Recently, late-term abortion doctor George Tiller was violently attacked and killed at his church. Although the individual accused of killing him was not associated with any organization, he was a self-professed Pro-Life activist. His actions disrespect life and actually harm the honest, legal work undertaken by the majority of the Pro-Life movement.
Texas Right to Life unequivocally condemns any such acts of violence regardless of motivation. Texas Right to Life and all Pro-Life organizations with whom we are affiliated and with whom we partner use only legal, peaceful, and prayerful means to protect the right to life of all humans and increase respect for innocent human life both inside and outside of abortion clinics. Such unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to that goal.
Texas Right to Life has consistently opposed and will continue to oppose any form of violence to fight the violence of abortion. Texas Right to Life adheres to a strict policy of forbidding violence or illegal activity by its staff, directors, officers, affiliated organizations and chapters, and we mourn the loss of all life—born and unborn.
Texas Right to Life relies on peaceful solutions to aid pregnant women and their unborn children and to assist the disabled and elderly; none of our efforts to help women, their children, and families involve or suggest any method of violence against anyone or any entity.
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, “Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time,” emphasizing that we must “overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.” The use of violence undermines the efforts of any movement or cause and diminishes the opportunities to find solutions based on reason and love for one another. No one listens to or responds to an angry messenger, which is why Texas Right to Life has always worked within the law to promote a Culture of Life.
Our love for our fellow men and women (and children) manifests in our non-violent educational efforts, our support of families and women in crisis, our legislative pursuits, and our assistance in electing Pro-Life leaders to public office. In that same letter, King asked, “The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation is in dire need of creative extremists.” And today, the nation remains in dire need of creative extremists who find peaceful and legal means to expand the Culture of Life with love and truth, not through violence.
Regrettably, despite King’s tireless fight for civil rights for Black Americans, approximately 77% of abortion clinics are located in low-income minority neighborhoods, and furthermore, approximately 48% of all Blacks are aborted in America. Most Black Americans who enjoy freedom today in part because of Martin Luther King, Jr., have yet to reject the violent genocide perpetrated on their race in abortion clinics.