Roundup: A Roeder Roundup

The trial of Dr. Tiller's murderer is getting underway, and we catch you up with the latest developments. Plus, women bring home the bacon...

Just because we are still in the midst of jury selection doesn’t mean that there aren’t developments in the Scott Roeder case.  Roeder, who is on trial for the murder of Kansas doctor George Tiller, has been filling the media with his attempt to defend his actions as justifiable homicide.  

However, it’s the judge in the case who is making the most recent news.

[State District Judge Warren] Wilbert, a Republican who earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Washburn University in Topeka, was appointed to the bench in 1995 and faced no opposition the first three times he stood election. The most recent race was a different story: Wilbert won re-election in 2008 by a mere 471 votes out of nearly 166,000 cast.

Kansans for Life’s political action committee endorsed Wilbert in that race, though it did not contribute to his campaign directly. The mainstream anti-abortion group does not espouse violence, and its political arm focuses on lobbying the state Legislature.

Finance records show that Wilbert paid the group $75 in September 2008 to have his name listed in an ad in its quarterly newsletter, a 6-by-11-inch booklet of 24 pages that included articles such as "Update on Tiller charges" and "Planned Parenthood – a Snake in the Grass!" The judge also spent more than $16,000 on radio spots on seven stations.

The ad in the newsletter took up most of the bottom of page 16. It said: "The Kansans for Life PAC urges you to vote for, work for and pray for the following pro-life candidates."

Anti-abortion advocates, however, point to the judge’s  past rulings against Operation Rescue, as well as his refusal to allow Roeader to use the "necessity defense" as signs that Wilbert will not let his feelings on abortion weigh on his handling of the case.  According to Lifesite News:

…Wilbert’s judicial record does not appear to paint a picture of a “pro-life” activist judge. According to the Associated Press, in 2005 he dismissed a public records lawsuit filed by Cheryl Sullenger, a policy advisor for the pro-life group Operation Rescue, in which she sought copies of 911 tapes for ambulance runs from Tiller’s abortion facility.

Similarly, Wilbert has more than once denied Roeder’s request to use the so-called "necessity defense," which would argue that Roeder’s action was not a crime because it saved the lives of preborn babies.

The judge has also indicated that he wishes to keep the moral issue of abortion out of the case, as far as possible.

The issue of whether the judge’s potential biases could open the door for a trial that is less about Roeder’s actions and more about abortion itself is a valid concern.  Should Roeder be convicted of a lesser charge with as little as a 5-year sentence, some predict that violence against pro-choice doctors and advocates could greatly increase.

Roeder claims he was justified in murdering Dr. Tiller because he believed the slaying would save unborn children. It doesn’t matter if he’s successful in that claim or not. Merely by allowing the voluntary manslaughter argument, I fear that the judge has given a green light to every nut case with a cause.

The majority of women and men in this country are pro-choice. Few people are against sane efforts like more birth control to make abortion less prevalent. Abortion is not pleasant. I’ve never spoken with a woman who wouldn’t have preferred not to have one. But providers, clinics, women who have abortions, people who fund research and advocacy, and those who write and speak favorably about the right to the procedure all support keeping it safe, legal, and available to preserve women’s lives. What’s to stop abortion protesters now from gunning down any of these people if they can get off with a light sentence and forever be seen as martyrs? Isn’t that what all terrorists wish for?

The potential upheaval that an upheld justifiable homicide defense could create could result in violence not just for pro-choice advocates but, possibly rebound onto anti-abortion activists as well if taken to extremes, as writer Jeff Schweitzer does.

With hunting season now open, I could kill anybody I choose on the belief that my act of homicide would save the lives of future targets of my victim’s murderous ways. I make this ridiculous assertion because "defense of another person" is generally accepted as legal justification for killing a person in situations that would otherwise have been murder. 

….

Judge Wilbert said that the jury should consider "…Mr. Roeder’s beliefs, and how he came to form those beliefs." So if I kill an insurance executive, I just have to argue why I believe my actions to be justified, and how I came to those beliefs. More to the point, I can go out and murder any "pro-life" activist on the premise that I am saving the lives of all doctors who perform abortions!

And all of this while we are still in jury selection.  Just imagine what the actual trial will bring.

 

Mini Roundup: More wives are becoming the household breadwinners.  So when are legislators going to trust us enough to make our own health care choices?

January 19, 2010

Chile’s
Bachelet Gives Green Light To Reproductive Health Legislation
Santiago Times

In
NY, race for Senate seat is a Democratic identity crisis
Washington Post

Jennifer
O’Neill, Dr. Alveda King, and 45 Others Harmed by
Abortion to Testify
Christian News Wire

A
New Treatment to Help Women Avoid Hysterectomy
Wall Street Journal

 

January 18, 2010

Public
agencies not all about abstinence
The News-Press

Whose
should faith rule in the ER, yours or the medical staff?
USA Today

MA-Sen:
Emergency
Contraception
Claims
Daily
Kos

Activist
Diary 2: National Anti-choice groups create Susan B Anthony ‘museum’
Firedoglake

