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An abortion doctor speaks out about decades of threats and violence [W:254]

David_N

David_N

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Warren Hern discusses this.
Performing abortions is my life's work. Terrorism won't stop me
When I started as the founding medical director of that nonprofit clinic in Colorado, shortly after the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade, I faced hostility even from many members of the medical community. My request for hospital privileges was met with vociferous opposition, until one highly respected physician — an obstetrician who had seen too many women die of illegal abortion — backed me up. I got the right to admit patients to the hospital if needed.That wasn’t the end of it, though. A group called Fight the Abortion Clinic told the Colorado Board of Health that we were running a butcher shop. I presented statistics from our first month of operation and explained the safety measures I had built into the medical procedures. The board dropped the subject.The personal attacks continued. The next summer, the Denver chapter of the National Organization for Women decided to honor me for supporting women’s rights. As I was given my award, a group of anti-abortion demonstrators began screaming and calling me vile names, their faces contorted with hate. Their ferocity was terrifying. It made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. How could anybody be so opposed to what we were doing?

I was doing my part to make the Roe v. Wade decision meaningful, but much more than that, I was saving women’s lives. I was making a difference. The days of death from illegal, unsafe abortion were over, at least as far as I could do something about it.Several times, I was invited to debate the abortion issue. At first, I enjoyed the debates and treated both my opponents and the occasions with respect. But the anti-abortion groups became more and more threatening and aggressive, calling me a “murderer” and “baby killer.” On one occasion, at the University of Colorado Denver, they started to climb over the front table at me and I had to be taken out a back exit under police escort.

In 1988, five shots were fired through the front windows of my office, narrowly missing a staff member. My patients and staff are now protected with bulletproof windows.In 1991, anti-abortion leader Randall Terry gathered his disciples around him in the street in front of my office and prayed for my execution.In 1993, Dr. David Gunn was assassinated in Florida. A few months later, my friend Dr. George Tiller was shot in both arms by Shelley Shannon as he drove out of his office in Wichita, Kan. That week, Randall Terry went on national Christian radio and invited his listeners to assassinate me.In 1994, Dr. John Britton and his bodyguard were assassinated in Florida. Later in the year, Dr. Gary Romalis was shot in his kitchen in Vancouver and nearly bled to death. In December, John Salvi killed two abortion clinic workers in Brookline, Mass.Shelley Shannon sent me a letter from the Kansas state prison telling me that I would be next. I knew she meant it.An anti-abortion fanatic wrote me a letter telling me to forget wearing a bulletproof vest: They would go for a head shot.In early 1995, the American Coalition of Life Activists held a press conference to unveil a hit list of 13 abortion doctors. I was on the list. So was Dr. Tiller. Their poster declared us guilty of “crimes against humanity.”Within hours, federal marshals were protecting me. I wrote a letter to the New York Times in which I tried to describe what it felt like to be on that hit list, which included not just our names but our addresses. I wrote that it went “a long way toward destroying one’s life.”In 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian was assassinated in his New York home. I watched the news of this, horrified, as I was getting dressed to go to a professional meeting in Denver where I could be at risk. I was not sure I should go to the meeting, but I went anyway. I was wary and apprehensive, so after a short while, I left. I was afraid.On May 31, 2009, Dr. Tiller was assassinated in his church by Scott Roeder. I was put under 24-hour armed guard at my office and at home by US federal marshals. Death threats against me continued. My wife, a physician from Cuba, was terrified. Our young son could not play outside with his friends.

My family could not even ride together to a memorial service in Denver for my friend, George Tiller. The marshals took me everywhere in a bulletproof truck. Our son was in tears at the service and clung to me after I spoke. My 92-year-old mother, who had worried for my safety for decades, was there — and was even more fearful that I would be next.Why do I continue doing abortions? Because it matters.The women need my help. A large proportion of my patients now are women with desired pregnancies who have learned late in pregnancy that the fetus is afflicted with a catastrophic anomaly or genetic abnormality. It is a wrenching personal tragedy for the women and their partners.
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David_N said:
Warren Hern discusses this.
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As though killing someone because of a poor prognosis could be justified.

He is scum who kills for money and he belongs in a cell.
 
JayDubya said:
Yes, laughter is the proper response to you trying to drum up sympathy for this ****stack.
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Who says I'm trying to drum up sympathy? I'm simply posting an article that is relevant. Death threats/violence/etc are all directed at abortion providers.
 
David_N said:
Death threats/violence/etc are all directed at abortion providers.
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Then maybe they shouldn't kill human beings for money.

It's not complicated why so many hate their ****ing guts.
 
JayDubya said:
Then maybe they shouldn't kill human beings for money.

