The return of Clinton-era clinic violence

I’m profoundly saddened by the murder of Dr. George Tiller this morning. Unfortunately, this is only the most recent incident in a long history of domestic terrorism on women’s reproductive clinics in the U.S. and Canada. Since 1977, there have been:

• 7 murders
• 17 attempted murders
• 383 death threats
• 153 incidents of assault or battery
• 3 kidnappings
• 41 bombings
• 173 arsons
• 91 attempted bombings or arsons
• 619 bomb threats
• 1264 incidents of vandalism
• 100 attacks with butyric acid
• and 1630 incidents of trespassing

committed against abortion providers and women’s reproductive health clinics (via wikipedia and the National Abortion Federation).

Dr. Tiller is the first reproductive health doctor to be assassinated since 1998. Clinic violence was at a historic high throughout the Clinton era as he made huge strides for women’s reproductive rights. Conversely, the Bush administration and conservative Congress severely limited the ability for reproductive health providers to care for their patients with laws like the “partial birth abortion” ban, which threatens the lives of pregnant women with serious complications and prevents doctors from providing them with the care they need in many cases. While protests, threats, and violence continued, there were no violent deaths attributed to radical anti-choice activists.

I can’t help but wonder if Dr. Tiller’s murder, just over 4 months after the inauguration of President Obama, is a warning of impending violence now that we’ve elected a pro-choice president committed to women’s reproductive rights.

It’s sad to know that violence is the price we pay for progress.