Murder, in the name of life
Just two more, you’re thinking, and it can stop.
Just two more murdered doctors, you’re thinking, and it will have to stop. They’ll have run out of targets.
The clinic in Wichita is closing, you hear—closing permanently. The murdered doctor’s family announced the decision just days ago, and now it’s down to two. Two clinics in the entire country where a woman can go for a late-term abortion. A legal, late-term abortion.
Opponents are exultant. Already the president of the group that calls itself “Operation Rescue” says he’d like to buy the building where the clinic was located and perhaps move his own group’s headquarters there.
File this under “Dancing on Dr. Tiller’s Grave.” Just two more to go, you’re thinking, and they can stop filling Web sites with doctors’ home addresses, and doctors’ faces in cross-hairs, and pictures of doctors’ families. Just two more to go, and they can call off the shouted threats, and the whispered ones.
Just two more, and the murders can end.
Not such a large number, you’re thinking—not in the overall scheme of things. Unless, of course, you’re one of the doctors yet to be gunned down, or a loved one, or a friend. Unless you’re one of the women desperate to make use of the medical services—legal medical services—the doctor would have provided but for the bullets.
Then it’s an enormous number.
And it still wouldn’t be enough to end the murders.
After all, what if another doctor steps up to fill the gap? He’ll have to be stopped, too, won’t he? There’s a doctor in Nebraska, you notice in the morning paper, who’s just announced that he’ll provide late-term abortions in Kansas. He’s apparently been providing them at Dr. Tiller’s clinic; he’s prepared to continue providing them, he says, at another location not yet disclosed. Not yet targeted on the Web sites. But he’ll have to be stopped, too, won’t he?
And it still wouldn’t be enough.
Assume, just for the moment, that the goons with the guns check off every name on their deadly to-do list. Assume, too, that the air is so heavy with danger that nobody else steps up. That they’ve finally cleared the field of every last late-term abortion doctor.
Why assume they’d stop there?
After all, for the most radical among the “pro-life” contingent, there’s hardly any difference between a late-term abortion and one that happens earlier in a pregnancy. Abortion is abortion. Abortion is killing. Abortion must be stopped.
So why not expand the target list? It’s the only logical conclusion.
Once the late-term-abortion providers have all been eliminated, who’s to say the radicals won’t start picking off the mid-term providers? And then the first-term providers? They’ve already proven to their own satisfaction that violence works and that extreme violence works best of all. So why not deploy their most effective technique on the broadest possible canvas? It’s only—logical.
Just two more, you’ve been thinking, and it can stop. You’ve been fooling yourself, you realize. It’s time to think again.
They’ve had the taste of blood in their mouths.
They’ll be back for more.
Rick Horowitz is a syndicated columnist. You can write to him at rickhoro@execpc.com.
Jun 17, 2009 at 12:11 a.m.
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"right here in Janesville with..."
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We finally agree, looks like Janesville is a great place to start. Yep, now you get it, I don't live within 20 miles of there.
Jun 16, 2009 at 3:05 p.m.
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This is my opinion, whether you agree or not, I don't care. 2 people can only make a person, for something to grow it must be alive, therefore a fetus is a living human being. I do not believe in abortion, I also do not believe in killing abortion providers. I do believe in a loving forgiving God who is the only one allowed to judge. He knows what is in each of our hearts.
Jun 16, 2009 at 2:22 p.m.
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RAF - right here in Janesville with you RAF :)
Jun 16, 2009 at 9:44 a.m.
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"...maybe what we should do is educate the ignorant."
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Need to start at home first.
Jun 16, 2009 at 8:47 a.m.
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Sprout - I try to be open-minded regarding religion, but that video is pretty scary! Yikes! Thanks for the eye-opener.
Jun 16, 2009 at 8:04 a.m.
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Sprout - maybe what we should do is educate the ignorant. Peace will never take hold while religious superstition is guiding the decisions humans make. Reliogions become dominant while they battle other blind faiths then they splinter and battle just as hard. the history of the church is a bloody logicless mess. To get past that we need to educate and not indocternate.
