DATE=10/27/98
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
NUMBER=6-10978
TITLE=DOCTOR'S KILLING INTENSIFIES ABORTION DEBATE
BYLINE=ANDREW N. GUTHRIE
TELEPHONE=619-3335
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
CONTENT=
///// SERVICES SHOULD NOTE THE CONTENT OF THIS U-S OPINION
ROUNDUP. /////
INTRO: THE SNIPER KILLING OF AN OBSTETRICIAN AND GYNECOLOGIST
WHO PERFORMED ABORTIONS AMONG HIS MANY OTHER TREATMENTS, HAS ONCE
AGAIN PLACED THE ISSUE OF TERMINATING PREGNANCY IN THE FOREFRONT
OF MANY U-S EDITORIALS.
WE GET A SAMPLING NOW FROM _______________ WHO JOINS US WITH
TODAY'S U-S OPINION ROUNDUP.
TEXT: ABORTION IS ONE OF THE MOST CONTENTIOUS SOCIAL ISSUES IN
THE UNITED STATES TODAY, AND HAS CAUSED HEATED DEBATES AND A GOOD
DEAL OF VIOLENCE AS THE OPPONENTS AND PROPONENTS BATTLE OVER IT.
SINCE THE 1973 SUPREME COURT DECISION "ROE VERSUS WADE", ABORTION
DURING THE FIRST TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY, THAT IS THE FIRST THREE
MONTHS, HAS BEEN LEGAL. THE COURT SAID STATES MAY REGULATE
ABORTIONS DURING THE SECOND THREE-MONTHS OF PREGNANCY FOR
REASON'S OF WOMEN'S HEALTH.
THAT COURT DECISION SET OFF A SOCIAL DEBATE THAT HAS RAGED EVER
SINCE, AND HAS GIVEN RISE TO THOUSANDS OF ANGRY DEMONSTRATIONS AT
ABORTION CLINICS. THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN ATTACKS AND BOMBINGS OF
CLINICS, AND SINCE 1993 SEVEN DOCTORS OR CLINIC EMPLOYEES HAVE
BEEN MURDERED.
THE LATEST KILLING OCCURRED FRIDAY [10/23] IN A BUFFALO SUBURB,
WHEN DOCTOR BARNETT SLEPIAN WAS SHOT AND KILLED BY A SNIPER WHO
FIRED THROUGH THE KITCHEN WINDOW OF HIS HOME. IT WAS THE LATEST
IN A SERIES OF ATTACKS, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE NEARBY U-S/CANADIAN
BORDER, THAT HAVE OCCURRED FOR SEVERAL YEARS AROUND THE 11TH OF
NOVEMBER, WHICH HAS BECOME A DAY OF ANTI-ABORTION PROTEST.
IN THE EDITORIAL COLUMNS, THERE IS UNIVERSAL CONDEMNATION FOR
THIS LATEST KILLING, AS IN THIS COMMENT FROM "THE OREGONIAN" IN
PORTLAND.
VOICE: MAINSTREAM RELIGIONS AND RESPONSIBLE ANTI-ABORTION
GROUPS WERE RIGHT TO CONDEMN THE VICIOUS MURDER ... AS
[DOCTOR] SLEPIAN WAS BURIED ON MONDAY ... ANY NUMBER OF
ISSUES REMAIN UNRESOLVED. MOST IMPORTANT, FOR THE
MOMENT, IS WHETHER THIS KILLING IS THE RESULT OF A
CONSPIRACY OF TERRORISTS OR THE WORK OF A SINGLE,
UNHINGED FANATIC. A LARGER, MORE COMPLICATED ONE IS
THIS: WHAT EFFECT DOES TERROR HAVE ON THE ABORTION
DEBATE?
TEXT: ON NEW YORK'S LONG ISLAND, "NEWSDAY" SAYS IN ITS HEADLINE
-- THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE MURDER BY A FANATIC OF A
LAW-ABIDING PHYSICIAN.
VOICE: FOR A QUARTER-CENTURY, THE RIGHT OF AMERICAN WOMEN TO
TERMINATE UNWANTED PREGNANCIES HAS BEEN CONSTITUTIONALLY
PROTECTED BY THE SUPREME COURT. SURVEYS SHOW THAT A
SUBSTANTIAL MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUPPORT THAT RIGHT,
THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS. AND
COMPARATIVELY FEW OF THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE RIGHT TO
ABORTION MAKE THE SICKENING LEAP TO ADVOCATING VIOLENCE
TO PREVENT WOMEN FROM EXERCISING IT. BUT THE VIOLENT
ONES -- THE ABORTION VIGILANTES -- CLAIMED ANOTHER
VICTIM THIS PAST WEEKEND. FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN
FOUR-YEARS, AN ABORTION PROVIDER IN UPSTATE NEW YORK OR
CANADA WAS SHOT AT BY AN UNIDENTIFIED SNIPER THROUGH A
REAR WINDOW OF HIS HOME. ... TO ANYONE BUT A FANATIC,
THE WORD FOR THIS IS NOT JUSTICE, NOT EVEN RETRIBUTION;
IT IS TERRORISM. THESE PEOPLE HAVE ARROGATED TO
THEMSELVES THE RIGHT TO MURDER THE LAW-ABIDING IN
DEFENSE OF THE UNBORN. AND THE DESTRUCTION THEY WREAK
SPREADS FAR BEYOND THEIR INDIVIDUAL VICTIMS AND CORRODES
THE SOCIAL ORDER ITSELF.
