Anti-abortion group to buy Tiller’s clinic?

In an interview yesterday with abortion-rights advocate and writer, Eyal Press, we discussed the news that murdered abortion provider Dr. George Tiller’s clinic had been closed, seemingly permanently.

I quoted the leader of Operation Rescue, a man by the name of Troy Newman, who had lamented to the New York Times that closing an abortion clinic through the murder of a doctor was terrible for the movement. “Good God, do not close this abortion clinic for this reason,” he said. “Every kook in the world will get some notion.”

But today it seems like Newman isn’t quite as upset by the means of closing the clinic — at least not upset enough not to see his movement profit from it.

The Kansas City Star reports that Newman and Operation Rescue are considering buying the closed clinic:

Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said that his group has discussed the idea of buying the tan, windowless clinic in east Wichita. He made the comment after the Tiller family announced that the clinic would be closed permanently.

“I would love to make an offer on that abortion clinic, and that’s some of the discussion that we’re having,” Newman said in a telephone interview Tuesday from his group’s headquarters in Wichita.

It seems unlikely that Tiller’s family would ever consider selling to the likes of Newman and his colleagues, but regardless, there are no plans to re-open the clinic.  That news has a potentially devastating impact on the pro-choice movement.  As Press said yesterday, “there is a risk that some extremists may draw a certain conclusion from this — namely, that violence works. And every place you see violence fueled by extremism — to the extent its seen as more effective –  it becomes more common.”