Napolitano Defends Putting Pro-Life Advocates in Terrorism Report, Backlash Starts
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 20, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a Sunday interview, the head of the Department of Homeland Security defended including pro-life advocates in a new report the agency produced saying "opponents of abortion" are likely to engage in extremism or terrorism.
The report has caused a significant backlash with some calling for firing DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, host John King questioned Napolitano on the line in the report saying possible threats could come from "groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion."
King asked Napolitano whether the department has active investigations on "anti-abortion groups" concerning potential extremism or terrorism and the Obama cabinet official declined to answer.
She said she would not comment on the activities of the department and claimed that pro-life groups have a "history" of such actions.
Napolitano said that, although "people have different points of view about abortion" and that the Obama administration values free speech rights, some pro-life advocates cause her agency concern.
"On the other hand, at the very edge of the [abortion] debate, at the very edge are the extremist groups that have committed violent crimes," said Napolitano. "They've committed bombings and the like."
"And that is where you cross from constitutionally protected free speech, freedom of assembly, all the rights we cherish, into homeland security and law enforcement. When is that right not being exercised, it's being abused," she added.
Napolitano refused to give any concrete examples of pro-life groups that may cause her agency to include them in a report to police on terrorism, claiming the total number of groups overall on all potential domestic issues were "far too numerous to mention."
Napolitano's comments appear to be a reversal of her initial position backtracking from the report. The Obama official defended the report Thursday, but said the section including pro-life advocates should not have been included.
"If there's one part of that report I would rewrite, in the word-smithing, Washington-ese that goes on after the fact, it would be that footnote," Napolitano said Thursday on Fox News.
The report sparked outrage within the pro-life community and the Thomas More Law Center, a pro-life law firm, is suing Napolitano over it.
Richard More, one of the leaders of the legal group, told LifeNews.com, the report is "a diatribe against those who oppose the policies of the Obama administration."
"It is a declaration of war against the American people and our constitution" and a "prelude" to "hate speech laws targeting Christian churches and others who oppose abortion."
And now LifeNews.com has received emails from several groups, some of them pro-life, calling on Obama to fire Napolitano from her position on his cabinet.
Obama "must immediately fire Janet Napolitano," one email said.
"He cannot allow her to resign. He cannot simply demand that she apologize to the American people. And he most certainly cannot allow her to stay on the job," it added.
Jay Sekulow, the head of the American Center for Law and Justice, another pro-life law firm, told LifeNews.com that including pro-life Americans as potential terrorists is an "outrageous characterization."
"This characterization is not only offensive to millions of Americans who hold constitutionally-protected views opposing abortion – but also raises serious concerns about the political agenda of an agency with a mandate to protect America," he said.
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 20, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a Sunday interview, the head of the Department of Homeland Security defended including pro-life advocates in a new report the agency produced saying "opponents of abortion" are likely to engage in extremism or terrorism.
The report has caused a significant backlash with some calling for firing DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, host John King questioned Napolitano on the line in the report saying possible threats could come from "groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion."
King asked Napolitano whether the department has active investigations on "anti-abortion groups" concerning potential extremism or terrorism and the Obama cabinet official declined to answer.
She said she would not comment on the activities of the department and claimed that pro-life groups have a "history" of such actions.
Napolitano said that, although "people have different points of view about abortion" and that the Obama administration values free speech rights, some pro-life advocates cause her agency concern.
"On the other hand, at the very edge of the [abortion] debate, at the very edge are the extremist groups that have committed violent crimes," said Napolitano. "They've committed bombings and the like."
"And that is where you cross from constitutionally protected free speech, freedom of assembly, all the rights we cherish, into homeland security and law enforcement. When is that right not being exercised, it's being abused," she added.
Napolitano refused to give any concrete examples of pro-life groups that may cause her agency to include them in a report to police on terrorism, claiming the total number of groups overall on all potential domestic issues were "far too numerous to mention."
Napolitano's comments appear to be a reversal of her initial position backtracking from the report. The Obama official defended the report Thursday, but said the section including pro-life advocates should not have been included.
"If there's one part of that report I would rewrite, in the word-smithing, Washington-ese that goes on after the fact, it would be that footnote," Napolitano said Thursday on Fox News.
The report sparked outrage within the pro-life community and the Thomas More Law Center, a pro-life law firm, is suing Napolitano over it.
Richard More, one of the leaders of the legal group, told LifeNews.com, the report is "a diatribe against those who oppose the policies of the Obama administration."
"It is a declaration of war against the American people and our constitution" and a "prelude" to "hate speech laws targeting Christian churches and others who oppose abortion."
And now LifeNews.com has received emails from several groups, some of them pro-life, calling on Obama to fire Napolitano from her position on his cabinet.
Obama "must immediately fire Janet Napolitano," one email said.
"He cannot allow her to resign. He cannot simply demand that she apologize to the American people. And he most certainly cannot allow her to stay on the job," it added.
Jay Sekulow, the head of the American Center for Law and Justice, another pro-life law firm, told LifeNews.com that including pro-life Americans as potential terrorists is an "outrageous characterization."
"This characterization is not only offensive to millions of Americans who hold constitutionally-protected views opposing abortion – but also raises serious concerns about the political agenda of an agency with a mandate to protect America," he said.
Have the concervative and Pro Lifer forgotten the abortion clinic bobmbings and Murders by by Antrax threat by Anti Abortionist. Based on this information I am not sure why anyone would be offended with Anti Abortionist being accused or possibly being terrorist!