It's not complicated why so many hate their ****ing guts.
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*sigh*
Do you think this is ok?
In 1988, five shots were fired through the front windows of my office, narrowly missing a staff member. My patients and staff are now protected with bulletproof windows.In 1991, anti-abortion leader Randall Terry gathered his disciples around him in the street in front of my office and prayed for my execution.In 1993, Dr. David Gunn was assassinated in Florida. A few months later, my friend Dr. George Tiller was shot in both arms by Shelley Shannon as he drove out of his office in Wichita, Kan. That week, Randall Terry went on national Christian radio and invited his listeners to assassinate me.In 1994, Dr. John Britton and his bodyguard were assassinated in Florida. Later in the year, Dr. Gary Romalis was shot in his kitchen in Vancouver and nearly bled to death. In December, John Salvi killed two abortion clinic workers in Brookline, Mass.Shelley Shannon sent me a letter from the Kansas state prison telling me that I would be next. I knew she meant it.An anti-abortion fanatic wrote me a letter telling me to forget wearing a bulletproof vest: They would go for a head shot.In early 1995, the American Coalition of Life Activists held a press conference to unveil a hit list of 13 abortion doctors. I was on the list. So was Dr. Tiller. Their poster declared us guilty of “crimes against humanity.”Within hours, federal marshals were protecting me.
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You sure make it sound like you think it is.
 
David_N said:
*sigh*
Do you think this is ok?
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Vigilantism is not okay.

Free speech that is negative about them is okay.

Fixing the law to put these evil mother****ers in prison where they belong is ideal.
 
David_N said:
Meanwhile, abortion providers will continue to provide care to women, even if you change the law.
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Cool, then they can really live in fear. Of police raids.
 
Jetboogieman said:
youre lying, you've clearly said people can be killed for lack of funds.
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No, I have never said this, and shame on you.

Your off-topic and defamatory harassment needs to stop.
 
Thank God for people like Dr Hern, who won't let the bullies stop them from doing what they feel is right.
 
Scrabaholic said:
Thank God for people like Dr Hern, who won't let the bullies stop them from doing what they feel is right.
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Interesting choice of phrase. Maybe the doctor should stop doing what they consider right and do what God considers right
 
Crovax said:
Interesting choice of phrase. Maybe the doctor should stop doing what they consider right and do what God considers right
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All kinds of gods worshiped out there throughout human history, even more in the realm of narrative fiction. I'm sure some are evil enough to fit the bill.
 
Hern is human waste. What's the difference between this guy and Joseph Mengele? Nothing.
Late term abortions cost up to $8,000. That's why Hern does it, spare me the bull crap about being a crusader for women's rights pal.
 
David_N said:
Meanwhile, abortion providers will continue to provide care to women, even if you change the law. :)
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I think this is what many pro-life supporters forget. And that is being generous, altho I dont believe most think it thru enough to realize the actual impacts on women. I do not believe most are malicious.

However some do not care about the impacts of unwanted or unaffordable pregnancy, motherhood, etc on women and are not hesitant to express such.
 
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truthatallcost said:
Hern is human waste. What's the difference between this guy and Joseph Mengele? Nothing.
Late term abortions cost up to $8,000. That's why Hern does it, spare me the bull crap about being a crusader for women's rights pal.
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Do you object to medically necessary abortions? Done for purposes of the mother's health or in cases of severely defective fetuses?

Can you tell us how many "elective" late term abortions occur in the US?
 
truthatallcost said:
Hern is human waste. What's the difference between this guy and Joseph Mengele? Nothing.
Late term abortions cost up to $8,000. That's why Hern does it, spare me the bull crap about being a crusader for women's rights pal.
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Another useless condemnation of MD's. Spare us your dishonest drama.

Patients coming in for very late abortion - over 26 menstrual weeks' gestation - are almost always seeking services for termination of a desired pregnancy that has developed serious complications. This usually means the discovery of a catastrophic fetal anomaly or genetic disorder that guarantees death, suffering, or serious disability for the baby that would be delivered if the pregnancy were to continue to term. Occasionally a woman presents at this stage for pregnancy termination because of her own severe medical illness or a psychiatric indication. (See "A Special Note About Fetal Anomaly")

At this point, termination of pregnancy is considered a far more dangerous procedure and carries with it serious risks of complication. That is why pregnancy termination at this stage requires more experience and skill in the operating physician. It also requires scrupulous attention to procedures that reduce the risk of complication.

The first step for third trimester patients is the same as for second trimester patients at 20 weeks or more. The main difference here is that more precautions are taken to reduce the special risks for more advanced pregnancy termination.

Instead of changing the laminaria once on the third day, for example, the laminaria may be changed twice. An additional day of laminaria treatment is rarely, but possibly, necessary.

One of the main differences for third trimester patients having a pregnancy terminated for fetal anomaly is that they may wish to have an intact fetus that they can examine and hold as part of the grief process. For many of these patients, it is not a fetus - it's a baby. The woman and her family may request special procedures such as special religious ceremonies, genetic studies, formal autopsy, private cremation, or private burial. We can arrange for any or all of these special procedures upon request.

While these procedures or ceremonies can be arranged upon request, we do not expect or require any patients or families to go through any special rituals, ceremonies, or grief process at Boulder Abortion Clinic. Dr. Hern believes that the patient's own family, physician, and religious counselors are better prepared to provide these kinds of support at home in most cases.

All third trimester abortion patients are carefully observed in the recovery room for a period of up to two hours before being discharged to the care of a family physician, unless a patient desires return to Boulder Abortion Clinic for her follow-up examination.

Third Trimester Abortion
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