Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Anti-Abortion Violence

Anti-abortion violence isviolence committed against individuals and organizations that performabortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence haveincluded destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes againstpeople, including kidnapping, stalking, assault, attempted murder,and murder; and crimes affecting both people and property, includingarson and bombings.

Anti-abortion extremists are considereda current domestic terrorist threat by the United States Departmentof Justice. Most documented incidents have occurred in the UnitedStates, though they have also occurred in Australia, Canada, and NewZealand. G. Davidson Smith of Canadian Security Intelligence Servicedefined anti-abortion violence as single-issue terrorism. A study of1982–87 violence considered the incidents "limitedpolitical" or "sub-revolutionary"terrorism.

Background

Anti-abortion violence is specificallydirected towards people who or places which provide abortion. It isrecognized as "single-issue terrorism". Incidentsinclude vandalism, arson, and bombings of abortion clinics, such asthose committed by Eric Rudolph (1996–98), and murders or attemptedmurders of physicians and clinic staff, as committed by James Kopp(1998), Paul Jennings Hill (1994), Scott Roeder (2009), Michael F.Griffin (1993), and Peter James Knight (2001).

Those who engage in or support suchactions defend the use of force with claims of justifiable homicideor defense of others in the interest of protecting the life of thefetus. David C. Nice, of the University of Georgia, describessupport for anti-abortion violence as a political weapon againstwomen's rights, one that is associated with tolerance for violencetoward women. Numerous organizations have also recognizedanti-abortion extremism as a form of Christian terrorism.

At least eleven murders occurred in theUnited States since 1990, as well as 41 bombings and 173 arsons atclinics since 1977. At least one murder occurred in Australia, aswell several attempted murders in Canada. There were 1,793 abortionproviders in the United States in 2008, as well as 197 abortionproviders in Canada in 2001. The National Abortion Federationreported between 1,356 and 13,415 incidents of picketing at UnitedStates providers each year from 1995 to 2014.

The Federal Freedom of Access to ClinicEntrances Act was passed in 1994 to protect reproductive healthservice facilities and their staff and patients from violent threats,assault, vandalism, and blockade. The law (18 U.S.C. sec. 248) alsoprovides the same level of legal protection to all pregnancy-relatedmedical clinics, including anti-abortion counseling centers; it alsoapplies to use of threatening tactics directed towards churches andplaces of worship. State, provincial, and local governments have alsopassed similar laws designed to afford legal protection of access toabortion in the United States and Canada.

By country

Australia

July 16, 2001: Peter James Knightattacked a clinic in Melbourne, Australia, shooting and killing thesecurity guard, Steven Rogers. Knight brought ropes and gags into theclinic along with 16 liters of kerosene, intending to burn all 15staff and 26 patients to death. Knight was charged and was sentencedto life in prison on November 19, 2002.