Coakley,
Schmoakley, You’re Not Our Heroes Anymore
Huffington Post

Pro-life
task force presents proposals
Observer Online

Obama
Speech for Pro-Abortion Candidate Coakley Disrupted by
Pro-Life
Heckler
LifeNews.com

Pro-Life
Advocates Demonstate at Planned Parenthood’s Newest, Biggest Facility
FOXNews

Pro-Life
News: Stupak, Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Alaska, Abortion
LifeNews.com

Texas
Gov. Perry, Sen. Hutchison Discuss
Abortion Rights In Gubernatorial Race
Medical News Today

Russia
should cut
abortions to
boost population: minister
AFP

Lawmakers
Still Trying to Create
Abortion Funding Compromise in Health Care
Bill
LifeNews.com

 

January 17, 2010

Tim
Tebow Set To Appear In Super Bowl Commercial
CBS 4

Marchers
protest
abortion
St. Augustine Record

Reader’s
view: Republicans manipulate voters with
abortion issue
Duluth News Tribune

Lt.
Gov. Bryant leads anti-
abortion effort
Jackson Clarion Ledger

Abortion
Funding Divides Views in US
Angus Reid Global Monitor

Driehaus
stands firm on
abortion
fight
Cincinnati.com

Area
residents rally against
abortion
Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Santorum:
Brown campaign ‘confused’ on
abortion, health care
Politico

Anti-abortion
group director: Policy change question comes from supporters
KCAU

Roeder
case stirs global reactions
Kansas City Star

Lawmakers
prepare to spar over
abortion
Washington Times

Misconceptions
Blamed For Drop In Adoptions
WOWT

In
her own words
Los
Angeles Times

Judge
bows out of
pro-life
case
OneNewsNow

Santorum:
Brown campaign ‘confused’ on abortion, health care
Politico

Abortion
rights protested at LI rally
Newsday

One-child
families to receive privileges
Bangladesh News 24 hours

 

January 16, 2010

Coakley’s
abortion
remarks spur flap
Boston
Herald

Abortion is
divisive in reform of healthcare
Ventura County Star

Anti-abortion
rally in downtown Dallas hopes to draw 10000
Dallas Morning News

Abortion
chicanery
Louisville
Courier-Journal

Anti-abortion
activities slated for anniversary of Roe v. Wade
News-Leader.com

Anti-abortion
protests live on outside Madison Surgery Center
Wisconsin State Journal

Anti-abortion
activists rally in downtown Dallas; crowd appears to fall short
Dallas Morning News

Mother
loses baby after being given ‘
abortion‘ drug to induce labour
Telegraph.co.uk

Planned
Parenthood Advocates of New York: Does Ford Know What It Means to Be
Pro-Choice?
ReadMedia

The
Onion: Law requires women to name baby, paint nursery before
Feministing

Harold
Ford, Jr. On Why He’s
Pro-Choice

Nashville Post

Many
clergy support reproductive care
Albany Times Union

Nun
Need Apply — By: Kathryn Jean Lopez

National Review Online

An
opposing view: Christine Smith
Wisconsin State Journal

Pro-life
leader: We’ll resist GOP ‘coup’
Lincoln Journal Star

ObamaCare
Goes Global, Hillary Clinton Announces

The New American

 

January 15, 2010

Fox
Nation, Hoft falsely claim Coakley said "Catholics" shouldn’t work
"in emergency rooms”
  Media
Matters for America

The
Pill May Decrease Bone Density
Palm Beach Post

Canada
high court declines to hear anti-
abortion activist’s tax appeal
JURIST

Kansas
judge in
abortion
case comes under scrutiny
Washington Post

Publication
Gives Obama Low Grade on Promoting
Abortion, Pro-Lifers Say Higher
LifeNews.com

Insanity
defense to be used in protester slaying
Washington Post

Senate’s
stealth approach to
abortion funding
Washington Examiner

Clinton
Promises Global Push for
Abortion Rights
National Review

New Abortion
Requirements Include Painting Nursery, Buying Toys
Jezebel

The Pro-Choice
Paradox
Crosswalk.com

Catholic
bishops too powerful?
Washington Post

Eleanor
Clift:
Pro-Choice
Pelosi Is ‘Unshaken… In Her Catholic Faith’
NewsBusters

State
Department mulls options for Haiti
adoptions

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Painful
limbo for parents adopting Haitian kids
msnbc.com

Martha
Coakley Attacks
Pro-Life Catholics: "Don’t Work in an
Emergency Room"
LifeNews.com

The
Population Implosion: Part I of the
Pro-Life Manifesto
NewsBlaze

Pro-Life
Advocates Urge March for Life Attendance to Lobby Abortion-Health Care
LifeNews.com

House,
Senate Close to Deal on Final Health Care Bill, Passing it a Question
LifeNews.com

Pro-Life
Avatars Head to Washington in First-Ever Virtual March for Life
LifeNews.com

Canadian
Ambassador to the Vatican Appreciates Pope’s
Pro-Life Take
 Lifesite

Planned
Parenthood Raising Funds to Push
Birth Control, Contraception in Haiti
LifeNews.com

Medicaid
to pay for
birth control?
Salt Lake Tribune