"Name one woman who has ever killed an abortion doctor."
Sorry, this one tried but missed -- does that count?
"Woman Held for Shooting Doctor
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Associated Press -- 08/20/93
Rachelle Renae Shannon remains jailed in Wichita, Kan, today on an
attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting Dr George Tiller
outside his abortion clinic.
Tiller, who wasn't seriously wounded in the attack, was just leaving
the clinic he runs when Shannon allegedly strode up to his Chevy Suburban
and fired through the window, hitting the doctor once in each arm.
Witnesses said the attacker had been handing out anti-abortion leaflets
outside Tiller's clinic before the attack.
Shannon, 37, was taken into custody at Will Rogers World Airport in
Oklahoma City, Okla, when she returned a rental car matching the one in
which the assailant fled, said Capt Bill Citty, Oklahoma City police
spokesman.
Tiller, one of the few US doctors who perform late-term abortions, has
been a frequent target of protests. His clinic was 1 of 3 picketed by
Operation Rescue during protests 2 years ago that led to 2700 arrests.
The doctor sometimes wore bulletproof gear during the protests and
traveled with a guard dog, but was using neither protective measure
Thursday.
Tiller, 52, was treated at a hospital and released. "He said he wasn't
going to complain about birthdays any more," said Peggy Jarman, his
spokeswoman. "He said he was glad to be alive."
Witnesses told police the woman who fired the shots had joined a small
demonstration outside the Women's Health Care Services Clinic, handing
out literature and talking with the protesters. Pat Kraus of Wichita,
who frequently pickets outside the clinic, said the woman introduced
herself as Ann from the Sacramento, Cal, area, adding that she had flown
to Oklahoma City, rented a car and driven to Wichita.
Shortly after the shooting, a dozen people stood outside the clinic,
carrying candles and signs reading, "Keep Abortion Legal."
"I just feel so bad," said Marie Smith, who works in the office. "She
wanted him to die. How can they call themselves Christians and then kill
people?" Abortion-rights supporters condemned the shooting. "They are
'true believers' who believe they have a direct line to God, and anything
is justified," said Patricia Ireland, president of National Organization
for Women. "They are very frightening, and they intend to be very
frightening."
On March 10, Dr David Gunn was killed outside a Pensacola, Fla,
clinic. An abortion foe, Michael Griffin, has been charged with Gunn's
slaying--the first of its kind in the US.
Gunn was shot during an anti-abortion demonstration sponsored by Houston-
based Rescue America, whose founder, Don Treshman, helped set up a fund
for Griffin's family.
"We are sure to see more of these incidents," Treshman said. "This
shooting, while unfortunate, will result in babies' lives being saved."
Abortion MD Returns To Work Day After Shooting
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Associated Press -- 08/20/93
An abortion doctor returned to work Friday less than 12 hours after being
shot, and his alleged attacker--a homemaker active in the anti-abortion
movement--is in custody.
Wearing bandages on both arms, Dr George Tiller arrived at Women's Health
Care Services in Wichita, Kan, Friday morning, stopping outside to thank
those who tended to him after Thursday evening's shooting.
About a dozen abortion-rights activists showed up at the clinic and
heckled a half dozen anti-abortion protesters.
Rachelle Renae "Shelley" Shannon, 37, of Grants Pass, Ore, was arrested
early Friday at the Oklahoma City airport in connection with the shooting.
The Sedgwick County district attorney's office in Wichita filed an
attempted first-degree murder charge late Friday afternoon and faxed
a warrant for Shannon's arrest to Oklahoma City authorities, a
spokeswoman says.
A court hearing is scheduled in Oklahoma City to determine when she will
returned to Wichita, about 160 miles north.
The White House called the shooting "reprehensible" and says President
Clinton will continue to support abortion rights.
"We deplore that kind of violence," White House spokeswoman Dee Dee
Myers told reporters Friday. "It's just reprehensible."
Tiller, target of 6 weeks of protests in 1991 by Operation Rescue, was
the 2d physician to be shot outside an abortion clinic this year. The
first, Dr David Gunn, was fatally shot in Florida.
Tiller, 52, had said during the 1991 protests that he wouldn't allow
anti-abortion forces to intimidate him or drive him out of business.
Peggy Jarman, spokeswoman for Tiller and the ProChoice Action League,
said: "I knew if there was any way possible for him to be at work he
would be. I had hoped he would take a couple of days off, but that was
unrealistic of me."
Tiller is one of about a half dozen US physicians who do late-term
abortions.
He has said he performs abortions after the 26th week of pregnancy when
there are severe fetal abnormalities or the life of the mother is
endangered. Abortion protesters have accused him of performing abortions
up until the moment of birth; he denies it.
Tiller was leaving his Wichita clinic Thursday evening when a woman who
had been mingling with protesters near its driveway approached his
vehicle.
Witnesses said she fired 4 or 5 shots from a small-caliber,
chrome-plated semiautomatic pistol.
Not realizing he had been wounded, the doctor drove a short distance
down the street following the woman as she fled. Once he felt pain and
saw blood, he drove back to the clinic, Jarman said.
Clinic employees followed the woman and got a description of her car and
a license number, police said.
After 45 minutes of surgery under local anesthetic, Tiller was released
from HCA Wesley Medical Center.
Jarman said 1 wound was superficial, and the other involved muscle but
not bone damage.
National and local anti-abortion groups distanced themselves from the
attack.
"This is an act of violence between 1 woman and 1 man," said Mischele
Thompson, executive director of LIFE Inc, a Wichita anti-abortion group." |
