The above story is true, except for a few items. Yes, there was a shooting, but not as you might expect. Over the years a handful of abortionists have been killed for various reasons. The mainstream pro-life movement has always roundly condemned the use of violence in stopping abortion.
But this shooting was different. This time a pro-lifer was shot dead. And one other item needs to be mentioned. Unlike the shooting deaths of abortionists, wherein the mainstream media goes ballistic and runs the story for days, calling on authorities to make pro-life activism illegal, this story has hardly been touched upon in the MSM.
Indeed, not only is it almost impossible to find any coverage of this story in the international media, but where it occurred – in the US – there is also frightening silence. Because this is a pro-lifer who has been shot, the MSM has basically decided that this is not a news-worthy item to carry.
So it is largely the alternative media that has been running with the story. Thus I too will write this up, to allow some more public exposure to this important news item. The details are as follows: Michigan man Jim Pouillon was outside of a High School where he was shot three times and died on September 11.
As one press report puts it, "Locals say that the victim, James Pouillon of Owosso, was well-known in the area for his pro-life activities. Columnist Doug Powers wrote on his blog that Pouillon, called 'the abortion sign guy' by Owosso locals, was known for standing on street corners holding up signs with pictures of aborted children.
"Pastor Matt Trehella of Missionaries to the Preborn said today that Pouillon had joined his organization for a few stops of a pro-life tour less than a month ago. 'Jim was a selfless, soft-spoken, kind-hearted man. All who knew him, knew this,' he said. 'Please pray for Jim's family.' Trehella said that Pouillon was an elderly man who needed constant use of an oxygen machine."
At this point it is not clear what the motivation of the shooting was. So we cannot say for sure if this was related directly to the abortion issue. Of course when a pro-abortionist is shot, the media is all over the story, even before it is clear who did the killing and why.
(Stop the press, this just in: "33-year-old Harland James Drake has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder of pro-life veteran Jim Pouillon this morning as he carried a pro-life sign in front of a local high school, reports local news station WILX-TV. Prosecutors said Drake told them he targeted Pouillon because of his pro-life activities.")
This may have been the first death of a pro-lifer in the US, but it is certainly not the
first act of violence against those who would defend the life of the unborn. Violence, intimidation, threats and abuse are the continual lot for those who stand up for children in the womb.
For example, Troy Newman of Operation Rescue said that this is a long-standing problem: "We have received literally hundreds of death threats in the past three months. Our office has been vandalized three times. Just yesterday, the FBI was in our office and picked up a stack of threatening letters that we received. We denounce violence in the strongest terms. The bloodshed must stop both inside and outside of the abortion clinics."
Thus there is the daily violence against unborn babies, as well as against those who seek to protect them and speak up on their behalf. As Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life said, "James Pouillon today joined the approximately 4,000 other victims who will be killed today because of abortion. The taking of all innocent lives must stop. I call on the leaders of the so called 'pro-choice' movement to condemn this killing and to consider all of the people who lose their lives to abortion every single day."
Cal Zastrow, Co-Founder of Personhood USA, said this about his friend: "This morning a violent man murdered a peaceful pro- life Christian, Jim Pouillon, my close friend. Jim was completely non-violent and never condoned using violence. I knew him very well and had prayed and ministered with him often. He was praying and holding a poster of a newborn baby outside of Owosso High School. One of the students in the school was his granddaughter. His beating heart and measurable brainwaves are stopped. Also today, 4,000 American preborn children with beating hearts and measurable brainwaves are being murdered with suction 'abortion' machines or drugs. Their beating hearts and measurable brainwaves are stopped. We condemn both forms of murder. Don't shoot, stab, smack, slap, or suck the arms and legs off of children with suction machines! Stop the violence!
"The last time I talked to Jim was this week, Monday. I prayed with him over the phone as he was preparing to go talk about Jesus and show pro-life signs in front of Owosso High School, where he was martyred this morning."
Abortion is clearly the human rights issue of our time. As Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "In the Fifties and Sixties, people lost their lives to secure the civil rights of those victimized by discrimination. Now, James Pouillon has lost his life in the civil rights cause of the 21st Century, the struggle to protect the right to life of every single person, born and unborn. Mr. Pouillon has not died in vain; the struggle will only be renewed because of his courage and sacrifice."
This tragic story highlights the very real divide in the US about the abortion issue. It is clearly a contentious issue that will not go away. One wishes however that the MSM would be even-handed about this topic. Its near silence about this shooting simply demonstrates how one-sided and biased the MSM is on this topic.
If it ever decides to present a bit of balance here, my job would be less vital. But because it seeks to cover news mainly from a pro-death perspective, this and numerous other alternative media sites will continue to speak out. And for the sake of the 45 to 50 million unborn babies who are killed around the world each year, we dare not remain silent.