James Charles Kopp

“The Doctor Killers”

Nation, Volume 272, Issue 16

April 23, 2001

Page 6

AP2 .N2 v.272 2001

*James Kopp was arrested in France, accused killer of Barrett Slepian

*came at awkward time for Bush Administration

*Kopp was convicted in three nonfatal shootings in Canada and the United States and it appears as though he wasn’t alone (conspiracy)

*however in a trial in 1996, no evidence was found of a national conspiracy

*evidence shows that he is not a solo act (had friends in Ireland vouch references for his employment, had Irish bank accounts and several identities)

*1999-influence in Ireland, through teaching techniques of American blockade and intimidation

*Rev. Patrick Mahoney (Christian Defense Coalition)

*1997-Reverend Mahoney responded to Kopp’s arrest, to Bush and the Slepian shooting by saying not to “harass and intimidate the pro-life movement.”

Bush- (Ashcroft) working to accomplish by executive order what Kopp attempted with a gun: diminishing the availability of abortion and thus undermining a civil right.

“Nuremberg Files”- displays photos of abortion providers and a list with a strike through the names of assassinated doctors

-contributed to a climate of fear

-the website is the theory and Kopp’s rifle is the practice.

-taking files off the Internet would not have saved Slepian or brought the shooter to justice.

Kopp’s arrest ironies;

*most antichoice Attorney General in US history must now prosecute an anti choice assassin.

*an administration wild about the death penalty must forgo capital punishment to secure Kopp’s extradition because France opposes it.

Dr. Garson Romalis and Hugh Short

“A Violent Message? Someone may be stalking doctors who do abortions.”

MacLean’s, Volume 108, Issue 48

November 27, 1995

Page 23

Author: Tom Fennell

AP5 .B87 v.108 no. 40-52 1995

Hugh Short- Hamilton gynecologist

*reputation of caring, gentle doctor for 30 years.

*Nov. 10, 1995-shot through the den window of his home

*an assassin was outside in a ravine in the woods with a high-powered rifle

Dr. Garson Romalis- Vancouver gynecologist and obstetrician

*performed only a small number of abortions as part of his family practice

*Nov. 8, 1994-shot and badly injured in through a window in his home.

Incidents were far apart but both were similar:

*involved doctors who performed abortions

*shot through the window in what they thought were their safe homes

*only evidence found were two shell casings behind Romalis’s home and a single shell in the woods behind Short’s home.

*similar careers.

*Hamilton police have beefed up security

*have also been in contact with FBI to find any links between violence occurring at American abortion clinics where anti-abortion extremists have killed three doctors and two clinic workers since 1993.

*abortion has become a hot topic creating hate and violence towards doctors

*Romalis and Scott were targeted to send a violent message to others like them.

“It’s a scare tactic.”

(Marcy Gilbert, Executive Director, Canadian Abortion Rights Action League)

* pro-abortion advocates are angered by lack of progress in cases or shootings.

* anti-abortion groups deny that their members are potential assassins. Members believe in the sanctity of life and would never hurt anyone.

“We condemn violence in the womb and out of the womb.”

(Eileen Fallon, President, Hamilton Right to Life Association)

*investigators continue in Hamilton into the second shooting of Canadian abortion providers in a year

Dr. Garson Romalis

“In the Name of Life. Stabbing One Doctor and Threatening Another Puts Abortion on the Front Burner.”

MacLean’s, Volume 113, Issue 30

July 24, 2000

Page 14

Author: Mark Nichols

AP5 .B87 v.113, no.27-39 2000

*attacks on Dr. Garson Romalis of Vancouver

*Nov, 1994-shot through his kitchen window

*July, 2000-stabbed outside his clinic

*assailant (white male, mid 20s, got away)

Ellen Wiebe

*leading Canadian clinical tests of the France developed abortion drug RU486

*received a threatening call on voice mail

Baby Liberation Army

*called Vancouver newspaper, The Promise, to state this:

*claimed responsibility for attacks on Romalis

*warned other abortion providers to “watch their backs”

Stockwell Day

*vocal abortion opponent

*condemned attack on Romalis

Campaign Life Coalition

*offered $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Romalis’ assailant.

“The life of an abortion doctor is worth just as much as that of a child in the womb”

(Jim Hughes, National President, Canadian Life Coalition)

*people hold many different views

Henry Morgentaler

*pioneer physician who started abortion clinics in 8 Canadian cities

“For years we have been living in the shadow of the doctor being killed. This violence is a sign of frustration, rage and moral bankruptcy in the anti-abortion movement.”

(Henry Morgentaler)

RU486-drug that can induce abortion up to 7 weeks after conception

Methotrexate-also used for abortions

-approved by Health Canada

-may halt embryo growth in first 6 weeks of pregnancy

-used to treat cancer, arthritis, and other conditions

Mifepristone-never approved in North America but in Europe

-disrupts implantation of fetus in womb

“These drugs just provide another way of killing innocent humans.”

(Reverend Jim Whalen, National Director of Pembroke Ontario-based Priests for Life, Canada)