Des Moines
Murder
On January 20, 2000, Tifany Ann Myers, who was baby-sitting for 21-month-old Joel Vasquez, shook him and slammed him to the floor, causing his death, when he would not stop crying. Myers was charged with first-degree murder. She filed a notice of diminished responsibility, alleging that an abortion she had had just two days before the incident exacerbated her preexisting depression. As a result, her mental state was "greatly compromised."
Myers said that "I didn't want to baby-sit for him no more, I shook him, I pushed him, he fell to the floor. ... When Joel was crying, I just remember shaking him and slamming him down to the floor, and I was very angry at the time when it happened. I remember him crying, and I went up to him and I shook him and slammed him down." A detective asked her on a scale of one to ten, with one being the least amount of force and ten being the most amount of force, "how hard did you toss him onto the floor?" Myers responded "I tossed him with a number 9 force under your scale."
Myers' trial began on October 18, 2000. On October 23 she pled guilty to second-degree murder pursuant to a plea agreement, and was sentenced to a prison term not to exceed fifty years and was ordered to pay restitution to the victim's estate.
References: Lindsey A. Henry. "Abortion Trauma Blamed in Toddler's Death: Like Postpartum Depression, Lawyer Says." Des Moines Register, July 7, 2000; Supreme Court of Iowa, State of Iowa v. Tifany Ann Myers, appeal filed November 14, 2002.
Assault (5 incidents) and Vandalism
Abortionist Herbert Remer assaulted pro-lifers on three separate occasions. His daughter, Sarah, who has a black belt in karate, also physically attacked pro-life picketer Gaylord Victoria. On another occasion, Remer hosed down pro-lifers David Shedlock and Judy Maki. Another time Remer attacked Shedlock, bloodying his lip, did $300 damage to his car, and threatened him with Mace. In February 1992, Remer stomped on the knee of rescuer Carol Douglas.
Reference: "Abortionist Assaults Pro-Lifer." Advocates for Life Ministries [Portland, Oregon], Life Advocate, July 1993.
Threats
Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa conducted a May 13, 1992 workshop entitled "Coping Strategies for Anti-Choice Harassment," presented by Susan Jellinger, PP's education and training coordinator, Pat Peterson and Kay Whitlock of the American Friends Service Committee. The attendees were told to target individual pro-lifers by saying to themselves "(name of pro-lifer) has failed to meet the minimum qualifications as a human being" and to write a message on the bottom of their shoes "(name of pro-lifer)," followed by "every step you take, every move you make, I'll be squishing you." In light of pro-abortion assertions that such speech by pro-lifers would be "violent," "intimidating" and "threatening," we can only assume that they would be consistent enough to condemn such speech on their own part. But, of course, they did not. Naturally, if pro-lifers did exactly what Planned Parenthood did in this case pro-aborts would accuse them of "terrorism."
References: Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa newsletter "The Source," Fall 1992; "Sing Those Pro-Lifers Away!" Prayer & Action Newsletter, September 12, 1992, page 14.
Dubuque
First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault (3 counts), and Nonconsensual Termination of a Pregnancy
On September 1, 2005, 29-year-old Claricia Wilmer had an argument with 17-year-old April Johnson, who was six months pregnant. So Wilmer went and got reinforcements in the form of three thuggish teenaged girls. Then the four found April, and beat and tortured her severely, despite the fact that she was obviously pregnant and could not defend herself.
Wilmer decided to end April's suffering by plunging a long knife into her chest, killing her and her preborn child.
Wilmer went on the run and was finally captured in Chicago on January 3, 2006, four months after the murder. Police charged her with first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a pregnancy. The three teenaged girls who helped her beat and torture April pled guilty to lesser charges.
Not surprisingly, during Wilmer's trial, the judge let the jury see gory pictures of April's dead body and her pierced heart, but not photos of her dead preborn child.
Priscilla Johnson, April's sister, was angry that the three younger girls got off with just a few months in prison. She said that "Everybody is really pissed off because they haven't handled the case right. With a murder there shouldn't be any plea deals, period. They should accept the consequences of what they did, regardless of how old they are."
Reference: Associated Press. "Trial of Slain Pregnant Teen Begins Today in Scott County." Quad-City Times, May 30, 2006.
Iowa City
Assault (4 incidents) and Destruction of Property
Dan Holman is a member of the Missionaries for the Unborn. He and his wife Donna are dedicated picketers outside the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women abortion mill at 227 North Dubuque Street and the Planned Parenthood clinic at 850 Orchard Street.
Within one year, he was beaten up four separate times by pro-abortionists who were enraged at his message.
On November 26, 2002, the 55-year-old Den was assaulted outside the Emma Goldman abortuary by Bradley Glenn Ewoldt, 20, of Davenport, who was charged with assault causing injury after police accused him of punching Holman in the nose and kicking just after 9 a.m. Tuesday outside the clinic. Ewoldt also smashed Dan's video camera, which the Holmans keep on hand to videotape their interaction with police to make sure their right to free speech is not violated. Dan said "We don't have it for effect, we have it for protection. A video recorder tells the truth and we use it for false accusations. It's a reliable witness. It's saved my bacon a couple of times and it has an effect on people planning wrong doing. It keeps everyone honest."
Dan said a bloody nose isn't going to keep him from speaking out against abortion. "I am a missionary to the pre-born and I have been full-time for 12 years. I go to clinics, stand up for babies and try to get people to change their mind."
Dan was also physically assaulted three other times outside the Emma Goldman and Planned Parenthood clinics during the time period November 2002 to October 2002.
As always, pro-aborts demand that all pro-lifers apologize for the violence committed by a few, and refuse to apologize for violence committed by other pro-abortionists. Karen Kubby, executive director for the Emma Goldman Clinic, is no different. She said that "There are people who get up at four in the morning and scrape their money together and travel all this way to have people screaming at them when they come to get health care. It's difficult to ignore and it's hard to understand what they are trying to provoke."
References: Erin Jordan. "Abortion Foe Punched." Cedar Rapids Gazette, November 27, 2002; Vanessa Miller. "Abortion Protester Plans to be Back at Post." Iowa City Press-Citizen, December 3, 2002.
Stuart
Arson and Hate Crime
On August 22, 1995, pro-abortionist Charles Willard set fire to All Saints Catholic Church in Stuart, one of the most beautiful and distinctive Catholic churches in the state of Iowa. The entire inside of the Byzantine-style church was gutted, and only the outside walls remained. Willard was arrested on August 28 and arraigned September 25 in Iowa District Court. Before he was arrested, he had the audacity to boast in several media interviews and even in a letter to a local television news department that he had destroyed the church because he was angry with Catholic Church teachings on such issues as abortion, birth control, homosexuality and masturbation. He also told the Des Moines Register that he had committed the arson because the church was "the heart and soul of Catholic Iowa."
References: USA Today, August 29, 1995; "Man Charged with Arson, Hate Crime in Church Burning." The Southern Cross, October 5, 1995, page 4.
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