Abortion foe says he didn't mean to kill

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Anti-abortion extremist James Kopp made a last attempt Wednesday to convince jurors he didn't mean to kill a doctor he shot, while a prosecutor countered there are "no do-overs" when shooting someone.

The two sides presented their closing arguments in Kopp's trial on charges he violated the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act by killing Dr. Barnett Slepian with a single shot from a Russian military rifle in 1998. He could face life in prison without parole if convicted.

Kopp, known as "Atomic Dog" among his peers, is already serving a 25-years-to-life sentence for a state conviction on second-degree murder in the doctor's death.

Representing himself during his federal trial, he acknowledged firing the shot that killed Slepian inside his Amherst home but said his goal was to disable the doctor and prevent him from performing abortions.

"If it happened the way I wanted it to, he would have his arm in a sling," said Kopp, 52, who is also suspected in the nonfatal shootings of four other doctors.

"There are no do-overs, no take-backs when you take an assault rifle and pull the trigger," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen said.

Though U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara had instructed Kopp not to discuss abortion during the trial, Kopp at least twice began describing the procedure in detail during his closing statement and was stopped each time by the prosecution and judge.

Lynne Slepian and two of the couple's four children, then ages 7 to 15, were in the kitchen with Slepian when the bullet pierced his body and ricocheted off a cabinet and wall before coming to rest in an adjoining room.

After the Oct. 23, 1998, shooting, Kopp fled to Mexico, Ireland and finally France, where he was captured in March 2001. He was added to the FBI's list of the Ten Most Wanted fugitives in June 1999.

Jurors deliberated about an hour Wednesday and were scheduled to resume Thursday.

Conservative Christians v. the Religious Right
By Kevin Powell

With so much acrimony coming from certain Christian leaders, regular Christians are feeling the fall-out. So we need to distinguish between conservative Christians and the Religious Right.

At first glance, the Religious Right and Conservative Christians look distressingly similar. They vote for the same parties. They read the same bible. They sometimes worship in the same churches.

But there are differences between the two. BIG differences.

The Religious Right are extremists. They believe the church is at war with the culture. They can’t distinguish between opposition and enemy. They have a persecution complex and fantasize about martyrdom. Their narrow political agenda looks more like a Republican playbook than the Gospel of Luke or the Letter of James.

Conservative Christians, on the other hand, are the first ones to open their wallet when a homeless person comes knocking on the church door looking for food. They’re the ones praying with the grieving strangers who come looking for words of comfort. They’re the ones who have deep–rooted convictions and moral lines clearly drawn, but also recognize that a moral life lived without love for neighbour is a tyranny that besmirches the name of Jesus.

Conservative Christians know that being pro-life means more than harassing terrified 15-year-olds who are trying to reverse a bad decision. It means helping people take responsibility for their behaviour and their lives. It means letting young girls weep on their shoulder after the operation. It means volunteering for groups like BirthRight. It means throwing a baby shower in the basement of the church when the young woman decides to keep the baby.

Being a conservative Christian means believing that churches can do a better job at dispensing charity and social services than government. This is not some nutty anti-government ideology because conservative Christians are the first ones to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Conservative Christians put their money and their labour where their mouths are. They believe in people working together to help other people.

The Religious Right demands that government adopt their narrow agenda. Conservative Christians are servants. The Religious Right speak with anger and hate. Conservative Christians speak truth tempered by love. The Religious Right is moralistic. Conservative Christians are moral.

The Religious Right draws attention to itself. Like my two-year-old, they don't care if its good or bad attention. Conservative Christians work hard, but quietly and devotionally, because the gospel is something that is lived graciously as its witness. They know the gospel is not a soap-box for a partisan political agenda.

So, don’t confuse conservative Christians with the Religious Right. The two are not the same animal. Not by a long shot. Despite their moniker, conservative Christians put “Christian” before “conservative.”

I should know. I have a congregation full of them.

Kevin Powell

The God of the Hebrews showed little compunction in offing children already born. You have some morals that you wish to project to this God? The bible is full of scenes that rival the bloodlust of abortion doctors. It's a savage world.

Why do you ask me if I have some morals that I wish to project to this God? That's backwards. Human beings are not the authors of morality. Are you saying that abortionists who chop up children are no different than God morally?

You're right; it is a savage world. But that does not justify it. It just seems to me that a bunch of men in black robes overthrew the scales of justice when they unleashed the anarchy and savagary of Roe v Wade.

Cordially,

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