Randall Terry Image via Wikipedia
"Mr. Greg Cunningham, of the Center of Bioethical Reform, has (unethically) born false witness against me, saying: "The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) today condemned Randall Terry's support for violence against abortion providers." Mr. Cunningham needs to publically apologize and retract his statement. If he is a man of integrity, he will." -- Randall Terry
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- Mr. Randall Terry's statement follows:
"On February 1, 2010, Mr. Greg Cunningham made the following false accusation against me: 'The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) today condemned Randall Terry's support for violence against abortion providers.'
"It is painful when a hard working pro-life man like Mr. Cunningham makes an untrue statement, but I am confident that when he has seen his error, he will retract his statement.
"Below is a link to a video of press interviews I did before and after Mr. Roeder's conviction for killing George Tiller. In them I clearly state that I do not agree with what Scott Roeder did. Also, both of the press releases I sent out are linked below. My words are there for all to see and hear.
"I politely defy Mr. Cunningham and any other 'pro- lifer' or supporter of child-killing for that matter to find one instance where I have EVER 'supported violence against abortion providers.' The accusation is absurd, tawdry, and shows a severe lack of research on Mr. Cunningham's part. As the press releases I sent out show, I am committed to the rule of law.
"My commitment to non-violence has never wavered, and I made perfectly clear to all journalists present that I do not condone what Mr. Roeder did (See video).
"Our purpose for going to Wichita was three-fold: First, to ensure that the babies butchered by George Tiller were not forgotten; to talk about those innocent babies whose blood cries from the ground - with the media who were present.
"Second, to discuss Scott Roeder having a fair trial. He had a right (which was denied him) to tell the jury what he knew about how George Tiller killed babies. He had a right for the jury to 'get inside his head.' This was critical, because if he could not talk about the babies Tiller murdered, he could not get a fair trial. (Roeder could have been tried for voluntary manslaughter, but the judge ruled against it.)
"Third, to shore up and when necessary rebuke - pro-life leaders and organizations who are running and hiding from this mess. I did not expect Mr. Cunningham to be in that sad crowd.
"We were successful on all three counts. Here are three samples of hundreds:
New York Times: "George Tiller shed the blood of 60,000 innocent children," Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, told reporters. Mr. Terry...said that he was neither condoning nor condemning Mr. Roeder's actions, but that people should remember the children.
NPR: Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, was also in court, and he said he didn't think that justice was served since the jury didn't get to consider Roeder's motive of preventing abortion. "And it showed to me that they never got a chance to get inside of Scott Roeder's head. The babies who died at Tiller's hand deserved their day in court, and it should have been this trial and it wasn't," Terry said.
Wichita Eagle: But abortion foe Randall Terry, the Operation Rescue founder who is now director of a group called Insurrecta Nex, accused anti-abortion leaders of "running like frightened schoolgirls" from Roeder. "If we condemn him too severely it undermines the premise of everything we stand for," Terry said. Anti-abortion leaders should be able to say that they don't condone what Roeder did, but that he did it because Tiller had "murdered 60,000 babies," Terry said.
"Even some of these quotes are off a little bit which we expect from human beings working in the media because as Mr. Cunningham knows, some of them have a fierce commitment to child killing and making pro-lifers look bad.
"Concerning my 'quote' in AP that 'more violence is inevitable,' I ask the reader to read the press releases below. The journalist asked me a straightforward question: "Do you expect more violence." I spent time with the journalist explaining "the shedding of innocent blood," and the laws of sowing and reaping that God put in the world. We reap what we sow.
"Simply put, blood cries from the ground (see Genesis 4:9-11); when the blood of fifty million babies is crying from the ground, something will happen. I made clear I am not advocating it, and that I do not want it, but unless child killing is ended, I think further violence is inevitable. I further said and I maintain without equivocation that child-killing itself is the fount from which this evil and violence flows.
"The worst that can be said is that George Tiller was a mass murderer, and he reaped what he sowed: A murderer was murdered.
"Beyond that after days of sitting in the trial it became clear to me that Mr. Roeder was not being given a fair trial. In my opinion, he should have been given the chance to present what he knew about Tiller to the jury; how their bodies were torn limb from limb; how they were decapitated; how their mangled lifeless bodies were disposed of. Those babies deserved their day in court. If the jury had heard Roeder's mindset, they might have convicted him of voluntary manslaughter, instead of murder. He was denied that defense, and I understand that this will be part of the basis for his appeal.
"Mr. Cunningham's plunge into fantasy was embarrassing to himself. He spoke of 'wild-eyed consumer advocates who could begin to kill corporate officials' and 'radical environmentalists who think 'climate change' is homicide;' and 'animal rights activists who think 'meat' is murder...The list of grievances is endless and our pluralistic society would quickly be plunged into interminable chaos.' Is Mr. Cunningham equating the brutal murder of babies to climate change and eating meat? Does Mr. Cunningham think that the blood of animals cries to God for justice?
"Mr. Cunningham, I am confident that had Mr. Roeder been able to present to the jury a defense of voluntary manslaughter, America would not turn into 'Gaza or Mogadishu.' Honest folks, the sky is not falling.
"Finally, I make the following suggestions to Mr. Cunningham: First, check your facts. You should be better than this. Second, have the courtesy to pick up the phone, and give me a call. You should have more honor than this. Third, step away from your computer, and come to where the battles rage whether Wichita, or Notre Dame, or here in DC. The view of the fight from the front lines is quite different than 1,000 miles away in the comfort of your home, in front of your TV set or computer monitor. You should have more courage than this."
