Murderer of Abortion Doctor Convicted, but Terrorism against Women Continues

Feb 1, 2010

Dr. George Tiller’s killer, Scott Roeder, was found guilty of first-degree murder when his jury trial concluded this past week in Kansas. The jury also convicted Roeder of aggravated assault for threatening two witnesses at Tiller’s church moments before Roeder shot the doctor.

Although Roeder wanted to use anti-abortion arguments to change the charge from first-degree murder to manslaughter, the jury didn’t buy it. It took only 37 minutes to make its decisions.

But Roeder and others like him in the so-called “pro-life” movement had nonetheless closed one of the few abortion clinics still functioning in that area. In fact, thanks to the vicious attacks of the pro-lifers on doctors and clinics, with some 6,000 incidents of violence reported, women in much of the country lack access to abortion – unless they are wealthy.

“Pro-life”? No, call these scum what they are: terrorists who kill, maim and harass to impose their reactionary fundamentalist views on the women of this country.

Government hasn’t used its police powers to prevent the violence of these home-grown terrorists – and usually it did nothing to those who carried it out unless, like Roeder, they went out of their way to admit what they had done. Government did nothing to protect women’s access to needed medical care; it has failed to protect doctors and other medical personnel. And many politicians who fill government seats pander to the reactionary views of these home-grown terrorists. They are all complicit in carrying out and encouraging terrorism against women.