THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130015
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Recent stories highlighting Donald Spitz, an anti-abortion activist, lend him and minor figures like him an unwarranted and inaccurate celebrity.
Spitz leads an organization of approximately 25 people who split away from another group of perhaps 100 anti-abortion activists. Nearly all of the press attention has focused upon them. Organizations, members and leaders of much larger pro-life organizations, such as the Virginia Society for Human Life, which counts tens of thousands of members and supporters statewide and roundly condemns such criminal violence, are nearly absent in coverage.
While those on the fringe of the anti-abortion movement make a bizarre-sounding story, and those who promote abortions enjoy making the pro-life movement seem to be led by these deviants, to give the extremists a notoriety and authority that they do not deserve makes it more likely that more violence will occur. The celebrity that you offer deceives anyone considering such acts into thinking that there is a large reservoir of support for these vile crimes.
A more responsible approach would be to turn your attention to organizations such as VSHL or National Right to Life. Publicizing condemnations from those organizations would clearly inform any potential criminal that repudiation of violence by nearly all of those from whom he might expect support is certain and would therefore discourage violent acts.
JAMES G. THOMSON
Chesapeake, Jan. 10, 1995 by CNB