Killing abortionist not a solution
Murder is wrong.
Having said that, we are
presented with an interest
ing moral, ethical and legal quandary
when a person uses prevention of
murder to justify committing one.
Such is the case in Pensacola, Fla.
Dr. David Gunn, a doctor employed
by an abortion clinic, diedat the hands
of Michael Frederick Griffin, who
justified shooting Gunn by claiming
that he was doing it to save the lives of
the unborn. Griffin now plans to rep
resent himself at trial, using the Bible
as his defense.
The reaction from the pro-choice
movementand the media was predict
able. News features on the ugly future
of the pro-life movement abounded.
Pro-choice advocates are urging Con
gress to approve legislation thatwould
criminalize blocking the entrance to
abornon clinics — never mind the
First Amendment’s “right of the
people peaceably to assemble.”
The reaction from the pro-life
crowd was, to be blunt, irresponsible.
Randall Terry, leader of Operation
Rescue, called the murder an “inap
propriate, repulsive act,” but went on
in the next breath to say that, “We
must remember that Gunn was a mass
murderer.” Similar sentiments were
echoed by other, but not all, pro-life
leaders.
Speaking as one who believes in
the pro-life stance, I am outraged by
Terry and company’s statements. They
ought to be the ones condemning this
louder than anyone, and they should
be showing respectable, middle-of
the-road folks that they ’ re not a bunch
of wild-eyed, Bible-thumping zealots
who think that murder and bombings
are just politics by other means.
The pro-lifers have missed an op
portunity here to demonstrate their
rationality and compassion. Instead
they’ve done just the opposite. But,
given their history, particularly over
The pro-lifers have
missed an
opportunity here to
demonstrate their
rationality and
compassion. Instead
they’ve done just
the opposite.
the last decade, it should come as no
su se.
is is the group, you may remem
ber, that went to the Democratic Na
tional Convention last year and handed
out dead fetuses as party favors to pro*
choice leaders. They alsdpraised ads
run by Congressional candidates in
Indiana and Georgia that showed pic
tures of aborted fetuses in living color
and during prime-time television. In
the summer of 1991, they laid siege to
the city of Wichita, Kan., blocking
clinics and forcing mass arrests.
Add to this other actions like put
ting up “wanted” posters of abortion
doctors (Gunn’s face was on one),
picketing not just the clinics but the
physicians’ homes, harassing women
who go to the clinics by phoning their
friends, relatives, ministers and par
ents, and you have a rather vocal and
committed group that is rapidly mak
ing itself a pariah in our society.
What drives them?
I listened to a radio talk show last
week and listened to a call from a man
who actually supported the killing of
Gunn. The caller compared abortion
to slavery and the Holocaust People
were correct and courageous in op
posing those things, so Operation
Rescue should be seen as morally
right in opposing abortion and doing
whatever necessary to stop it.
The caller was very sincere, not a
raving lunatic. I am sure there are
plenty of normal, unremarkable folks
out there who would agree with ev
erything this man said. Of course,
they fail to stop and recall just what
' slavery and the Holocaust led to —
theCivil Warand World War II. They
ought to choose their precedents more
carefully.
I came to my pro-life position sev
eral years ago in spite of people like
Terry. While I agree that abortion is
the taking of a life, I am not about to
condone the taking of another life to
remedy that. That, I suppose, is why I
am so angered by the murdqr of Gunn
and the reactions of Terry.
We live in a society governed by
the rule of law. We do not recognize
justifiable homicide except in cases
of self-defense. What Michael Griffin
did was cold-blooded, premeditated
murder, pure and simple. If Terry and
the other pro-life extremists can’t ac
cept that fact and give it the condem
nation it deserves, they hurt their own
cause. Worse yet, they hurt by asso
ciation the millions who are person
ally opposed to abortion, but trying to
work rationally within our system of
laws fora solution. If being conserva
tive means anything to me, it is re
spect for the law and for life.
Regardless of personal beliefs on
abortion, this ought to be the one thing
that the two sides can agree on with
out equivocation.
Kepfldd is a graduate student in history,
an alumnus of the UNL College of Law and a
Daily Nebraskan columnist.
__ _
1993 already sculpting history
1 993 is shaping up to be a yearol
hi storica I precedents for the good
old U.S. of A. Things are mov
ing along at such a hasty clip that
Americans have almost forgotten that
pesky gap in the atmosphere. Out
concerns are focused a bit more lo
cally.
