Toensing Victoria Deputy Assistant Anorney Genera. Crimma. DvisSION. US Department of Justice Prepared statement Weatherman. Ange. S Webster, William H. Director Federal Bureau of Investigation US Depart Webster, William H., Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice-Continued Whipple, Beverly, executive director, Feminist Women's Health Center, Prepared statement ..... Prepared statement APPENDIX Baird, Bill, prepared statement, April 1985... 571 Hern, Dr. Warren M., director, Boulder Abortion Clinic, prepared statement, 582 Green, Hon. Bill, Member of Congress, prepared statement, March 6, 1985 Investigative Guidelines, Title XI, Organized Crime Control Act, Regulation 597 598 609 Wattleton, Faye, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., 617 620 630 631 Edwards, Hon. Don, letter to Assistant Attorney General William Bradford 638 Edwards, Hon. Don, letter to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Victoria 640 Brady, Phillip D., Acting Assistant Attorney General, letter to Hon. Don 641 Toensing, Victoria, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, letter to Hon. Don 642 Reynolds, William Bradford, Assistant Attorney General, letter to Hon. Don 647 Trott, Stephen S., Assistant Attorney General, letter to Hon. Don Edwards, Edwards, Hon. Don, letter to Director William H. Webster, May 29, 1986...... 649 654 656 658 Long Island Coalition for Life, letter, August 19, 1985.. 659 Dillon, Denis, district attorney, Nassau County, letter to Judith Haasis, executive director, Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, Inc., September 18, 1985. 662 Michelman, Kate, executive director, National Abortion Rights Action League, prepared statement, December 17, 1986... 663 Wisman, Rosann, executive director, Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan 672 675 National Abortion Federation, Reported Incidents of Arson and Bombings, 1986...... 676 American Medical Association, Violence Against Medical Facilities, resolution 677 ABORTION CLINIC VIOLENCE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 1985 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CIVIL AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 10:15 a.m., in room 2237, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Don Edwards (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Edwards, Conyers, Schroeder, Schumer, Sensenbrenner, DeWine, and Dannemeyer. Staff present: Catherine A. LeRoy, chief counsel; James X. Dempsey, assistant counsel; and Philip G. Kiko, associate counsel. Mr. EDWARDS. The subcommittee will come to order. Today we're going to begin a series of hearings on abortion clinic violence. Our purpose is to consider whether, in specific instances, unlawful activities directed against abortion clinics have infringed constitutional rights of reproductive freedom. The purpose of these hearings is most emphatically not to debate the pros and cons of abortion. We take as our premise the holding of the Supreme Court, which has ruled that abortion in the earlier stages of a pregnancy is a fundamental right. We have received reports about clinic entrances being blocked, clinics being invaded to disrupt activities, telephone threats, property damage and so on. We strongly condemn all forms of violence that infringe the exercise of constitutional rights. The purpose of these hearings is to explore the scope and impact of this problem. We also want to ask whether the Federal Government, and particularly the Department of Justice, should be involved in investigating such violence under the civil rights laws. We will receive testimony in a later session from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regarding its investigation of the bombings and arsons. We applaud their successes to date and we urge them to continue their efforts until each of the bombings is solved. The hearing today focuses on other forms of violence, the harassment and intimidation of patients and staff, that may be equally as injurious in discouraging the exercise of constitutional rights. I should make it clear that we fully support the exercise of first amendment rights by abortion opponents. The allegations that we will be investigating here go far beyond legitimate first amendment protests. To date, the role of the Federal Government in prosecuting clinic violence, apart from the bombings, has been limited or nonexistent. The Justice Department has available to it a statute making it a Federal crime to interfere with the exercise of a constitutional right. Reproductive freedoms are constitutionally protected, yet the Justice Department has not intervened here. In the past the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has acted, for example, to prosecute harassment of blacks exercising their right to enter a restaurant. At a later session we will be asking why the same law is not being applied to violence against women exercising their rights to enter reproductive health centers. The gentleman from Wisconsin. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I welcome the opportunity to make an opening statement here this morning. Before I make my statement, let me ask unanimous consent that this hearing may be broadcast, filmed or telecast in whole or in part, pursuant to committee rule 5. Mr. EDWARDS. Without objection so ordered. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I am a member of this subcommittee that has a 100-percent prolife voting record and am proud of it. On the other hand, I deplore, in as strong as possible terms as I can, the illegal acts such as bombings and arsons that have occurred in abortion clinics throughout the country. I believe that these acts have been committed by a few demented individuals who, while well intentioned, have decided to take the law into their own hands, and wrongly so. These illegal activities are jeopardizing the prolife movement in the country and in the Congress and hurting the chances of passing the human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which is the ultimate goal of the prolife movement. I would hope that those who do not share the values of the prolife movement would not use the acts of a few demented individuals to attempt to discredit an entire movement. I think that would be 1980 style McCarthyism and should be condemned as vigorously as the McCarthyism that this country experienced in the 1950's. On the other hand I think we ought to be very careful in drawing a line between those that commit illegal acts like bombings and arsons and those that are exercising their first amendment rights to express themselves on what is a legitimate political and social issue facing this Congress and facing this country. On January 26, 1985, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an op-ed piece by Mr. Benson A. Wolman, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. I rarely quote writings and statements of ACLU agencies with approval, but I intend to do so today. And I would just like to read one paragraph of Mr. Wolman's article. It said: Nevertheless, there is too much a tendency to over-attribute to social movements and messages the acts of deviants. Those of us who place a high regard on personal choice ought to make sure that pressures do not mount to make the pro-life community accountable for the misguided acts of borderline personalities who respond in violent rage. So, picketing and freedom of expression on the abortion issue, I think, is something that ought to be defended and ought to be con |