A Spokane, Wash., man was arrested Wednesday for making detailed death threats about the family of abortion provider Warren Hern, director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic in Colorado, the New York Times reports. Hern said that although he has received death threats in the past, he has been taking the threats more seriously since the May murder of his friend and colleague George Tiller. Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, it is a federal crime to injure or intimidate employees of reproductive health services facilities.
The suspect, Donald Hertz, 70, is accused of calling the clinic and saying that two men from Utah would be dispatched to kill the director's family, according to the Times. Hern said it is unclear whether any attack was actually planned, "but my family was terrified, my staff was terrified, and my 92-year-old mother had to be taken from her apartment to a safe location. We felt like we were under siege." Hertz, who could face six years in prison if convicted, will plead not guilty, his attorney said (Johnson, New York Times, 8/27).
"Rachel Maddow Show" Interviews Carhart
MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" on Thursday included a discussion with abortion provider LeRoy Carhart about recent threats from the antiabortion-rights group Operation Rescue. According to Maddow, the group recently sent a fundraising letter to supporters "celebrating" the closing of Tiller's Wichita clinic and "calling for action" against Carhart's Nebraska clinic. The letter said that the group will be in Omaha and outside Carhart's clinic Aug. 28 and 29 to "encourage and train pro-lifers" who are working to shut down Carhart's clinic. Maddow reports that women's rights groups are encouraging supporters to attend counter-protests in Nebraska.
During her discussion with Carhart, Maddow asked how he and his staff were preparing for the protests. Carhart said the clinic has not canceled any appointments, adding that staff "have tried to meet with all the local authorities to ensure that, first of all, things remain peaceful, and second of all, that access for our clinic is not denied." He also said that although local and national law enforcement authorities "are doing everything they can" to protect abortion providers and their staff, Congress "needs to get involved." Carhart said the "biggest omission so far is that [Congress is] not identifying antiabortion terrorism as hate crimes," citing Tiller's murder as an example.
Carhart said he is training physicians and current abortion providers to perform the procedure in the second and third trimester. He said that "we tremendously miss the loss of Dr. Tiller" but that his death has been "a catalyst" and "helped to galvanize the movement for abortion providers" (Maddow, "The Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 8/27).
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