Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

32 • ANTIABORTION TERRORISMThe first fatality from an abortion clinic bombing occurred at theAll Women Health Care Clinic of Birmingham, Alabama, on 29January 1998 when a bomb that exploded at opening time killed asecurity guard, Robert Sanderson, who was also an off-duty policeoffice, and severely injured the clinic’s head nurse, Emily Lyons.In February 1998 the FBI named Eric Robert Rudolph as the mainsuspect in this bombing, putting him on the Ten Most Wanted List.On 31 May 2003 Rudolph was arrested for the clinic bombings in Atlantaand Birmingham, and also for the Olympic park bombing of27 July 1996. On 6 April 2005 Rudolph pleaded guilty to all chargesand on 18 July 2005 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for themurder of Robert Sanderson; he was convicted on 21 August 2005for the bombings committed in Atlanta.Five sniper attacks occurred in Ontario and western New York, onekilling Dr. Barnett A. Slepian of Buffalo, New York, on 23 October1998 and the other crippling Dr. Hugh Short of Ancaster, Ontario,on 10 November 1998. Other sniper attacks occurred in Rochester,Ontario, in October 1997; Winnipeg, Manitoba, in November 1997;and the earlier attack in Vancouver in November 1994.Because of the zealous religious motivation of many of the antiabortionextremists and the continuing controversy over the abortionissue in the United States and Canada, it is likely that lethal instancesof antiabortion terrorism will continue in the future. The outbreak ofantiabortion violence in 1993 had the effect of raising the securitycosts for clinics from $3,000 to as much as $100,000 a year, with$50,000 a year being typical for clinics in metropolitan areas.On 6 May 1999 the FBI charged James C. Koop, a roving antiabortionprotester, with the murder of Dr. Slepian. Koop was arrested inFrance on 29 March 2001 in Dinan, Brittany, and later extradited tothe United States in June 2002. Koop was convicted for Dr. Slepian’smurder on 9 May 2003 and sentenced to prison for a term of 25 years.On 5 December 2001 Clayton Lee Waagner was arrested by theFBI. Waagner was believed to be responsible for over 250 maileddeath threats to abortion clinics throughout the United States, manyof which threatened anthrax attacks and which were signed in thename of the Army of God. It should be noted that Dr. George R.Tiller, the Wichita abortion provider who had been the object of anassassination attempt in August 1993 but not seriously injured, waslater killed on 31 May 2009 while serving as an usher during a church