ReplyDeleteThis is a Reminder from Wekipedia
Murderer/terrorist Eric Rudolph declared that his bombings were part of a guerrilla campaign against abortion and what he describes as "the homosexual agenda." He spent years on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives until he was caught in 2003.
Anti Abortion Murders
1. March 10, 1993: Dr. David Gunn of Pensacola, Florida was fatally shot during a protest. He had been the subject of wanted-style posters distributed by Operation Rescue in the summer of the year before. Michael F. Griffin was found guilty of Dr. Gunn's murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
2. June 29, 1994: Dr. John Britton and James Barrett, a clinic escort, were both shot to death outside of another facility in Pensacola. Rev. Paul Jennings Hill was charged with the killings, received a death sentence, and was executed September 3, 2003.
3. December 30, 1994: Two receptionists, Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols, were killed in two clinic attacks in Brookline, Massachusetts. John Salvi, who prior to his arrest was distributing pamphlets from Human Life International,[5] was arrested and confessed to the killings. He committed suicide in prison and guards found his body under his bed with a plastic garbage bag tied around his head. Salvi had also confessed to a non-lethal attack in Norfolk, Virginia days before the Brookline killings.
4. January 29, 1998: Robert Sanderson, an off-duty police officer who worked as a security guard at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, was killed when his workplace was bombed. Eric Robert Rudolph, who was also responsible for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing, was charged with the crime and received two life sentences as a result.
5. October 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian was shot to death at his home in Amherst, New York. His was the last in a series of similar shootings against providers in Canada and northern New York state which were all likely committed by James Kopp. Kopp was convicted of Dr. Slepian's murder after finally being apprehended in France in 2001.
Attempted Murders, Threats, Assualts
1. August 19, 1993: Dr. George Tiller was shot outside of an abortion facility in Wichita, Kansas. Shelley Shannon was charged with the crime and received an 11-year prison sentence.
2. June 29, 1994: June Barret was shot in the same attack which claimed the lives of James Barrett, her husband, and Dr. John Britton.
December 30, 1994: Five individuals were wounded in the same-day shootings which killed Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols.
3. December 18, 1996: Dr. Calvin Jackson of New Orleans, Louisiana was stabbed 15 times, losing 4 pints of blood. Donald Cooper was charged with second-degree attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years.[10]
5. October 28, 1997: A physician whose name has not been revealed was shot in his home in Rochester, New York.
6. January 29, 1998: Emily Lyons, a nurse, was severely injured in the bombing which also killed Robert Sanderson.
Anthrax Threats; and since then 1998, there have been a total of 655 such bioterror threats made against abortion providers. None of the "anthrax" in these cases was real.
Arson and Bombing:
Arson, bombing, and property crime
According to NAF, since 1977 in the United States and Canada, property crimes committed against abortion providers have included 41 bombings, 173 arsons, 91 attempted bombings or arsons, 619 bomb threats, 1630 incidents of trespassing, 1264 incidents of vandalism, and 100 attacks with butyric acid ("stink bombs").[7] The first clinic arson occurred in Oregon in March 1976 and the first bombing occurred in February 1978 in Ohio.[12] More recent incidents have included:[4]
December 25, 1984: An abortion clinic and two physicians' offices in Pensacola, Florida were bombed in the early morning of Christmas Day by a quartet of young people (Matt Goldsby, Jimmy Simmons, Kathy Simmons, Kaye Wiggins) who later called the bombings "a gift to Jesus on his birthday."[13]
October 1999: Martin Uphoff set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, causing US$100 worth of damage. He was later sentenced to 60 months in prison.[14]
May 28, 2000: An arson at a clinic in Concord, New Hampshire on resulted in damage estimated at US$20,000. The case remains unsolved.[15]
September 30, 2000: A Catholic priest drove his car into the Northern Illinois Health Clinic after learning that the FDA had approved the drug RU-486. He pulled out an ax before being shot at by a security guard.[16]
June 11, 2001: An unsolved bombing at a clinic in Tacoma, Washington destroyed a wall, resulting in US$6000 in damages. [14]
July 4, 2005: A clinic Palm Beach, Florida was the target of an arson. The case remains open.[14]
December 12, 2005: Patricia Hughes and Jeremy Dunahoe threw a Molotov cocktail at a clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana. The device missed the building and no damage was caused. In August 2006, Hughes was sentenced to six years in prison, and Dunahoe to one year. Hughes claimed the bomb was a “memorial lamp” for an abortion she had had there. [17]
September 13, 2006 David McMenemy of Rochester Hills, Michigan crashed his car into the Edgerton Women's Care Center in Davenport, Iowa. He then doused the lobby in gasoline and then started a fire. McMenemy committed these acts in the belief that the center was performing abortions, however Edgerton is not an abortion clinc.[18]
April 25, 2007: A package left at a women's health clinic in Austin, Texas contained an explosive device capable of inflicting serious injury or death. A bomb squad detonated the device after evacuating the building. Paul Ross Evans (who had a criminal record for armed robbery and theft) was found guilty of the crime. [19]
May 9, 2007: An unidentified person deliberately set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[20]
December 6, 2007: Chad Altman and Sergio Baca were arrested for the arson of Dr. Curtis Boyd's clinic in Albuquerque. Altman’s girlfriend had scheduled an appointment for an abortion at the clinic. [21]
January 22, 2009 Matthew L. Derosia, 32, who was reported to have had a history of mental illness [22]rammed a SUV into the front entrance of a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota.[23]
So...are all Muslims terrorists?
ReplyDelete