PBS' 'NOW' Examines Violence In Antiabortion-Rights Movement, Features Online Debate

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 17 Jun 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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PBS' "NOW" on Friday examined whether violence against abortion providers should be prosecuted as domestic terrorism. The segment included comments from abortion providers LeRoy Carhart, who previously worked with murdered provider George Tiller at his Kansas clinic, and Warren Hern, a Colorado-based provider. Both Carhart and Hern perform abortions later in pregnancy. Carhart said that he and his family live as "targets" because of his work but that he plans to continue Tiller's mission of providing abortion services to women who need the procedure later in pregnancy. Hern said that he has been living "under siege" for decades, working in a clinic that has four layers of bulletproof windows and 24-hour federal protection. The segment also examined claims that law enforcement officials did not adequately respond to threats against Tiller from his alleged killer (Hinojosa, "NOW," PBS, 6/12).

Newman, Page Debate Abortion Access Later in Pregnancy

PBS' "NOW" also included an online debate between Troy Newman -- president of Operation Rescue -- and Cristina Page -- an abortion-rights advocate, blogger and author -- about abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy. Page said that so-called "late-term" abortion generally refers to procedures that take place at or beyond 24 weeks' gestation. She noted that such procedures are extremely rare, as only 1% of abortions take place after 21 weeks' gestation. When asked under what circumstances abortion is appropriate later in pregnancy, Newman said that rather than terminating the pregnancy, viable fetuses that face life-threatening conditions "should be delivered and given the appropriate medical treatment." Page countered, "There are a wide array of tragic conditions that can harm a pregnancy, threaten the viability of the fetus, and the health and life of the woman. Until you have walked in the shoes of those who have suffered through these decisions, you can never know what the right course of action is."

Newman and Page also responded to a question about the impact that access to late abortion procedures has on society. Newman said that there exists an "abortion culture that openly implies that a person who is inconvenient is somehow disposable," which "creates an environment that fosters violence and is something that the pro-life movement is working to change." Page said that "to understand the impact, we must hear from women and their families who have needed an abortion at this stage of pregnancy," adding that these cases typically are intended pregnancies "with grave or fatal anomalies."

The debate also addressed the issue of domestic terrorism and the antiabortion-rights movement. Page said the movement "espouses non-violent measures to achieve its goals" but "has been tremendously injured by domestic terrorists independently acting under the banner 'pro-life.'" She added that Newman has a "tremendous opportunity to transform his organization into a beacon for non-violence in the abortion conflict" and that he "should take steps to de-escalate the rhetoric, continue to send strong and consistent messages in opposition to terror [through] the media and to his organization's members and alert law enforcement to unstable people," such as Tiller's alleged murderer (Newman/Page, "NOW," PBS, 6/12).

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