Abortion Clinic

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November 11, 2012

They Just Never Give Up, Do They?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Blog, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: , |
[32] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

On Election Day, I was standing outside my polling place minding my own business.  I’m a pretty staunch Democrat and everyone in my area knows it.  But, on this day, I was not handing out literature to voters.  I was just sitting in the background and leaving that work to other younger poll watchers.  There were about seven of us Democrats and just about 30 feet away the Republican Party had their table and their workers were doing the same.  As usual, everything was generally rather civil.

Then, suddenly, over near the Republican table I hear some woman at the top of her lungs say “I know you, Pat Richards, you’re a baby killer!”

Now, as a staff person for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers for 13 years, I had gotten somewhat used to being called names during protests, rallies, etc.  It came with the territory.  I even kind of enjoyed it – it meant they knew who I was.  But it’s been about 8 years since I’ve been in that movement and this was the first time in many years that I had been confronted with something like this in public.

Abortion

Abortion

Her screech cut through the chilly wind and pierced my ears.  Interestingly, I found that my heart started palpitating wildly.  I couldn’t believe I was hearing that crap again.  I looked over and made eye contact with this woman, who then yelled out “Yes, Pat, we know you teach people how to perform abortions.”   This absolutely ridiculous statement brought me back down to Earth because now I knew she wasn’t dealing with a full deck.  And now I was intrigued.

I quietly walked over towards her and just said “what are you talking about?”

“Oh, we know who you are and what you do.”

Abortion

Abortion

Fair enough, I thought.  I mean, this world famous blog is a public document so in a funny way I was actually flattered that she knew who I was.  So now I really wanted to converse with her, to see if I still had those ole debating skills.  You see, in the years I represented abortion providers, I loved engaging the pro-lifers and enjoyed trying to have a civil conversation about the issue.  I may have been delusional, but I always thought that if I just had a chance to explain why women have abortions and why the doctors put their lives on the line every day, then that person might understand just a little more and be less angry.  I never thought I would convert them, I just wanted them to understand.  But the person I was talking to now felt a little different.

“I know you write that blog where you teach people how to perform abortions.”  I asked her if she had ever read my blog and she said “no, but they have,” and she pointed to a group of 3 or 4 fellow Republicans who were peering at me, as if I had horns.  “If you haven’t read my blog, how do you know what I say?  You know, I do look at things rather objectively and there are times I don’t even agree with the pro-choice folks.  You should really read my stuff.”   No answer.

By this time, others were joining in on both sides.  There was no shouting (my friend did shout but I found out later she was hearing impaired) but it was tense and everyone was just talking over each other.  But my new “friend” and I just kept “talking” (she talked and I listened) and we ultimately learned we had another non-abortion connection in the community.  She then segued into asking me questions about Obama:  “Please tell me, I really want to know, how can you be voting for Obama?”  When I started to answer, she interrupted with “no, really, I really want to try to understand, I want to learn, I want to…..”   And she kept going on and on.  It was a constant monologue.

I had to get away so I told her I had to leave.  I came back about two hours later and she ran up to me and said “Pat, let me ask another question.  You’re really the only one here that I can talk to….”

Huh?

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November 4, 2012

Close the Blinds!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Information | Tags: |
[20] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

Doctor Bart Slepian was cooking his soup in his kitchen when a bullet went through his back and punctured his aorta.  He died two hours later.

He and his family had just returned from the synagogue where they were attending a memorial service for his father.  His two youngest sons were asleep upstairs.  Downstairs, the two older boys, 13 and 15, were watching a Buffalo Sabres hockey game in the family room adjacent to the kitchen.  At the same time, hidden amongst the trees in the backyard, anti-abortion zealot James Kopp was watching the family with binoculars.  At about 10 p.m., he put his SKS rifle on his shoulder, peered through the scope and fired.  The bullet crashed through the window and shattered Slepian’s spine.  As it exited his body, it barely missed his son’s head in the other room.  Later, Slepian’s wife, Lynne, recalled that he had said “I think I’ve been shot,” and then he fell to the floor.

It was October 23, 1998.  Earlier that year, Eric Rudolph had planted his bomb in front of a clinic in Alabama, killing the security guard and severely injuring a nurse.  And now, once again, the campaign of domestic violence against abortion providers had gone to a new level.  Now, you weren’t even safe in your own home.

