The shooter who attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic on Friday may have had political motivations, using the phrase “no more baby parts” and expressing opposition to abortion and government as he was later interviewed, law enforcement officials say.
Robert Lewis Dear, Jr., attacked a clinic run by the women’s health and abortion provider in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday, killing a police officer and two others. Officials caution they’re still trying to discern Dear’s motive, but one official said Saturday, “He was definitely politically motivated.”
The attack came as Planned Parenthood is under fire by Republicans for providing and getting compensated for providing aborted fetal body parts for medical research. The group’s involvement was widely publicized by undercover videos obtained by anti-abortion investigator David Daleiden.
Some anti-abortion groups and Republicans have condemned the attack, saying there’s no justification for mass killings even at a group they oppose.
Former Arkansas Gov. and GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee called the attack “abominable” on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“It was mass murder, it was absolutely unfathomable,” Huckabee said. “There’s no excuse for killing other people, whether it’s happening inside the Planned Parenthood clinics where millions of babies die or whether it’s people attacking Planned Parenthood.”
Americans United for Life, a group that helps write legislation restricting abortion, said it is “heartbroken for the families grieving the loss of their loved ones.”
“We categorically condemn this violence,” AUL President Charmaine Yoest said in a statement. “While we don’t know all the details of this horrific event, we know that it was an evil act, one condemned by pro-life Americans nationwide.”
Planned Parenthood officials have said the attack was politically motivated. Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, said eyewitnesses have confirmed that Dear “was motivated by opposition to safe and legal abortion.”
The cop who was killed in the standoff was University of Colorado police officer Garrett Swasey, a former junior national skating champion and a lay pastor of his church.
A friend and fellow pastor at Swasey’s Hope Chapel church said that the Planned Parenthood call was “not the first time he’s placed himself in harm’s way,” calling Swasey “an absolute man of courage.”
