Roe vs. Wade: A Historical Analogy

© 1996 by Laurie D. T. Mann

Let's learn from history, shall we?

Let's go back to a period of time starting in about 1866. Let's observe how a minority of whites in the south reacted to black people who went to vote. What did these white people do?

This behavior continued for generations until the Federal government finally "noticed," sent in the troops, and passed stronger laws to guarantee that blacks who chose to vote could vote safely. Now, people of all colors vote unimpeded in all parts of the country. But for many years, the federal government either completely ignored the situation, or said it was a "local issue."

Now, we have a strikingly similar situation, in which women who choose to have an abortion, and people who chose to help provide womens' health care, are risking their lives because of the anti-abortion terrorists. Terrorist tactics have been used by many other groups against other groups. We can see, for example, how "effective" anti-Jewish terrorism has been in the Middle East. The Isrealis are more determined to preserve their homeland, not less determined. Likewise, people who believe in preserving the legal choice of abortion are all the more determined to not be swayed by anti-abortion terrorists.

A case can be made that anti-abortion terrorists have parallels to the old Ku Klux Klan:

You may have noticed that the KKK has been much less vocal and violent over the last few years. This is because the mother of a black man who was lynched sued the organization and won a huge sum of money. Lynchings may be a thing of the past. But it may not because racist whites have finally come to their senses, but because their funding has been halted.

I normally complain about our overly-litiguous society, but I hope a person whose loved one was murdered by one of the anti-abortion terrorists sues an anti-abortion group like Operation Rescue for every cent it has. Groups like these incited its members to violence. Before groups like Operation Rescue were on the scene, anti-clinic demonstrations were sporadic and disorganized. About the worst thing that would happen is some anti-abortion foes would chain themselves to the doors of a clinic. Bombings didn't start until the mid-'80s, about the same time that groups like Operation Rescue were formed. Merely a coincidence? Perhaps. But...perhaps not.

While we don't have much of a KKK to watch anymore, the "professional haters" have banded together in paramilitary organizations. These men may be more dangerous than the hooded knights of the past because they are hiding more effectively. But incidents like the murders in Brookline prove that "they're out there."

Anti-abortion terrorists are just like the KKK but without the hoods.