Anti Abortion Christian Terrorist

Anti Abortion Christian Terrorist

Doctor Bart Slepian worked at the Buffalo GYN Womenservices providing abortions for members of the local community.  He also ran his own private OB-GYN practice in Amherst, New York.  Slepian was rather outspoken about his belief in abortion rights and he was very candid about what he was doing.  At one point he was quoted as saying “Abortion is undeniably the taking of potential life. It is not pretty. It is not easy. And in a perfect world, it would not be necessary.”   I had met Bart when he drove to Washington, D.C. to attend the annual meeting of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers earlier that year.  He had called me a few weeks earlier to say how much he appreciated the way I spoke candidly about abortion and, during that conversation, I learned that he did not like to fly.  So, he drove all the way from upstate New York to attend our gathering.

Soon after his murder, supporters of legal abortion started taking an interesting approach in the media.  They seemed almost anxious to emphasize that Doctor Slepian “also delivered babies!”   It was as if they were trying to distance themselves from the fact that he also performed abortions (indeed, that’s why he was killed).  During the next few weeks, I got a number of calls from Bart’s colleagues who felt both options were of equal importance but, as had happened many times over the years, it was as if pro-choicers were anxious to distance themselves from the performance of abortions.

At the same time, for good reasons our community became more paranoid than ever.  Always security conscience, they were now not safe in their homes.  Also, the killer had not been caught.  So, abortion providers started closing the blinds in their house.  Indeed, I recall my own children being very concerned that a bullet could pierce the evening and hit its target right and they begged me to keep our blinds closed – which I did.  They (and I) became particularly observant, looking for strange cars in our heavily wooded neighborhood.  I asked my neighbors to be on the alert as well.

James Kopp was eventually caught in France, was extradited to the United States and was tried and convicted of second-degree murder in Buffalo.  He is currently serving a 25 years to life term of imprisonment.

And then the murders of abortion doctors stopped for a number of years – until they got George.

.

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October 28, 2012

President Romney, Abortion, and the March for Life

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Blog, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Information | Tags: |
[11] Comments 
Romney Abortion

Romney Abortion

January 22, 2013 – Washington, D.C.

President Romney steps up to the podium, surrounded by tens of thousands of pro-life activists who have come to the nation’s capital to participate in the annual “March for Life.”   It is the first time a president has been physically present to address the crowd:

“I want to thank all of you for coming to Washington, D.C. to fight for the unborn.  I look forward to meeting with your leadership later this afternoon and I relish the prospect of working with all of you in outlawing abortion throughout the country.  It is time for the killing to stop!

Mormon and Christian Anti Abortion

Mormon and Christian Anti Abortion

As many of you know, within hours of being sworn in as your President I signed an Executive Order re-instating the Mexico City policy which requires that all non-governmental organizations that receive federal funding refrain from performing or promoting abortion services as a method of family planning. And I was thrilled that several of you could join me and Ann in the Oval Office when I signed that document.

Abortion

Abortion

I am pleased to report that my Deputy for Congressional Affairs has already met with members of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus to discuss an ambitious legislative agenda designed to reduce the number of abortions in this country.  Of course, the first item that we will pursue is the insertion of language in the HHS Appropriations bill cutting off all federal funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.  I was very clear during the campaign that this would be a priority and I’m pleased that we are pursuing this important measure.

Meanwhile, while we prepare for votes to repeal Obamacare, as a contingency we will pass a law as soon as possible making it extremely clear that NO federal funds may be used for abortions.  The lawyers at the National Right to Life Committee are working feverishly to provide me with the exact language necessary to accomplish this important goal.

Of course, if the Congress decides to pursue a constitutional amendment banning abortion I will use my bully pulpit to get that measure passed in the House and Senate.  Then, if it passes, I will criss-cross the country to ensure that we garner the requisite number of states to ratify the amendment.  That battle will not be easy, but you can rest assured that I will work extremely hard to reverse the disastrous Roe v. Wade decision.

I will also instruct the Department of Justice to aggressively review the reports of violence against pro-life sidewalk counselors.  These saints are out there exercising their right to free speech, saving lives every day and they deserve the protection of the federal government against those that would thwart their efforts through intimidation or violence.

As you know, in several states the legislatures have enacted laws imposing stricter regulations on abortion clinics in an effort to protect women from unscrupulous practitioners who are just interested in making money.  Just recall the horrors that took place in Doctor Gosnell’s clinic in Pennsylvania.  This should not be a state-by-state effort, we must pass national regulations on abortion clinics so all women are protected!

I mentioned earlier a possible constitutional amendment banning abortion.  As I said, that is a tough task but there’s another way to go about reaching the same goal.  And that is the Supreme Court.  At this point, constitutional scholars suggest that the Court is only two and maybe even one vote away from overturning Roe v Wade.  While I wish no ill upon any sitting justice, it is quite possible that during my first administration – and certainly my second – I will have the opportunity to appoint several new justices to the court and I pledge to you today that those justices will strictly interpret the Constitution and work to overturn that most heinous case of judicial activism that has caused the death of millions of babies – Roe V. Wade.