Jun 15, 2009 at 11:27 p.m.
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Another point gone over your head...
Jun 15, 2009 at 9:29 p.m.
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Actualy RAF - my thickness falls within the statistical norms for my height and age. Now who is being disrespectful?
Jun 15, 2009 at 7:52 p.m.
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"I thought I was pointing out the irony of a person killing to save fetuses due to thier perception of God's will,"
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You are just to thick to understand...can't make it any clearer than I did.
Jun 15, 2009 at 11:29 a.m.
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RAF - was my first post not respectful?
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"I wrote: 2 Kings 15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
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God's annointed ruler - are we sure that god is not pro-choice?"
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I thought I was pointing out the irony of a person killing to save fetuses due to thier perception of God's will, then when you look at God's behavior he doesn't seem to have an issue with it. What was not respectful about that?
Jun 15, 2009 at 10:54 a.m.
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Pro, you just don’t get it. It is not about evidence it is the lame fact no matter the topic you start bashing other peoples belief for no reason. Your very first post on this topic, Jun 12, 2009 at 11:08 am, was posted to inflame and state your dogma for others to read. It is a tiring and stale dogma. If you really wanted to debate religion and someone’s idea of a church or their god a respectable tone and loss of prejudices upfront might help. But, I doubt that a civil debate is what you are after.
Jun 15, 2009 at 9:50 a.m.
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RAF- I assume you meant me. I am very willing to change my point of view in light of new evidence. If you have some evidence for the existance of a loving caring god that created the earth I would like to hear it. That was my way of saying that I am not dogmatic about it.
Jun 15, 2009 at 9:15 a.m.
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joejack,
It is YOUR definition of a life.
Not everyone agrees with that theory/belief.
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Therefore, not everyone agrees it is murder. To some, abortion is not the same as the Dr. being shot to death.
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That is the problem with abortion, it is more complicated than.
Jun 15, 2009 at 9:03 a.m.
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Rick, just what I thought it has been two weeks and you have yet to write a story about the death of Pvt Long; guess it didn't meet your political agenda.
Jun 15, 2009 at 8:59 a.m.
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Back pushing your dogma on others...
Jun 14, 2009 at 5:08 p.m.
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Joejack - finally a christian has shown up - you are no doubt familiar with god's mandate to preach even if the other party is not receptive and even if they are rude right?
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Lets start with this - how old is the earth?
Jun 13, 2009 at 10:35 p.m.
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God says thou shall not Murder, Government (Man) says Go Ahead (Therefore it's legal). Hey everyone Hitler was completely justified. Didn't he dictate policy and legalize murdering of Jews. Oh I think he did. Just because Man says something is legal does not justify Killing (In this case babies). It's the woman's choice to kill and murder her baby? What about the Baby's Choice? Think the Doc wanted to live? It doesn't matter if it's in or out of the womb it's still a life and it's still murder. You'll cry over an adult and are bold enough to call the man who pulled the trigger a murder. However had Dr. Tiller been in his mothers womb at the time, and the trigger man sucked out his brains and left him on a table to die; well than it's all legal Right?
Morally bankrupt of a nation are we shame on us.
We have the technology to hear the heart beat in the womb but our nation is not moral enough to call it a life.
Jun 13, 2009 at 4:06 p.m.
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joejack-
you are scary. So you are saying the Lord wanted this man murdered?
This issue is not about God by the way...It is about a man being murdered. It does not matter what a person's profession is, he had the right to live. And don't even say that he didn't have the right because he murdered the babies. What he was doing is legal, and the MOTHER's choice, not his. It is legal-- I'm not saying I agree with it. Once all of the abortion docs are dead should we go after the mothers who had this procedure? I mean, really, they were the ones who made the decision to have it done. Lets just murder everyone who has made a mistake or committed a crime. Oh wait, this Dr didn't commit a crime. You bible thumpers need to just worry about yourselves and stop trying to force your beliefs on everyone else. If that is what you want to believe, then fine. But I don't need to hear about it.
Jun 13, 2009 at 3:48 p.m.
