{"id":219152,"date":"2010-01-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/blog\/2010\/01\/21\/thirtyseven-years-after-roe-abortion-access-attacked-kansas-courtroom"},"modified":"2010-01-21T22:35:01","modified_gmt":"2010-01-22T03:35:01","slug":"roe-at-37-a-kansas-judge-sets-a-dangerous-precedent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/219152","title":{"rendered":"Roe at 37: A Kansas Judge Sets A Dangerous Precedent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tThis article is being published as part of a series by RH Reality Check <\/em>and our colleagues in observance of the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade.\n\t<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nIt\u2019s
\nbeen thirty-seven years since the Supreme Court recognized a woman\u2019s
\nconstitutional right to abortion in Roe
\nv. Wade<\/em>, and in that time, without fail, a woman\u2019s ability to obtain an
\nabortion has been under attack. Between stringent state laws, a lack of
\nfunding, and a severe shortage of abortion providers, abortion is virtually
\nunattainable for significant numbers of women.\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd
\nit gets worse. The promise of affordable healthcare
\nfor all is quickly turning for women as federal lawmakers threaten to strip millions
\nof the abortion coverage that they already have.
\nAnd this past week, the judge presiding over the trial of the
\nman accused in the shooting death of Kansas provider Dr. George Tiller
\nessentially opened the door to a dangerously forgiving legal defense for those
\nwho commit violent acts\u2014including murder<\/em>\u2014against
\ndoctors who provide abortion.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nWe
\nexpect judges to uphold the rule of law and make sure that its protections apply
\nequally to everyone. But Judge Warren Wilbert has stepped over that line. Last
\nweek, the judge indicated that he will allow the accused, Scott Roeder, to potentially
\navoid conviction on first-degree murder charges on the grounds that he honestly,
\nalbeit unreasonably, believed his actions \u2013 shooting Dr. Tiller at point blank
\nrange while he was serving as an usher at his church – were justified to
\nprevent Dr. Tiller from performing abortions.\u00a0 <\/span>After considering this evidence, the jury may have the
\noption of convicting Roeder of voluntary manslaughter, a considerably less
\nserious crime which also carries a significantly smaller penalty.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nfallout from such a ruling cannot be understated. If anti-choice extremists can
\njustify murdering or physically harming abortion providers because they
\npersonally believe that abortion is wrong, then they would be, in effect, above
\nthe law. Take it from Reverend Don Spitz of Virginia, a member of the
\nnotoriously anti-choice group Army of God himself. He predicts that the judge\u2019s
\ndecision \u201cmay increase the number of people who <\/span>may be willing to take
\nthat risk.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>As a result, abortion providers will
\nfear for their lives even more than they already do because the laws that protect
\nother citizens from violence do not apply with equal force to them.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nInstead
\nof a straightforward murder trial, Roeder\u2019s case will most certainly turn into
\na debate on the legitimacy of violence against abortion providers.\u00a0 <\/span>Permitting this to occur in a judicial
\nforum provides a patina of credibility that the misguided and illegal ideology that
\nanimates anti-abortion violence has not received before.\u00a0 <\/span>In U.S. history, no other court has
\nallowed these perpetrators to avoid a full conviction on the basis that their
\nacts were necessary or justified.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nEven
\nmore alarming then the potential miscarriage of justice that may occur if Dr.
\nTiller\u2019s assassin is acquitted of first degree murder while being convicted of only
\nvoluntary manslaughter is the broader signal that this ruling sends to those
\nwho might contemplate violent action against abortion providers \u2013 and to
\ndoctors, who now must feel like they have a target painted on their backs.\u00a0 <\/span>Just because abortion is a divisive
\nissue in which people (on both sides) hold deep moral and spiritual beliefs
\ndoes not change the fact that violent acts intended to advance any cause are
\nillegal.\u00a0 <\/span>The law must not, and up
\nto now has not, created special protections for those who commit crimes based
\non the sincerity of their beliefs.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs
\nour investigative report last summer found, anti-choice forces have targeted
\nabortion providers for decades \u2013 with appalling physical attacks, threats and
\nintimidation \u2013 far too often with impunity. Abortion is the most stigmatized
\nmedical procedure in this country, while remaining legal and a core
\nconstitutional right, as well as a fundamental part of health care for women.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe effect of this deliberate campaign to shut down providers by any means at
\nthe disposal of organized anti-choice groups has been fewer doctors providing
\nabortion and fewer women across the country who have safe and meaningful access
\nto abortion services. It is incredibly important that this trial show that the full
\nforce of the law will protect the lives of doctors who perform necessary, legal
\nservices. No matter where you stand on abortion, the murder of doctors who
\nprovide a safe and legal medical service sought by one out of three American
\nwomen is intolerable.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAllowing a voluntary manslaughter option negates the
\nSupreme Court\u2019s constitutional protection of abortion rights and is an
\ninvitation to grotesque and self-serving vigilantism. The promise of Roe<\/em> is increasingly in jeopardy as the
\nnumbers of abortion providers, under intolerable conditions of threats and
\nharassment, rapidly decline. <\/span><\/span>The government must aggressively protect these doctors
\nwho are defending women\u2019s rights, not expose them to further violence by
\nweakening criminal penalties for pre-meditated murder.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is being published as part of a series by RH Reality Check and our colleagues in observance of the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade. It\u2019s been thirty-seven years since the Supreme Court recognized a woman\u2019s constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, and in that time, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4267,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4267"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}