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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 26, 1998
7:10 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: American Civil Liberties Union |
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| ACLU Deplores Terrorist Murder Of Pro-Choice Doctor; Statement of Catherine Weiss, Director, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project | ||||
| NEW YORK - October
26 - "The October 23 shooting murder of Dr. Barnett A. Slepian was a terrorist act
carried out by those who have declared war on a woman's right to choose abortion. Our
deepest sympathies go out to Dr. Slepian's family, and to his friends, co-workers and
patients. The American Civil Liberties Union deplores the violent acts of anti-choice extremists. It is perhaps not surprising that when abortion is described as "murder" and fetuses are characterized as "babies," the result is violence against providers and clinics. But this is much more than a war of words. Of course anti-abortion activists, like all citizens espousing any cause, are properly protected by the First Amendment when they speak, march, demonstrate, pray, or associate with others in these activities. But let us be clear: a night-time sniper attack on a person in his own home is not free speech. It is cold-blooded murder. The First Amendment provides no shield for assassins, whether they are motivated by ideology or not. This deplorable act of violence is the latest episode in the continuing rash of attacks on abortion providers across North America. According to news reports, five sniper attacks against abortion providers -- including the one that killed Dr. Slepian -- have occurred in Canada and the United States within the last four years. In addition, in January of this year in Birmingham, Alabama, an off-duty police officer died and two people were injured in what is believed to be the first fatal clinic bombing in United States history. In January 1997, two bombings at Northside Family Planning Services in Atlanta injured doctors, patients and rescue workers. In 1994, two young women lost their lives to gunman John Salvi at a Boston-area clinic, just six months after Paul Hill shot and killed Dr. John Britton and his bodyguard outside a clinic in northern Florida. And in March 1993, we saw the first assassination with Michael Griffin's shooting of Dr. David Gunn in Pensacola, Florida. Just as surely as Martin Luther King Jr. was a casualty of an ideological war of hate, so too is Dr. Slepian, and the other men and women who have been killed or injured by anti-choice extremists. We call on all fair-minded Americans to join us in condemning this act of violence and in expressing solidarity with the courageous doctors and other health care providers who persevere in the face of threats, harassment, attacks, and even murder." ### |
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