an era when being an abortion provider meant saving women's lives. 
And the cold-blooded murder in church and in front of his wife of this 
stalwart defender of women rights and beloved physician, comes as a message 
for others, as well as tragic deja vu. 

Battered women are at greatest danger of being killed by their abusers when 
they are most strong -- that is, when they muster the courage to leave. The 
same phenomenon may be true in the abusive political abortion debate. The 
pro-choice movement, specifically our abortion providers, are in the 
greatest danger of violence when we take power. When the anti-abortion 
movement loses power, their most extreme elements appear to move to the fore 
and take control. The murder of Dr. Tiller suggests that violence against 
abortion providers may be far more linked to the power, or lack thereof, 
anti-abortion groups have politically than to laws designed to increase 
penalties against such acts. 

History has another disturbing lesson for us. The escalation of 
anti-abortion rhetoric plays a direct role in instigating violence. When 
anti-abortion groups ratchet up the rhetoric, they know exactly what they're 
doing and the results it will have. Even if they maintain deniability, as 
Operation Rescue recently did saying, in effect, we wanted Tiller gone, but 
didn't want him murdered, they have inflamed the rhetoric. And suddenly 
people Like Dr. Tiller's murderer become inspired. 

Eleanor Bader, co-author of Targets of Hatred: Anti-Abortion Terrorism, in 
an article in March for RHRealityCheck.org about clinics bracing for an 
uptick in violence after the election of Obama wrote, "immediately after 
Obama's election, Douglas Johnson, Legislative Director of the National 
Right to Life Committee, called him a "hardcore pro-abortion president." The 
American Life League dubbed him "one of the most radical pro-abortion 
politicians ever," and Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life warned that 
Obama will "force Americans to pay for the killing of innocents." Americans 
United for Life, the Family Research Council and Operation Save America 
quickly joined the chorus." 

Bader interviewed clinic staff -- many seeing a direct relationship between 
the pro-choice victory in November and increased aggression against them and 
their patients. Claire Keyes, of Allegheny Reproductive Health in 
Pittsburgh, explained: 

Right after the election we saw a small upsurge in anti-abortion activity. 
But since the inauguration, things have gotten measurably worse. There's 
been an increase in picketing by students from Franciscan University in 
Ohio. On Saturdays there are 60-plus protesters and there's been an increase 
in screaming and aggression. We don't have a parking lot so people park on 
the street. The antis have surrounded cars, trapping the women inside, and 
in several cases the antis jumped into vehicles and touched or grabbed at 
them. The police were called but so far they don't seem to be responding 
appropriately. 

Bader also quotes Elizabeth Barnes, Executive Director of the Philadelphia 
Women's Center, who explained, "When the pendulum swung in the direction of 
protecting women's rights, we expected something. The way the antis are 
reacting has changed, they're taking more liberties, pressing the boundaries 
of legal, civil protest." 

Many in the pro-choice movement believed that the Freedom of Access to 
Clinic Entrances (FACE) law, passed in 1994 in response to Gunn's murder, 
was responsible for reigning in violence against abortion providers. Clearly 
that is not the case. Based on statistics on violence against abortion 
providers compiled by the National Abortion Federation, even after the 
passage of FACE in 1994, there was still considerable violence and threats 
against clinic personnel, including six murders. As appears clear, the 
pro-choice movement has looked through rose-colored glasses, assuming or 
hoping that legalities can restrain terrorists. 

In fact, it didn't abate after FACE, as we've seen. It was not until a 
comforting anti-abortion president did they calm down and stop the murder, 
bombing and harassment spree. 

As a result of Bush's policies, recent reportings from clinics suggest that 
we may be seeing a surge in abortions. That has failed to inspire 
introspection from anti-abortion groups. That Clinton presided over the most 
dramatic decline in abortion rates in the recorded history of our country 
left them unmoved. That Obama has assigned his senior-most staff to the task 
of finding ways to reduce the need for abortion has not protected clinics 
nor providers nor Obama. Holder and his Justice Department should take note 
of the chatter and move aggressively against this form of domestic 
terrorism. The hate-filled rhetoric against Obama from the anti-abortion 
movement is at unprecedented levels, even for this reflexively inflammatory 
group. They refer to him as the "Most Pro-Abortion President Ever" ignoring 
the fact that he is the first to extend an olive branch in hopes that 
together we can make abortion more rare. 

Anti-abortion groups will put out carefully worded press statements 
condemning the murder of Dr. Tiller, as became routine for them during the 
Clinton years. But unless the rhetoric they choose from now on becomes 
careful too -- they may be the enablers of murder and terror.