So, we have our work cut out for us.  But you have my word that my door will always be open to you and I will put the full weight of the Oval Office behind any initiative that is designed to stop the slaughter.  God Bless You and God Bless the United States of America.”

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October 21, 2012

A Lull in Anti Abortion Terrorism- Then More Carnage

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Blog, Abortion Centers, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Information | Tags: |
[12] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

And then the shooting suddenly stopped…

Between March 1993 and December 1994, the terrorist campaign against abortion providers was relentless.  Over the course of those 20 months, Michael Griffin had crept up behind Doctor Gunn and shot him in the back, Paul Hill put his shotgun to Doctor Britton’s face knowing the doctor wore a bullet proof then took aim at the two other passengers in the car, and John Salvi walked calmly into two clinics and indiscriminately started shooting anyone who happened to be there, killing two clinic workers.  Meanwhile, during this same period, Doctor George Tiller had survived an attempted assassination in Wichita, Kansas.

Then, for almost three years, the guns went silent.

Not that this campaign of “domestic terrorism” ceased altogether.  During those years, there was a rash of butyric acid attacks against clinics.  At night, an assailant would take a syringe that had been filled with the acid and injected it through the keyhole of an abortion clinic. The next day, when clinic staff opened the door, they were hit with the powerful smell that, while it did not kill anyone, sent numerous workers to the hospital.  It also forced abortion clinics to close for days and spends hundreds and thousands of dollars trying to get rid of the toxic element.

Abortion

Abortion

Then, on October 28, 1997, Doctor David Gandell, an abortion doctor in Rochester, New York was sitting in his home when a shot went through his window and he was injured by flying glass.  Unfortunately, no one really paid much attention to the incident.  Part of the reason was because the doctor was not well known, he did not go to any meetings, was not public about what he did.  And he was “up there” in Rochester.  Furthermore, he wasn’t killed, he was “only” injured.

So, for a few years, things were relatively calm.  We felt that the Clinton administration’s Department of Justice was on the watch, many doctors started shelving their cumbersome bullet proof vests and we started to let our guard down a little.  We didn’t know that another terrorist by the name of Eric Rudolph was out there plotting.

On July 27, 1996 Rudolph detonated a bomb at the site of the Atlanta Summer Olympic games, killing spectator Alice Hawthorne and wounding 111 others.  Then, in January 1997 he planted a bomb at the Northside Family Planning Center, an abortion clinic in the suburbs of Atlanta but no one was injured so, again, because there were no “bodies,” the media did not cover it well.

Then, on the morning of January 29, 1998, Rudolph left a bomb composed of dynamite surrounded by close-packed nails in some bushes near the entrance to the All Woman New Women abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama.  He lingered near the scene holding a remote-control and at 7:33 a.m. he detonated the device when he saw Robert Sanderson, who was providing off-duty security for the clinic, approach the device.  The bomb went off, killing Sanderson instantly.  Also injured severely was a nurse, Emily Lyons, who lost an eye in the explosion.

Clinics across the country went back to red alert status.  Rudolph was quickly identified as the suspect and a manhunt ensued that lasted several years.  There was much evidence that he had escaped into the Appalachian wilderness and over those years, he actually because a folk hero to the yahoos in that part of the country who were so anti-government that they were rooting for Rudolph to elude the authorities.  I even remember seeing a tee shirt for sale that said “Run, Eric, Run.”  It was sick and the authorities became a laughing stock because of their inability to find this man who was living off the earth and eluding them and their sophisticated tracking equipment.

At the same time, on March 7, 1998, Rudolph’s older brother, Daniel, videotaped himself cutting off one of his own hands with a raial arm saw to “send a message to the FBI and the media.” According to Rudolph’s own writings, he survived during his years as a fugitive by camping in the woods, gathering acorns and salamander, pilfering vegetable gardens, stealing grain from a grain silo, and raiding dumpsters in a nearby town.  Finally, Rudolph was arrested in North Carolina on May 31, 2003, by a police officer who saw him rummaging through a garbage disposal behind a convenience store early in the morning.  Years later, Rudolph struck a plea bargain and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole.

With Rudolph in custody, abortion clinics breathed a sigh of relief.

The terror was over for now.  But another terrorist was waiting in the woods behind another doctor’s house.

