Violent rhetoric and the stalking of abortion clinics and the people who work there has gone way up since Dr. Tiller was murdered and people are getting very, very afraid. And the right wing zealots are actually wishing to buy Dr. Tiller's clinic to use as a rallying cry, I kid you not. These people have no shame.
Maddow: Mr. Troy Newman told “The Associated Press,” quote, “I would love to make an offer on that abortion clinic and some of the discussion that we are having.”
So, the official reaction of the super right-wing fringe to the assassination in its name, of its cause, is to make George Tiller‘s place of business a triumphant symbol for themselves, a symbol of their victory over the murdered doctor.
On Saturday, at the day George Tiller was buried, a man with ties to the radical anti-abortion group, the Army of God, threatened a voluntary escort at an abortion clinic in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This is according to a worker at the clinic.
This is a great segment by Maddow so I'll let her fill you in. I do believe law enforcement will step up to the plate, but please if you are being threatened--make sure the authorities know what's going on. And nothing is too small or too insignificant to report. Don't feel like you're "seeing things," if you feel threatened report it.
Transcript vi The Rachel Maddow Show:
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should all (BLEEP) dies, (BLEEP) bomb that place, (BLEEP) (INAUDIBLE) (BLEEP) kill you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MADDOW: That‘s the sound of domestic terrorism, a voicemail left on a Texas abortion clinic‘s voicemail last month. Given the events today in Washington, D.C., and in Wichita, Kansas, at Dr. George Tiller‘s church two Sundays ago, it is, of course, bone chilling. Its aim is to intimidate the doctors and nurses and clinic workers and the people who are legally seeking medical services amid strident, sometimes lethal, sometimes merely ghoulish intimidation.
On Saturday, George Tiller was laid to rest. Yesterday, the Tiller family announced that the doctor‘s clinic in Wichita will close forever. And today, the president of the extreme anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, said that his group wants to buy the Dr. Tiller‘s clinic in Kansas and move their headquarters into it.
Mr. Troy Newman told “The Associated Press,” quote, “I would love to make an offer on that abortion clinic and some of the discussion that we are having.”
So, the official reaction of the super right-wing fringe to the assassination in its name, of its cause, is to make George Tiller‘s place of business a triumphant symbol for themselves, a symbol of their victory over the murdered doctor.
On Saturday, at the day George Tiller was buried, a man with ties to the radical anti-abortion group, the Army of God, threatened a voluntary escort at an abortion clinic in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This is according to a worker at the clinic.
If you aren‘t already familiar with the Army of God, on their Web site right now, there is picture of Dr. George Tiller just moments after he was murdered under the headline, “The lives of innocent babies scheduled to be murdered by George Tiller are spared by the action of American hero, Scott Roeder. George Tiller, the baby killer, reaped what he sowed and is now in eternal hell.”
You can then scroll through the prisoners of Christ portion of their Web site and see mug shots and descriptions of murders and attempted murders and bombings—all celebrating the perpetrators.
The person accused of threatening the clinic in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday that‘s a prominent link on this Web site to his anti-abortion prisoner newsletter. His website says, quote, “Because I believe we should use every legitimate means, including force, in our attempt to protect those being tortured to death, I want to hear from people who have been forceful.”
And it is the same man who on Saturday allegedly walked up to a volunteer at the clinic in Allentown and said, “How do you prefer to die, by knife or by bullet?”
Joining us now is Jennifer Boulanger. She‘s executive director for the Allentown Women‘s Center and a member of the Abortion Care Network, a group of independent abortion clinics across the country.
Ms. Boulanger, thank you very much for joining us.
JENNIFER BOULANGER, ALLENTOWN WOMEN‘S CENTER EXEC. DIRECTOR: Thank you for inviting me.
MADDOW: Was what I just described there an accurate description of what happened at your clinic last week?
BOULANGER: Frighteningly, yes. Yes, and Mr. Dunkle pickets my home, the home of our physician and also the home of several doctors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
MADDOW: Have you noticed a change recently in the amounts and the character of protests and threats that you have received in Allentown?
BOULANGER: Absolutely. We‘ve had malicious calls. Not a bomb threat but calls similar to the one you played in Texas. We‘ve had—we‘ve been targeted by a number of malicious calling events. We‘ve been targeted since the beginning of the year. I think abortion providers across the country have been targeted since Obama was inaugurated.
But now, since Dr. Tiller has been murdered, it‘s just—they feel even more empowered and we‘re seeing an anger that we‘ve never seen before..
