Abortion clinic cleared "SWAT style" by police, stopping abortions for nearly two hours
A man was arrested Saturday, August 28, outside Southwestern Women's Options, a late-term abortion clinic operated by Curtis Boyd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after he threatened to shoot two pro-life women who were offering help to abortion-bound women.
The unidentified man and his wife were escorting their daughter into the abortion clinic when the wife and daughter walked over to the pro-life women to discuss alternatives to abortion. The man became angry and ushered his family members toward the clinic.
"When we come out, I'm going to put a bullet in your head if you talk to her," the man told the pro-life women, whose identities are being withheld for their security.
Witnesses said that the man then lifted his shirt to show the women a dark object that was partially tucked into his trousers. The women recognized the object as a gun and called the police.
"The police responded appropriately and took him away in handcuffs," said former Operation Rescue intern Bud Shaver, who arrived on the scene in time to witness the arrest and the clearing of the clinic by police.
"They cleared Boyd's clinic to search for the gun SWAT style. Everyone, including staff, had to come out with their hands up."
The area was cordoned off and the clinic was closed to patients for nearly two hours while police conducted their investigation.
It is currently unknown if a gun was recovered by police or what charges were brought against the man.
Death threats against pro-lifers have been viewed with greater concern in the wake of the shooting death of activist Jim Pouillon of Owosso, Michigan, who was gunned down last year as he held a pro-life sign outside a local high school. The killer admitted that he murdered Pouillon because he did not agree with his public abortion protests.
Shaver told Operation Rescue that he has been threatened a number of times since he has been in Albuquerque, but the police never responded in the way they did on Saturday.
"We are thankful that no one was injured and that the police took appropriate action," said Newman. "Violence against pro-lifers has become something that we have to guard against every day. Those who reach out to women in front of abortion clinics should not be afraid to continue to do so, but should always have security and an awareness of their surroundings in mind."
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Contact: Troy Newman
Source: Operation RescueDate Published: August 31, 2010
