Operation Rescue leader called non-violence a "pitiful philosophy" after Dr. Slepian was murdered

[ck4829]

Lynne Slepian, a former nurse, was invited to the White House on April 9, six months after her husband was gunned down by a high-powered rifle as he fixed dinner in the kitchen of his Amherst, N.Y., home. His children watched him bleed to death from the shot in his back, which came from the woods behind the house.

Dr. Slepian operated a clinic in Buffalo, N.Y., that provided abortions, many to working-class women from nearby states who faced long waiting periods or parental consent restrictions closer to home.

Within days of his death last October, anti-abortion leaders celebrated the incident by choosing Buffalo and nearby Rochester for a week's worth of rallies, demonstrations and clinic confrontations, which are set to kick off this Sunday.

Operation Rescue National, a sponsor of the anti-abortion rallies, labeled the call for nonviolence a "pitiful philosophy and vision" and urged followers to take to the streets.

Rescue's leader, Rev. Flip Benham, virtually blamed Slepian for his own death. "Mr. Barnett Slepian had murdered thousands of baby boys and girls and last night was murdered himself," Benham wrote on his Web site in October. "Everybody wants to point the finger at someone else," he added, "but until the finger is pointed in the right direction, we are in store for more bloodshed in the streets -- the likes of which will sicken even the sturdiest among us."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/04/17/abortion/

[Kurska]

1. If you need rifle thugs to force you will your "philosophy" is the real pity.

[KittyWampus]

3. at this point, I'm becoming more sympathetic to owning a gun. For protection.

[ellie]

2. I am sure

that Operation Rescue would change its mind if the people protesting against them viewed nonviolence as a pitiful philosophy and vision.