Don’t Assume Tiller’s Killer Acted Alone (Washington Independent)

By Daphne Eviatar 6/2/09 8:59 AM

... “It should not be presumed that this was the lone act of somebody who is opposed to abortion,” Janet Crepps, deputy director of the Center for Reproductive Rights’ legal program told me on Monday. “It should be investigated to determine whether or not he was working with other people and whether this is part of a larger plan to commit acts against other abortion providers” ...

Crepps was optimistic that the Obama administration will eventually take anti-abortion violence seriously. But she also noted that the vigorous enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, known as FACE, begun by Attorney General Janet Reno in the Clinton administration, was quickly dropped by the Bush administration — which dismantled the Justice Department’s task force that had been coordinating responses to clinic violence and its prevention ...

But there’s one problem with this plan: FACE enforcement was led by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and so far, there’s still no one heading that office.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on the nomination of Tom Perez, President Obama’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division. His quick confirmation could be the beginning of the federal government’s effort to get back into the business of vigorously protecting the safety of both abortion providers and the women who hope to gain access to them.

http://washingtonindependent.com/45216/dont-assume-tillers-killer-acted-alone