An act of terrorism

Yesterday, a well-known abortion provider in Kansas named Dr. George Tiller was gunned down in church. Tiller, 67, was the target of anti-choice violence throughout his life. He was shot twice in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. Though the police know little about his suspected killer, Scott Roeder, the 51-year-old repeatedly posted damning comments about Tiller on the Operation Rescue web site, the online hub for the militant anti-choice organization. 

While Tiller's murder stands alone as a harrowing, horrifying incident, he is the eighth abortion provider to be murdered since 1977. Pro-choice advocates, abortion doctors and their patients have long been subjected to violence and scare tactics. But the media has largely reported the bomb threats and shootings as isolated incidents. Women in Media and News, an advocacy organization, has a fascinating piece up about why abortion violence is so rarely named as terrorism: 

"Journalism plays a crucial role in helping citizens more fully understand the events that affect our communities locally, nationally and internationally. By failing to report decades worth of anti-abortion violence and intimidation — and by refusing to clearly name such acts as domestic terrorism — U.S. media have let us down," writes WIMN executive director Jennifer Pozner. "Worse, by choosing not to place each of these acts within the context of a systemic political movement, U.S. media have become complicit in allowing a culture of politically-motivated violence and intimidation to thrive." -Naomi