Someone else is the literal mother of that child, and you cannot save that child unless you persuade her first. She has reasons for wanting an abortion, and shooting the abortionist won't solve those problems. If we saw ourselves as her servants, not as dashing caped avengers, we'd be more successful. Shooting an abortionist is a noisy, empty gesture. If we must waste our time on futile gestures that damage our cause, let's choose the ones that don't kill anybody.
Bad stories make bad actions.
The bloody events of these last two years have carried an eerie sense of inevitability, as if this was the thing that had to happen next. After twenty years of tension and bickering, the abortion war was bound to become literal. In these opening skirmishes, five abortion employees have been killed and seven wounded. Other pro-lifers have been similarly endangered. We feel a little cautious, but we're not going to shut down.