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September 23, 2012

Romney and Abortion

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Information | Tags: , , , |
[67] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

Well, we have officially entered the silly season of the presidential campaign.  And even the abortion issue has somehow got caught up in all the hyperbole and downright nastiness.

Take, for example, the latest outrage, at least according to press releases by the pro-life movement.   Did you know, they scream in horror, that the president of United Airlines actually hosted a fundraiser for a Texas-based Planned Parenthood affiliate?  OMG, what is this world coming to?

Then there’s the latest out of Hollywood, that den of iniquity whose residents support abortion up to the moment of high school graduation.  It seems that the Obama campaign is actually “tapping celebrities” for his re-election effort and the pro-life movement apparently thinks it’s important for the American public to know that actresses Jessica Alba and Natalie Portman have joined Obama in his support for “abortion on demand.”  Oh, the outrage!  (And don’t get me started on Clint Eastwood)

On the macro level, the abortion issue has been the source of some very interesting – and disappointing – turn of events.  Indeed, I must say how disappointed I am in the Obama campaign.  Yes, you heard me right.

Abortion

Abortion

At this time, it is extremely clear (at least to me) that as President, Mitt Romney would outlaw all abortions unless the woman’s life was endangered or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.  Now don’t get me started on how abortion isn’t “murder” when it was the product of rape or incest.  I still don’t get that rationale.  But a few weeks ago, a commercial produced by the Obama campaign caught my attention.  Accompanied by the usual foreboding music and grainy photographs reminiscent of the one of the Loch Ness monster, a voice says that “Romney Ryan” would outlaw all abortions except when the woman’s life was endangered.  Yep, it says very clearly that Romney and running mate Paul Ryan have “both backed proposals that would outlaw abortions even in cases of rape or incest.”

This is an accurate reflection of Ryan’s position but, as for Romney, the Obama folks are pushing it.

What the Obama campaign points to is that at some point Romney also said he supports legislation that defines life as beginning at conception and that legislation is normally interpreted to be a ban on all abortions.  Now, not to defend Romney, but he is not a smart guy and like so many others he gets tongue tied when it comes to the abortion issue. He clearly has not thought about the implications of defining when life begins in a legal sense because all of his other statements make clear he supports some exceptions.  Even Mr. Ryan has acknowledged that he will support Romney on that one.

Romney’s obvious confusion about abortion was also in evidence when he recently said that he would ALSO support abortions if a woman’s “health” was endangered.  As all pro-lifers know, that is the third rail of their movement because they believe you can drive a Mack truck through that “loophole.”  They suggest that abortions could be performed if a woman had a headache, as it would affect her “health.”  Indeed, I am shocked that I have not seen screaming press releases from the pro-life movement condemning Romney’s comments.   Hello out there?

So, Romney is all over the board, like he is on so many other issues.  But, getting back to the President and his team, I really think they are stretching it a bit.  Romney has said over and over again that he supports rape and incest exceptions for abortion, despite his confusion about when life begins.  He is just not a smart man.  But the President is a smart man and he has no reason to play these kinds of games.

The commercial is misleading, Mr. President.  You don’t need to go down that road and get in that gutter.

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September 16, 2012

The Second Doctor that performed Abortion is Killed – And His Bodyguard

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Information, Abortion Pill | Tags: , , |
[105] Comments 
Abortion

Abortion

Abortion Doctors.

Few weeks ago, I pledged to remind people of the anti-abortion violence that has occurred over the years by giving personal insights into the crime and the people involved.  I talked about Doctor David Gunn, the first victim who was killed on March 10, 1993.

Just a few months later, on August 19, an anti-abortion activist named Shelley Shannon leaped onto the car of Doctor George Tiller as he was leaving his clinic and started firing her semiautomatic pistol. She hit both of his arms but Tiller still was “so pissed off,” as he later told me, that he jumped out of the car and chased Shannon down the block until his damaged body caught up with him.  Shannon was captured immediately and remains in jail today.  The day after the incident, I called George and he jokingly said “I hope this incident gives the pro-choice movement a shot in the arm.”

After these two incidents, the office of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers was flooded with calls from doctors looking to protect themselves.  I really thought that some of them figured the first murder was just an isolated incident.  After George became a target, they knew it was serious.  Indeed, we actually had meetings with security companies where we investigated the possibility of a group purchasing deal on bullet-proof vests.

Abortion

Abortion

One doctor who bought a vest was Doctor Bayard Britton.  He travelled from clinic to clinic in the South and actually filled in for David Gunn until they found a replacement.  I had heard of Doctor Britton but had never met or talked to him.  At the same time, an anti-abortion protestor named Paul Hill was making a national name for himself because he publicly declared that it was “justifiable homicide” to kill an abortion doctor.   These two were on a collision course.

