ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO DISTORT
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James Joyner | Monday, March 3, 2003 |
The NYT has a piece about the trial of a man who murdered an abortionist in 1998, entitled “Murder Trial May Become Forum on Abortion.” The story is interesting in its own right, as the defendant is apparently going to try to argue that it was justifiable homicide given that killing one man to save perhaps hundreds. However, I was especially struck by this theme that ran through the piece:
The murder trial starts as the anti-abortion violence that had swept the United States seems to have abated. From 1993 to 1998, seven people were killed in attacks on abortion clinics or on individual doctors, with Dr. Slepian the last. *** After a rash of murders and attempted killings in the mid-1990’s, the incidence of violence against abortion practitioners has quieted.The first such murder occurred in 1993, when Dr. David Gunn was shot outside the Pensacola Women’s Medical Services abortion clinic in Florida. The bloodiest year was 1994, when there were four murders and eight attempted killings.
Now, murdering abortionists is, of course, wrong. All but a couple of kooks on the anti-abortion side believe that. But since when is seven murders over six years “a rash”? There have been that many killed in post-game celebrations after major sporting events.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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