Among the history makers of 1993
is a new crop of sociopaths who have
reinterpreted religious freedom.
For a wild and crazy prophet in
Waco, Texas, religious freedom has
meant stockpiling semi-automatic
weapons, practicing statutory rape and
setting a record fora standoff with the
police. Initially, this long-haired geek
claimed to be Christ. A whole lot of
people didn’t believe that Christ was
Christ, and no one believes that he
would show up in Waco, Texas. Elvis
doesnTeven snow up in Waco, Texas.
New Yorkers joined Texas in the
“wackiest religious fanatic" contest
when they got a big howdy from
Islamic fundamentalists at the World
Trade Center.
One wonders what took them so
long. Apparently they weren’t busy
waiting to renew their visas. Perhaps
the New York City Port Authority
could use the immigration officials
from Omaha who jumped on the im
pending threat of non-naturalized chi I
dren. No ornery terrorists would get
past these guys.
In yet another exercise of religious
freedom, Michael Griffin shot a man
who wore leg braces because of polio
point-blank in the back. This act of
utter courage was motivated by the
victim’s propensity for providing a
legal medical service — abortion —
to consenting citizens.
In a weal th-ridden nation that ranks
20th among 23 developed countries
for infant mortality rates, one might
wonder why more effort isn’t made to
keep babies alive and healthy rather
than simply forcing them to be bom.
Also, if Griffin has ever had unpro
tected sex with a woman whose pos
sible pregnancy didn't concern him,
New Yorkers joined
Texas in the
“wackiest religious
fanatic” contest
when they got a big
howdy from Islamic
fundamentalists at
the World Trade
Center.
then wouldn’t he have been equally
creative by shooting himself?
1993 will not only be a year ol
unprecedented religious violence, but
also one of unprecedented law en
forcement. Aside from finally having
a president who doesn’t qualify foi
the American Association of Retired
Persons, we have our first female
attorney general.
Janet Reno was confirmed by a 98
0 Senate vote. Go figure. They were
ready to confirm La veme and Shirley
provided that the two had never hired
a illegal immigrant baby sitter.
The 54-year-old Reno, who does
not resemble a Barbie doll, is a no
nonsense kind of gal. In her 15 years
as chief of the attorney general rs of
fice in Dade County, Fla., that office
obtained 103 death sentences. When
they say death sentence in Florida,
that’s pretty much what they mean.
Women also gained ground in
Congress this year, with more female
members than ever before. One might
see a new dimension at certain types
of Senate judiciary hearings:
“Judge Thomas, did you feel like a
real man when you came on to Profes
sor Hill?
“Judge Thomas, what do you sup
pose ‘no’ means?”
“Judge Thomas, did you invite Mrs.
Thomas to watch ‘Hot Naked Space
Alien Bimbos’ with you?”4
But women were not the only ones
to make advances in society. Drill
sergeants around the country are
searching for new demoralizing terms
to scream into the faces of recruits
since they can no longer yell, “What’s
wrong with you, boy?! ? Are you some
kind of a faggot?!?”
On other gender fronts, a transves
tite was nominated for an Oscar. It
may not be an historical precedent,
but it’s certainly the first time that no
one was left with anv doubts.
A few remaining historical prece
dents made newsprint in 1993. In the
former Yugoslavia, the United States
engaged in a first-of-its-lype food
bombing, giving new meaning to the
concept of manna from the heavens.
Some Serbs reportedly waited for the
Bosnians to retrieve the food and then
fired onThe hungry people.
These people need to control their
anger. They probably just have low
self-esteem. Maybe we should be air
dropping daily affirmations from
Stuart Smalley.
Food made the news in forms other
than bombs, most notably, the geneti
cally engineered tomato. It may just
catch on if you don’t need a hacksaw
to slice it.
Squishy vegetables in general will
see a bigger market in self-expression
in 1993. Opponents will be able to
pitch them at baseball’s new expan
sions teams. Miami, after finally ob
taining a major league team, will out
fit the players in smashing teal uni
forms. Stand by for the underwear
ads.
And this is only March.
McAdams is a sophomore Journalism
major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist
UPC
needs volunteers
for the
Sawyer Brown
concert on:
April 23, 1993
Fifteen Security
Five Stage Hands
Twelve Ushers
Sign up at the
Student Involvement Office
Room 200 NE Union
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Women's Basketball
University of Nebraska vs.
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a First Round West Regional
Cheer the nationally ranked Huskers
as they host for the first time an
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[ Wed., March 17,7:30 P.M.
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