Anti-Abortion Violence

Anti-Abortion Violence and Intimidation

Anti-Abortion Clinic Violence and Intimidation Tactics

While the right-wing pundits and social media influencers decry the violence on the left, the right-wing has typically been at the forefront of such action

Protecting Women from Harassment and Violence

The goal of the anti-abortion movement is clear: To make abortion as inaccessible and traumatic as possible for women. The goal of the pro-choice clinic escorts is equally clear: To ensure that women can access abortions with a minimal amount of emotional pain and freedom from violence. Every day, patients are subjected to harassment and the threat of violence. The abortion clinic escort is their lifeline, and their support. The decision to have an abortion is traumatic enough without harassment being piled on. The threat of violence is always there. Read on to learn more about the history of anti-abortion violence.

The Long History of Anti-Abortion Violence in America

Violence against abortion clinics and providers is nothing new. Since 1976, when the first known anti-abortion attack was recorded, there have been eight murders, 17 attempted murders, 46 bombings and 186 arson attacks against both abortion providers and facilities across the United States. Some clinics have been targeted multiple times. We summarize information on some of these assaults below and provide links that give you more detail.

Murders of Abortion Providers and Clinic Workers

David Gunn

Gynecologist David Gunn of Pensacola, Florida, was shot and killed during a protest on March 10, 1993. Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group, had made him the subject of 'wanted' posters in 1992. Michael F. Griffin was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Here's a New York Times article on the subject as well.


John Britton and James Barrett


On July 29, 1994, John Britton, a physician, and a clinic escort named James Barrett were both shot to death outside The Ladies Center in Pensacola, Florida. The clinic had also been bombed in 1984 and was again bombed in 2012. For the 1994 killings, Paul Jennings Hill was charged and received the death penalty. He was executed on September 3, 2003.


Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols


Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols were receptionists who were killed in Brookline, Massachusetts, by John Salvi on December 30, 1994 during two clinic attacks. Salvi confessed to the killings. Salvi had also confessed to a non-lethal attack in Norfolk, Virginia, just days before the Brookline attacks.


Robert Sanderson


Robert Sanderson was an off-duty police officer, who also worked as an abortion clinic security guard in Birmingham, Alabama, was killed when his workplace was bombed by Eric Rudolph on January 29, 1998. Rudolph was also charged with three Atlanta bombings, one of an abortion center in 1997, the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park Bombing, and another at a lesbian club. He was found guilty of all and received two life sentences.


Barnett Slepian


Doctor Slepian was shot to death with a high-powered rifle at his home in Amherst, New York, on October 23, 1998. James Kopp was finally apprehended in France in 2001 and convicted of Slepian's murder. Authorities believe that Slepian's killing was the last in a series of similar shootings in Canada and upper New York State that were carried out by Kopp.


George Tiller


Dr. George Tiller, one of only a few doctors in the nation specializing in late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder while serving as an usher in a church in Wichita, Kansas, on May 31, 2009. This was not the first time Tiller had been the victim of anti-abortion violence. He was also shot in 1993 by Shelley Shannon, who was convicted of the shooting and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Dr. Tiller was admired not only for his courage, but also for the comfort and care his clinic offered his patients.


Ke'Arre Stewart, Garret Swasey, Jennifer Markovsky


On November 27, 2015, Robert L. Dear walked into a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and shot 12 people, leaving three dead and nine wounded during a stand-off with police that lasted for five hours. During his hearing he declared that he was guilty and that there would be no trial. He called himself "a warrior for the babies." Ke'Arre Stewart was an Iraq war veteran, Garret Swasey was a police officer, and Jennifer Markovsky was the mother of two children.


George Wayne Patterson


Dr. Patterson was shot in the neck and killed when returning to his car on August 21, 1993. It is unclear whether or not he had confronted someone burglarizing his car, or whether the motive was his profession as an abortion doctor. It should be noted that Dr. Patterson is the subject of one of the "wanted" posters above.

While shootings at abortion clinics are considered rare, anti-abortion violence is not

When Robert Dear traveled to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, he brought four SKS rifles, two other rifles, a shotgun, five handguns, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, and some propane tanks. He was ready to declare war on abortion.  While shootings at clinics are considered rare (not in our minds, however), acts of anti-abortion violence are not.


In addition to killings, there have been threats of harm or death to providers, attempted murders, kidnappings, bombings, arson, and stalking incidents. Once the SCOTUS decision is handed down, it will get worse.


Several groups monitor anti-abortion violence. You can see a rundown of violence against abortion providers and staff from The Feminist Majority here.  They also publish clinic violence surveys which you can access here.



You can download a report from NARAL Pro-Choice America here about anti-abortion violence and intimidation.


You can also see a chart from the National Abortion Federation (NAF) about abortion violence and disruption statistics here plus detail on 2015 disruption here.


There is no level of anti-abortion violence which should be considered acceptable, regardless of frequency.

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