Both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Bear Responsibility : Abortion: When the barriers of legality are breached with words, fringe elements rush in with violence.

Last Friday’s senseless shootings at two Massachusetts abortion clinics can’t be described as an isolated incident. In the last two years, four people have been brutally gunned down by men claiming to be against abortion. While they may be against abortion, they are clearly not pro-life.

Those of us who believe in the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to one’s natural death can no longer sit by and refer to these killings as aberrations. Because these demented individuals are murdering in the name of pro-life, the pro-life movement must become proactive in their condemnation. Merely sending out press releases and expressing regret on television isn’t enough; we must aggressively aid in stopping this deluge of anti-life activity.

The reaction from both sides has been predictable. Pro-abortionists say that due to what they call “rhetoric,” pro-lifers invite terrorism, ergo all pro-lifers are terrorists. The pro-abortionists will clamor for new legislation to end all picketing and prohibit any pro-life literature from being distributed at clinics--doing nothing to stop the violence but everything to destroy the First Amendment. Pro-lifers argue that they can do nothing since these killers are not part of their movement. Some even rationalize that although murder is wrong, the killing of murderers--abortionists--is somehow less evil.

These reactions from both sides are not only self-serving; they also are intellectually dishonest. Both camps must admit that all involved in the abortion controversy bear responsibility for this carnage.

Nonviolent illegal activity has long been a part of our heritage, going back to the Boston Tea Party. But often forgotten is the violence that follows. Last week’s shootings in Boston were an example of how fringe elements come out whenever the barriers of legality are broken. Martin Luther King Jr. led nonviolent andpeaceful demonstrations, but even King could not deter the violence of the Black Panthers.

No one can link Louis Farrakhan to the Long Island Railroad murders that Colin Ferguson is accused of, but Farrakhan’s racial hatred certainly set the scene. The inexcusable tolerance of the Los Angeles riots and constant threats of “no justice, no peace” may have had a link to the beating of Reginald Denny. Likewise, once a segment of the pro-life community went from legal to illegal activity, the natural progress was inevitable.

Pro-abortion activists also have set the stage for violence. Their insidious demand to keep abortion legal through the ninth month of pregnancy has resulted in many gruesome acts of death or maiming of viable unborn babies. One example is Baby Anna, now 3, whose mother’s failed third-trimester abortion resulted in Anna’s arm being severed by the abortionist’s forceps. So-called safe abortions that kill women are routinely dismissed as inevitable procedural risks. Bills calling for a first-trimester limit to abortion, mandated anesthetizing of an unborn child prior to its extermination or parental consent for minors to have abortions have all been repeatedly defeated by strident pro-abortion lobbyists. This kind of resistance to limitations on abortion has fed twisted logic that espouses the notion that killing stops killing.

So while pro-lifers must continue to peacefully picket and offer women alternatives outside abortion clinics, a new dimension must be added to the agenda of these sidewalk heroes: ensuring the safety of those they condemn. This must include being aware of new faces among protesters, finding out where they come from and being on the lookout for those who describe murder as a solution. Then, at the first mention of violence, pro-lifers must immediately notify police and abortion-clinic employees. Swift action could avert another murder.

For the past 22 years, the termination of life has tragically remained hidden, silent and legal behind closed doors. Characteristically of any virus, however, it has now spread outside the womb. If we cannot defend the lives of even those with whom we disagree, we are not worthy to call ourselves pro-life. Remember Christ’s words as he was being led to his execution, to a follower who had cut off the ear of the arresting officer: “Harm him not.”