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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
Making news? The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate . If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly.
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| OCTOBER 24, 1998
1:09 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Planned Parenthood Steve Plever 212-261-4310 |
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| A Call To End Domestic Terrorism; Statement by Gloria Feldt, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America | ||||
| NEW YORK - October
24 - We are here today, yet again in sorrow and in anger, this time at the murder of a
caring physician and father, Dr. Barnett Slepian. Our hearts go out to Dr. Slepian's
family, friends and co-workers. And we must make sure that Dr. Slepian's name does not
become part of a much longer list. Stopping anti-choice terrorism is the entire nation's
responsibility. Abortion providers at Planned Parenthood and elsewhere are committed to protecting the health of women. The intent of attacks like this is clearly to intimidate us into abandoning women. We will not abandon women. As we serve women, Planned Parenthood takes every possible step it can to protect our staff and our patients. The women's health community, however, can only do so much. The possibility of anti-choice terrorism this time of year in northern New York, as well as Canada, was a known quantity. Providers in that region were on alert. There were only three abortion providers in the Buffalo area. Is providing protection for such a small group of people beyond the resources of the law enforcement community? Repetitions of this tragedy – this outrage – will only be prevented when the entire nation, regardless of views on abortion, makes a priority of stopping anti-choice terrorism. The anti-choice movement has a responsibility to take action to stop the violence committed in its name. It is time for anti-choice leaders to spend as much energy lobbying the extremists among their movement as they do lobbying Congress to outlaw abortion. This is serious. A few sound bites with mixed messages won't do. And clearly, until the political climate changes, law enforcement must do more. If it takes staking out the homes and offices of abortion providers to make sure that anyone who attacks them will not get away with it, then it is time to do that. Lives are at stake -- the lives of health providers, and the lives of women. ### |
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