A pro-life campaigner has been murdered in the US but major abortion groups have failed to denounce the killing and the BBC hasn’t even reported the shooting.
James Pouillon, 63, was gunned down in Michigan last week. Police have arrested a man who “was not happy” with Mr Pouillon’s pro-life protest.
President Obama called the killing “deplorable” but so far major abortion groups in America have failed to condemn it.
Comparisons are being made with the murder of controversial abortion doctor George Tiller, who was shot dead in May.
At the time pro-life groups quickly condemned the violence and his death made headline news in Britain.
The BBC, which gave prominent coverage to Dr Tiller’s murder, has yet to feature a report of Mr Pouillon’s death on its website.
American Spectator writer David Bass wrote yesterday that “the non-existent response from abortion advocates over the cold-blooded murder of Pouillon – a man standing up for life and exercising his constitutional rights – should give us pause”.
“Could it be”, he added, “that one side in this debate does, in fact, value human life more than the other.”
Mr Pouillon was shot dead as he stood across the road from a high school holding a sign showing a baby on one side and an aborted foetus on the other.
He had been campaigning in this way for many years and had come to be known for holding up the sign in the local area.
Police have arrested a man called Harlan Drake who they say was angered by Mr Pouillon’s signs.
“We believe Mr. Drake was not happy with the way Mr. Pouillon was protesting,” said Chief Shiawassee County Assistant Prosecutor Sara Edwards.
Jeffrey Weiss on his blog at Politics Daily said that what Mr Pouillon was doing “wasn’t simply legal, it was guaranteed protection by the US Constitution”.
He said: “Even the obligatory boilerplate recognition that something bad has happened reinforces the broader cultural standards that there are lines that should not be crossed.”
Mr Weiss added: “I can’t understand why any organization that lobbies in favor of abortion rights hasn’t already put out a statement – on their websites and filling the media’s e-boxes – saying that there is no room for the kind of violence that ended Pouillon’s life.”
There has also been criticism of President Obama’s response, which came two days after the shooting and failed to mention Mr Pouillon by name.
The President said: “The shooting last week in Michigan was deplorable. Whichever side of a public debate you’re on, violence is never the right answer.”
CNS News reports that its requests for statements from major pro-abortion groups had been left unanswered.