Jun 13, 2009 at 3:25 p.m.
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Nellie - I just posted a bible quote - maybe it refelcted what god thinks of it - I agree with you though. Murder is wrong and killing innocent children is wrong - abortion is legal and should remain so.
Jun 13, 2009 at 3:09 p.m.
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I don't agree with the murder of the Dr.! I am totally pro-life so I agree that killing the Dr. is murder. If you agree then I don't see why you think murdering a baby is not. that's hipocracy!
Jun 13, 2009 at 8:10 a.m.
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All this evil in the world brought about by ungrounded superstitious belief in the supernatural. Sad, we are better than this as a species - we need to outgrow this god nonsense before these faith based believers continue their cosmic conflict with nuclear weopons.
Jun 12, 2009 at 9:50 p.m.
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andre,
are you so simplistic that you do not realize that someone can support the legalization of something (death penalty, abortion, torture, life sentences) but not be excited or promoting it happening?
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I am hoping nobody promotes the death penalty but I, among other, understand why it is needed and legal.
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I am hoping nobody promotes the use of torture, I believe it is illegal but understand why others support it.
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I am hoping nobody promotes life sentences that put somebody, anybody, from our society in a cell for the rest of their life, but most understand the need for this.
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There are many things that I understand, need to be legal, that I don't promote or hope for. Abortion is one of those things.
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I hope and pray no women is in a position where abortion is an option but I understand and believe that option should not be taken away.
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Same with the death penalty and life sentences.
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Heck, guns and nukes are the same, "necessary evils" that nobody wants to see used to kill people but most understand their use and/or possession by some.
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So Andre, there are many things people accept and understand as necessary but don't promote, or hope for.
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Try thinking outside the box, JUST ONCE.
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pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion no matter how many times Rush, Hannity, Fox News, etc... says it does
Jun 12, 2009 at 9:26 p.m.
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I guess I'm confused. These activists are opposing abortion, calling it murder. But then, their response to these medical procedures, is to murder the doctor's who are performing them. I don't see how one is wrong and the other is right.
Jun 12, 2009 at 5:33 p.m.
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Good post Proartist. Why are we not treating the folks that blow up abortion clinics and kill doctors like the terrorists they are? I wonder if enhanced interrogation techniques will be used?
Jun 12, 2009 at 4:20 p.m.
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Amazing that the term "hate crime" and "terrorist" is legally applied to environmentalists, animal-rights activists, ethnic crimes yet killing an honored living, breathing physician who was a blessing saving women's lives is not a victim of terrorism? Is not a casualty of organized hate? It's time the law be revised to include ALL terrorism and ALL hate crime for there are far more hiding hateful people inspiring and inciting clinic violence than who will take credit for it. Rational, faithful and caring people know there is no such thing as "pro-abortion". They also know women never take abortion lightly and reproductive medical care should not be an issue in the public realm. It is an issue solely between each woman and her physician, her life circumstances, and her OWN conscience. To say and act otherwise is to dismiss and degrade more than half of the human race.
Jun 12, 2009 at 3:57 p.m.
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One from the top ten signs you might be a christian fundamentalist:
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Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!
Jun 12, 2009 at 3:03 p.m.
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The law says that you can't exchange sex for money, not that you can't have sex.
Jun 12, 2009 at 1:58 p.m.
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andre,
Who is "in favor" of abortion?
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Jun 12, 2009 at 1:45 p.m.
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Woe Nellie - you wrote: don't know how after looking into a childs eyes you could even think of murdering them.
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I agree.
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Jeremiah 19:7-9: I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.
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I think the context here is that god is talking.
Jun 12, 2009 at 1:24 p.m.
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Let's see.....the last time I commented on this whack-job of a syndicated columnist, people said "no, no - the Gazette is fair and unbiased, they even print right-wingers...
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He is no different than O'Reilly who I have never heard use the term "far right" or "right wing extremists" but rarely describes a liberal without such adjectives.
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There are right wing nuts and left wing loons...both represented by the gazette.
