Dr. LeRoy Carhart had ample television time to further his cause against “domestic terrorism” on the news program Anderson Cooper 360 on Monday night. Anderson Cooper, the anchor, asked Carhart some direct questions, but failed to press Carhart on the answers, and didn't interview anyone from the mainstream anti-abortion movement.
After a brief news segment concerning Scott Roeder [1], Cooper asked Carhart, “You probably heard from Ted Rowland's piece some of the things this man Scott Roeder [the man charged with the murder of abortionist George Tiller] has said. He said he called the closing of this [Tiller's] clinic quote 'a victory for unborn children.' How do you respond?”
Staying clear of the words “children,” “unborn,” or the question all together, Carhart responded, “Well I think, you know, the closing of the clinic, Mrs. Tiller says she is going to close the clinic. But the fact is that we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that women still have an option for late second and early third trimester abortions that are medically indicated.”
Dr. Carhart is one of the few late-term abortion doctors in the country and is known as a close friend to George Tiller. He was able to use this opportunity on Anderson Cooper 360 to advertise his further business plans. “We're ready to start a practice tomorrow if we come across the building and the equipment to do that.”
Cooper then asked, “And can you, to those people who abhor this procedure or disagree or maybe don't understand it, what do you say? Why would you choose to do this procedure when you are one of only a handful?”
Once again, Carhart steered the conversation back to his agenda, saying, “Well, first of all, to the people that abhor, I would suggest that they don't have it done. I think the women who need it certainly are the women I'm worried about. We hear, we see protesters that number in the tens, twenties and maybe the thousands sometimes. Dr. Tiller and I see thousands of patients every year. We have a very vocal terroristic minority of people that are anti-choice. They have chosen to take the law in their own hands. It's vigilantism. They have murdered Dr. Tiller. They have murdered four providers before him. The question is how long is the country going to allow this terrorism to continue before they crack down and before we have the right to perform a perfectly legal procedure.”
In addition to Carhart, the other interview for the segment was the attorney for the Tiller family, although Cooper quoted Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King:
“I want to ask you about a quote that you gave to 'The Washington Times' that has raised some eyebrows. You said Dr. Tiller's murder is quote 'the equivalent of Martin Luther King being assassinated.' I think you were talking about its effect upon those who support abortion rights. One of Dr. King's nieces affiliated with the group Priests for Life responded saying, and I quote, 'for LeRoy Carhart to mention the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, who worked through peaceful and non-violent means, in the same breath with that of George Tiller, whose work ended peace and brought violence to babies in the womb, is offensive beyond belief.'”
Carhart responded, “As you said, she is on the other side. I don't expect anything different. The entire comment that I made, however, was not to compare Dr. Tiller to Dr. King. I said the sinking of the
According to Carhart, the pro-abortion movement now has a martyr to rally behind.
“It's a shame that Dr. Tiller will be a martyr, unfortunately for his family, but he has become a martyr for our cause,” Carhart said. “I think that the terrorism will stop in this country.”