In February, 1994, we were shocked to see an article in GQ entitled “The Abortionist” which painted a not very pretty portrait of Doctor Britton.  It also talked about Paul Hill, who had been a constant figure outside The Ladies Center where Britton worked, just a short distance from the clinic where David Gunn had been killed.  The article was horrifying in that it practically predicted what would happen just a few months later.

On the morning of July 29, I was in my dentist’s chair when a dental assistant came in and said I had an emergency call from the office.  That morning, Hill was at his perch in front of the clinic as usual when Doctor Britton drove into the parking lot in a pick-up truck.  He was accompanied in the passenger seat by his volunteer bodyguard, James Barrett and Barrett’s wife, June, was in the back jumper seat.   Before they could get out of the car, Hill walked up wielding a 12 gauge shotgun and started shooting.  Hill later admitted that he aimed for the doctor’s head because he knew he wore a vest.  Doctor Britton and James Barrett died immediately in the hail of gunfire.  Mrs. Barrett was injured but survived.

Hill, probably relieved that he had finally put his own words into action, calmly laid the shotgun down and started walking away but he was immediately apprehended.  Years later, he was put to death by lethal injection in Florida.

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August 26, 2012

The First Assassin Strikes

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Centers, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information | Tags: , , |
[84] Comments 
Abortion Choice

Abortion Choice

The other day I was chatting with a twenty year old neighbor that I’ve known for years and at some point we got to talking about my history in the pro-choice movement.  I talked about working for the National Abortion Rights Action League in the early 1980’s and then how I helped organize the National Coalition of Abortion Providers.  And when I related how I had seen several of our doctors murdered by pro-life terrorists, he gave me a blank stare.  “They killed the doctors?” he asked.

It’s bad enough that the younger generations have no recollection of the days of illegal abortion but now the string of murders committed over the years (and under the banner of God) may also be fading from our collective memories.  Well, if I have anything to say about it I will do all I can to make sure that the violence that has occurred will not disappear into the dustbin of history.

Anti Abortion Christian Terrorist

Anti Abortion Christian Terrorist

The first doctor to be murdered was Doctor David Gunn.

David Gunn was known as a “circuit rider.”  He spent most days on the road, working in a number of abortion clinics throughout Florida, Alabama and Georgia.  He had a Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and an M.D. from the University of Kentucky.  At some point, anti-abortion extremists starting piecing together how he was travelling from clinic to clinic and he became a target for harassment.  Normally a laid back guy, David started expressing concern for his safety in the early 1990’s, especially after he discovered that Operation Rescue had distributed an old-fashioned “Wanted” poster with Gunn’s picture on it.  In addition to the picture, the poster included his home phone number and other identifying information.  In response, David purchased three handguns.  He kept one in his glove compartment, one under the seat and one in the trunk.

Abortion Choice

Abortion Choice

On March 10, 1993, David left his hotel room early in the morning and made his way to the Pensacola Women’s Medical Services on Bayou Boulevard, a clinic that he had helped open just a month before.  His new clinic, nestled among offices for lawyers, doctors and accountants, bore no ostensible signs and the patient load was generally rather light.  And lately, a group of protestors had started standing outside of the facility in protest.  On this day, one of them was a young man named Michael Griffin.

As always, Doctor Gunn pulled into his parking space at the back of the clinic.  When he got out of his car, David’s limp was palpable, a result of his childhood bout with polio.  He did not grab any of his guns because he did not want them in the clinic around the patients and staff.  He took a few steps towards the clinic and at 9:30 am, David Gunn’s life was snuffed out.  It came with no warning, he had no time to defend himself.  He was just gone.

It seems that when Michael Griffin saw Gunn’s car pull up, he casually left the protest, walked up behind the car then calmly shot David Gunn in the back three times.  He was heard to yell out “Don’t kill any more babies!”   After the act, he threw down his .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver and waited for the police to arrive.

Michael Griffin was immediately arrested, charged with murder and, despite alleging that he had been “brainwashed” by anti abortion activists John Burt, was quickly found guilty.  He remains in jail in Florida to this day.

The first murder of an abortion doctor made national headlines for weeks.  Prime Time specials, the Donohue Show, Nightline all covered the act.  Doctor Gunn’s son, David, Jr., became a spokesperson for abortion providers.  A number of abortion doctors left the field, concerned for their safety.  And the federal government, i.e., the Clinton Administration, did nothing.  Meanwhile, there were other assassins waiting in the wings, hatching similar plans.

This was just the first assassination of an abortion doctor.

 

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