When Dr. George Tiller was gunned-down while attending church in May, Operation Rescue's Troy Newman was quick to issue a statement decrying the assassination and insisting that Tiller's murderer "has never been a member, contributor, or volunteer with Operation Rescue."
In the days that followed, Newman made it clear that OR, which had been targeting Tiller for years, was not going to give up its anti-choice activism, saying "Operation Rescue will not stand by and act as if this organization's Pro-Life message has been silenced by [this] egregious act" and proclaiming that the organization "will continue to advocate for the sanctity of human life, born and unborn."
Tiller was one of only three physicians in the country who performed the types of procedures that made him the focus of the anti-choice activist's protestations and harassment. One of the others is LeRoy Carhart, the man at the center of the 2000 Supreme Court case Stenberg v. Carhart in which the court held that "Nebraska's statute criminalizing the performance of 'partial birth abortion[s]' violates the Federal Constitution."
So with Tiller now dead at the hands of an assassin, it looks as if Operation Rescue is now focusing its efforts entirely on Carhart:
A coalition of four pro-life groups have sent a letter to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Buning asking him to open a "comprehensive" investigation into late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart and his Bellevue abortion clinic.
Signing the letter were Troy Newman of Operation Rescue headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington, DC, Larry Donlan of Rescue the Heartland in Omaha, Nebraska, and Ann Bowen of Nebraskans United for Life, also of Omaha.
The group expressed concerns about the legality of certain aspects of Carhart's abortion business as well as concerns about the condition of Carhart's run-down abortion clinic that was damaged by an accidental fire earlier this year.
Carhart has indicated that he wants to begin doing risky third trimester abortions at his Bellevue clinic.
"There is concern that this decision will create an unacceptable safety risk to women," the group stated in their letter dated July 6, 2009.
"The safety of the public is our paramount concern, thus we are requesting the most comprehensive investigation of Carhart and his Nebraska abortion business as soon as possible from the Attorney General's office, and that your investigation not be limited solely to the concerns listed in this letter. Women's lives and future health literally depend on it."
Troy Newman moved OR's "offices to Wichita, Kansas in 2002, where he began an intensive campaign to close George Tiller’s abortion mill."
Any bets on how long it is before we see OR announce that it is relocating its offices to Bellevue, Nebraska?
