Death by an Extremist’s Gun : Abortion clinics and their staffs are so tragically vulnerable

Dr. David Gunn on Wednesday became the first abortion clinic employee to be fatally attacked during a protest. His must be the last such murder--and his death must galvanize reluctant members of Congress to act to ensure that all clinic workers and patients are protected from further violence.

Gunn, 47, was shot as he got out of his car during a protest at the Pensacola Women’s Medical Services clinic, which he operated in the Florida city. The man who surrendered and told a police officer that he had shot Gunn is an extremist abortion protester who on Sunday had prayed for the doctor to “give his life to Jesus.” Michael Frederick Griffin, 31, is charged with the murder. Unlike so many anti-abortion protesters, Dr. Gunn’s killer was no peaceful protester of conscience.

Florida police refuse to say whether the shooting was abortion-related, but it is clear that Gunn had been a marked man for some time. Last summer, a “wanted poster” of Gunn was distributed at an Operation Rescue rally. The poster, which bore a photograph of Gunn and his home telephone number, was designed to encourage anti-abortion workers to harass doctors at clinics that Gunn operated.

Although this murder was a first, the harassment that Gunn endured simply because he provided legal abortions to women who wanted them has become all too commonplace. Across the country, abortion clinics continue to be bombed, their personnel and patients threatened and physically attacked. In San Diego this week, anti-abortion activists sprayed five clinics with a foul-smelling substance.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal judges cannot stop abortion protesters from trying to block access to clinics. But Congress certainly can--and now must--do so with all deliberate speed.

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1993 is stuck in a House subcommittee; the bill would make it a federal crime to obstruct, hinder or impede patients or personnel from entering or exiting a health clinic. A new California state law strengthens protections for clinic workers and patients. But those in other states are still tragically vulnerable.