From: cj@eno.esd.sgi.com (C J Silverio)
Newsgroups: talk.abortion
Subject: for Holtsinger: "pro-lifers" speak about clinic bombings
Date: 12 Jan 93 23:12:43 GMT
Reply-To: cj@sgi.com (C J Silverio)
Organization: SGI TechPubs

--- 
_Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right_
describes the opinions Joe Scheidler, author of _Closed: 99 Ways
to Stop Abortion_, on clinic bombings:

-------------------------------

	  While we disagree with burning down abortion clinics, we
	see that destruction as trivial, as compared with the
	human destruction that goes on routinely inside these
	places... I do understand, however, the emotions that
	might prompt one to violence in an effort to end a
	greater violence.[50]

Scheidler equivocates on the bombings of clinics.  He claims that
"the use of violence probably would not work in the long run,"
but he hastens to add that "no amount of damage to real estate
can equal the violence of taking a single human life."[51]

	  I don't think bombings are particularly wise.  We've
	closed 50 clinics in the past two years through
	nonviolent direct action.  I have not lost too much
	sleep over the bombings but I do not even doubt that
	some of these bombings are planted by the abortionists.
	  There are a few people who get carried away and set a
	clinic on fire, drop a firecracker in the wastebasket or
	something. [52]

[...]  _A Pro-Life Manifesto_, released in 1988 by a major
Christian publisher, expounded on the movement's predicament
over violence:

	  Armed aggression is a very tempting route to take. 
	Open and tangible results would be seen, and even if it
	meant defeat-- and it would-- at least we could go down
	with our guns blazing.  The cause for which we would be
	sacrificing ourselves would be lost, but at least we
	would get attention.  Abortion would still go on, band
	there would be stringent and severe punishment for those
	who attempted to advocate the pro-life position.  There
	would be martyrs on both sides and little would be
	accomplished beyond that.
	  If armed aggression were the answer, it would have to
	be done on a large scale, and more than a few abortion
	clinics would have to be destroyed.  To succeed, it would
	require the destruction of all hospitals or clinics that
	performed abortions. Heroes who would lay down their life
	for the cause would have to come forth.  Armies would
	need to be organized.  Companies producing abortifacients
	would have to be bombed and their employees terrorized. 
	In short, we would have to be willing to plunge ourselves
	into civil war.[53]

50. Scheidler, quoted in an undated National Organization for
    Women memo.  51. Joseph M. Scheidler, _Closed: 99 Ways to
Stop Abortion_
    (Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1985), pp. 278-279.
52. Scheidler on "California Tonight", Family Christian
    Broadcasting Network, Concord, CA, January 16, 1987.
53. Thomas G. Klasen, _A Pro-Life Manifesto_ (Westchester,
    Illinois: Crossway Books, 1988).

From Sara Diamond, _Spiritual Warfare_ (Boston, MA: South End
Press, 1989), pp. 95-96.

-------------------------------

"The most publicized case was the December 1984 bombing of three
clinics in Pensacola, Florida by two young couples who said they
were under orders from the Almighty.  They called themselves
"knights" and wore T-shirts printed with the motto "Protectors
of the Code." [38] One of the arsonists, Kaye Wiggins, told
reporters she bombed the clinics "as a gift to Jesus on his
birthday." [39]  Matthew Goldsby and James Simmons were found
guilty of the bombings; Kaye Wiggins and Kathy Simmons were
found guilty of conspiracy but cleared of charges that they
manufactured and set off the explosives. [40] The men received
ten-year prison sentences and the women were given five years'
probation. [41]

38. New York Times, January 18, 1985,
39. Oakland Tribune, January 4, 1985.
40. New York Times, April 25, 1985.
41. Oakland Tribune, May 31, 1985.

_Spiritual Warfare_, p. 93.

-------------------------------

_Spiritual Warfare_ is a wonderful book.  I highly recommend
it as an excellent exposition of the political aims of the
religious right in the US, often in their own words.  (I'll
lend it to you if you like, Mr Woodyatt!)

---
C J Silverio	cj@sgi.com	ceej@well.sf.ca.us
"I see no reason to even discuss the medical risks, ramifications, and 
history of illegal abortions anyways.  The issue is the life of the 
preborn." --Edward Simmons, a "pro-lifer", in talk.abortion
Newsgroups: talk.abortion