Jun 12, 2009 at 1:14 p.m.
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In addition, the one of the other big reasons I can't support making abortions illegal is because of rape/incest.
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Take the M. Chumura case. Let's say the rape took place and the young lady became pregnant. Do you realize, if I remember right, the baby would have been a couple months old before the court decided guilty or innocent?
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How would we protect pregnant rape victims from being treated like criminals so they can have an abortion?
Jun 12, 2009 at 1:04 p.m.
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who,
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I consider myself to be anti-abortion and pro-choice.
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I don't understand it but I don't believe that gives me the right to decide it is wrong/illegal. Like gay marriage, I don't understand homosexuality but that doesn't put me in a position to say "you can't get married."
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I know, you can give me examples like phedophilla(sp?) that we don't understand but agree it is illegal. In that instance there is a definate victim.
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Maybe I am just not smart enough to determine that a fetus is a life.
Again, I am anti-abortion and believe everything must be done to prevent abortions but pro-choice because it is between a Dr. and his/her patient.
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Jun 12, 2009 at 12:20 p.m.
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Excuse me, I had 3 pregnancies and 2 of them were supposedly harmful to me. They were both over a month early and survived just great!! I never once thought about killing my child because I knew it was a life! But I guess some believe that MURDER should be legal no matter what for convenience sake if nothing else. Well I value life and I don't know how after looking into a childs eyes you could even think of murdering them.
Jun 12, 2009 at 12:04 p.m.
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Yuu just can't lay off you dogma, no mater what the subject is.
Jun 12, 2009 at 11:49 a.m.
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Abortion is not always a choice that's made because a woman doesn't want to deal with the consequences of not "keeping her pants on," as whoanellie so eloquently put it. Many times during pregnancy, a serious health risk to the mother develops and at a Dr.'s recommendation, the pregnancy is terminated. I don't think abortion is the answer in many cases, but it should always be an option between a woman and her doctor. Before you turn up the hate volume on someone who has to make a difficult choice, find out more of the story. I don't think any of the few doctors in the US perform legal "late-term" abortions because the woman changes her mind. I would bet in almost every case there is a serious health risk to the mother. Abortion should always be legal to ensure safety, whether you agree with it or not. It blows my mind to think that people in this country want to see us go back to the days of back-alley coat-hanger abortions. Just because something isn't legal doesn't mean it won't take place.
Jun 12, 2009 at 11:08 a.m.
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2 Kings 15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
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God's annointed ruler - are we sure that god is not pro-choice?
Jun 12, 2009 at 10:24 a.m.
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Legal or not It's still the taking of ones life without their consent! That is why the Dr's murder is called MURDER! I am pro- choice in that as soon as you make the "CHOICE" to sleep with the person, you've made the "CHOICE"! If you can't take care of the baby as a consequence give it up for adoption or keep your pants on!! Not all ProLife people are radical enough to go out and murder because we believe in life. Their are alot of ANTI-LIFE radicals out there that also do some really outrageous things as well but you never hear about them. You either believe a life is a life with value or you don't respect life.
Jun 12, 2009 at 7:12 a.m.
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Who's right is it to tell someone they can or can't have an abortion? I am not saying I agree with them, but I don't think it is my place to tell them what to do with their bodies, and I don't think it is anyone else's. As far as those stinking babies aren't a choice billboards are goofy. OF COURSE having a baby is a choice...the choices started when the two groins came together....the only time it isn't a choice is when a woman is raped. I know my piddely little opinion won't change one anti-abortionists thoughts, but I would love to see ONE person respect the person's choice....not necessarily agree with them.
Jun 12, 2009 at 12:21 a.m.
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Rick, I tried to read the column you wrote on the killing of Pvt Long by a man on the FBI watch list after traveling to Yemen with a Somali passport. You know the story it happened 11 days ago, one day after the terrible event of Dr Tillers death. Well, anyway I couldn’t find that story so I guess it will be out tomorrow; after all it took you 12 days to write about Dr. Tiller I guess it will be 12 days to read your comments on the distasteful murder of Pvt Long.
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