Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/24680
Rape Kit Testing State Budget Cuts Breast Cancer Aides Dr. LeRoy Carhart of Nebraska In August the trio of groups, along with the Christian Defense Coalition, filed a formal complaint with Brun- ing, alleging “illegal activities” by Carhart and supposedly backed by affi- davits from disgruntled ex-employees. The attorney general passed the com- plaint to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, assuring Operation Rescue’s Newman in a let- ter that his office “will continue to monitor the progress of their [the Health Department] investigation.” The Nebraska Attorney General’s of- fice did not return repeated calls from Ms. for comment. The anti-abortion groups then made a national call for a demonstra- tion against Carhart’s Abortion and Contraception Clinic of Nebraska on August 28 and 29. But national pro- choice groups led by NOW, Feminist Majority Foundation, NARAL Pro- Choice America and The World Can’t Wait organized even greater numbers in support of Carhart. About 200 clin- ic defenders, from across Nebraska and 15 states, assembled in Bellevue in late August, dwarfing the 65 anti- abortion protesters. Carhart assured supporters at a press conference conducted by the pro-choice groups that he would not be intimidated and would continue to see patients. He wore a button saying “Trust Women”—one of Dr. Tiller’s guiding principles. Terry O’Neill, president of NOW, outraged by Bruning’s intemperate re- marks, reflected, “I think a lot of peo- ple are now beginning to rethink the vicious smear campaigns by elected of- ficials and authorities in Kansas against Dr. Tiller that created an atmosphere in which Scott Roeder [allegedly] felt empowered to commit murder.” In reaction to the “Keep it Closed” www.msmagazine.com highlights 14 15 18 campaign’s targeting of Carhart, a flood of new pro-choice volunteers are now offering their help, says Ne- braska NOW president Erin Sulli- van, who coordinated the pro-choice response: “People who had never been involved before drove to the clinic after seeing us on the evening news to offer their help and support.” Although the number of “Keep it Closed” protesters was relatively small, the militancy of some who par- ticipated in Bellevue is troubling. A major player was Norman Weslin, founder and leader of the Lambs of Christ, a notorious anti-abortion group linked to violent extremists. Weslin has traveled to protest be- sieged clinics and has been arrested more than 70 times for clinic inva- sions, including twice at Carhart’s clinic. He and his followers once chained themselves to junk cars they dumped in the driveway of Tiller’s Wichita clinic, an event former clinic employee Linda Stoner remembers as chilling. “It was just chaos,” Stoner said. “The women would come in and they were traumatized.” Larry Donlan, director of Omaha- based Rescue the Heartland, has trav- eled and been arrested with Weslin for clinic blockades. Donlan drives one of Operation Rescue’s “Truth Trucks,” two of which were parked along one of the Bellevue streets closed off by police during the demonstrations. Operation Rescue’s policy advisor, Cheryl Sullenger, also came to Belle- vue from Wichita. Sullenger served two years in a federal prison for con- spiring to bomb a San Diego abortion clinic in 1987. And according to press accounts, Sullenger admitted to pro- viding information to Scott Roeder concerning Tiller’s church; Sul- lenger’s name and phone number were on a handwritten note in Roed- er’s car when he was arrested for Tiller’s murder. Finally, another Wichita follower of Operation Rescue who demon- strated in Bellevue was Jennifer Mc- Coy, who served prison time for attempted arson at Virginia abortion clinics in the 1990s. She reportedly attended Roeder’s July 28 prelimi- nary hearing and has visited him in jail several times as he awaits trial. The “Keep it Closed” demonstra- tions appeared to be coordinated with AWoman’s Touch Crisis Pregnancy Center, located across the street from Carhart’s clinic. At one point during the day, Troy Newman held up a sonogram of a woman he claimed was a patient of Carhart’s who had come into the CPC instead. “We’ve long believed that CPCs such as this one function as staging grounds for these anti-abortion ex- tremists groups,” says Katherine Spillar, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, who came to Bellevue to support Carhart. Bellevue Police took the potential for violence at the demonstration seri- ously; Capt. Herb Evers coordinated with 10 state, local and federal agen- cies to ensure the safety of Carhart, his staff and clinic. U.S. attorneys from Washington, D.C., were also on hand as monitors, and federal marshals pro- vided protection for Carhart. But the threat of harm has not de- terred Carhart even in the face of con- tinued local protests. He announced plans to open a new abortion clinic in Kansas by year’s end in defiant testa- ment to his late friend and colleague. “Dr. Tiller was willing to fight back and so am I,” Carhart said. —WENDY NORRIS Written in cooperation with RHReality Check.org, whereWendy Norris is a contributing writer. FALL 2009 | 13 PATRICIA WILLIAMS