TEXT: "THE NEW YORK TIMES" IS ALSO OUTRAGED, AND POINTS OUT THE
ATTACK AGAINST WOMEN WANTING TO TERMINATE THEIR PREGNANCIES IS
BEING WAGED ON MORE THAN ONE FRONT.
VOICE: IT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT CONSERVATIVES IN CONGRESS AND
IN STATE LEGISLATURES ARE WORKING TO DISMANTLE
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS BY BANNING CERTAIN PROCEDURES,
SUCH AS SO-CALLED PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION, AND BY
REQUIRING WAITING PERIODS AND PARENTAL CONSENT BEFORE
AN ABORTION CAN BE OBTAINED. BUT THOSE RESTRICTIONS
ARE AT LEAST IMPOSED BY THE NORMAL GIVE AND TAKE OF
POLITICAL AND JUDICIAL STRUGGLE IN A DEMOCRACY. WHAT
IS OUTRAGEOUS IS THE ATTEMPT TO SHUT DOWN ABORTIONS
BY ILLEGAL MEANS -- BY SHOOTING THE DOCTORS OR
BOMBING THE CLINICS OR HARASSING THE WOMEN SEEKING TO
EXERCISE THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. ... THE
INCREASE OF ... CAMPAIGNS OF HARASSMENT BY PROTEST
GROUPS, EVEN SHORT OF MURDER, HAVE WORKED TO MAKE
ABORTIONS HARDER TO OBTAIN. MORE THAN 80-PERCENT OF
COUNTIES IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE NO ABORTION PROVIDER.
TEXT: IN THE PACIFIC, "THE HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN" SUGGESTS THE
ATTACKS MAY ALL BE THE WORK OF ONE MAN WHOM, THE PAPER URGES --
MUST BE FOUND.
VOICE: IN EACH CASE, BULLETS WERE FIRED THROUGH WINDOWS OF THE
PHYSICIANS' HOMES. IN THE PREVIOUS SHOOTINGS, THREE
CANADIAN DOCTORS AND ONE NEAR ROCHESTER, NEW YORK WERE
WOUNDED BY A SNIPER. ... NEW YORK GOVERNOR GEORGE
PATAKI, CALLING FOR THE DEATH PENALTY FOR THE KILLER,
SAID 'IT IS BEYOND A TRAGEDY. IT IS REALLY AN ACT OF
TERRORISM AND, IN MY MIND, A COLD-BLOODED
ASSASSINATION.' NO REASONABLE PERSON COULD DISAGREE
WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON'S STATEMENT THAT 'THE NATION
CANNOT TOLERATE VIOLENCE DIRECTED AT THOSE PROVIDING A
CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED MEDICAL SERVICE." ... EVERY
EFFORT MUST BE MADE TO APPREHEND THE KILLER.
TEXT: BACK ON THE MAINLAND, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES" SAYS:
VOICE: BY NO STRETCH CAN THIS REIGN OF VIOLENCE AND
INTIMIDATION BE CALLED LEGITIMATE PROTEST BY THOSE WHO
OPPOSE A WOMEN'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO TERMINATE A
PREGNANCY. THIS VIOLENCE SHOULD BE SEEN FOR WHAT IT IS,
AN EFFORT TO SUBVERT OUR SYSTEM OF LAWS.
TEXT: AND LASTLY, "THE WASHINGTON POST" OPINES:
VOICE: FEW IN THE MAINSTREAM ANTI-ABORTION MOVEMENT DISPUTE
THAT THE DRIVE TO REVERSE ROE VERSUS WADE AND MAKE
ABORTION ILLEGAL -- EVEN, AS THEY WOULD ARGUE, TO SAVE
INNOCENT LIVES -- BECOMES A VICIOUS PARODY OF ITSELF
WHEN PURSUED THROUGH THE TAKING OF LIFE.
TEXT: ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL CONUNDRUM, WE CONCLUDE OUR EDITORIAL
SAMPLING.
NEB/ANG/RAE
27-Oct-98 2:45 PM EST (1945 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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