Quote:
Originally Posted by HOZ
Just to point out to people the assassination was condemned by all but the most fringe pro-life movements. So most pro-lifers are NOT hypocrites.
LA Times
Sadly, Tiller's assailant is not one of a kind, but neither is he typical of the antiabortion movement. Prominent pro-life organizations long have condemned violence against abortion providers while working to restrict the late-term abortions for which Tiller was known. His killing was forthrightly condemned by the National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life and Kansas' four Catholic bishops. (A tasteless exception was the reaction of Randall Terry, the former head of Operation Rescue, who said that Tiller "reaped what he sowed.")
Pro-lifers Unite in Condemning Murder
Please return to your sniping. |
Actually, I think HOZ makes a good point here--and a point worth emphasizing. Most pro-lifers are not running around shooting abortion providers. This guy is the exception, not the rule. We may not like people demonstrating near women's shelters and abortion clinics, but we can all agree that those sorts of tactics are a kind of speech. In that sense, the abortion issue with all of its complexities is more or less beside the point; we may never agree on abortion as a matter of policy, but I hope everyone (with the probable exception of Calgaryborn) will agree that
shooting people is both criminal and morally reprehensible.
I'd put it this way: this man's crime was not being pro-life. His crime was murder. If he'd stuck to arguing on the internet, he'd be a free man today.