Barnett Abba Slepian (April 23, 1946 – October 23, 1998) was an American physician and
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
provider who was
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
in his home by
James Charles Kopp
James Charles Kopp (born August 2, 1954) is an American who was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Barnett Slepian, an American physician from Amherst, New York who performed abortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on
the FB ...
, a militant member of the
US anti-abortion movement.
Life and career
Slepian was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, and raised in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
; his grandfather was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. Slepian graduated from the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...
with a
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
degree. He then graduated from
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara
The Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (, ''Autonomous University of Guadalajara''), commonly abbreviated to UAG or Autónoma, is a coeducational, independent, private university based in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. Established in 1935, ...
medical school in 1978.
Slepian worked at Buffalo Women Services in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, providing abortion for members of the local and surrounding communities.
He also ran his own private OB-GYN practice in
Amherst, New York
Amherst () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. Amherst is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. This represents an increase from 122,366 as reported in the 2010 census.
The second ...
, where he also resided.
On October 23, 1998, Slepian had returned from
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
, where he was attending a memorial service for his father, and was preparing soup in his kitchen when he was struck by a bullet fired through his window. The bullet shattered his spine and tore his aorta, barely missing his son's head as it exited.
He died two hours later. Earlier that afternoon, Slepian's wife Lynne had forwarded a warning of potential attacks on her husband to a local police inspector.
Within days of Slepian's murder,
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
groups rallied and staged clinic protests in Buffalo and
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. While local leaders from both sides of the
abortion debate
The abortion debate is a longstanding, ongoing controversy that touches on the moral, legal, medical, and religious aspects of induced abortion. In English-speaking countries, the debate most visibly polarizes around adherents of the self-describ ...
decried these rallies as potential incitements to further violence, more extreme opponents of reproductive rights, such as
Flip Benham
Philip "Flip" Benham (born April 16, 1948) is an Evangelical Christian minister and the national leader of Concord, North Carolina-based Operation Save America, an anti-abortion group that evolved from Operation Rescue.
Recent activities
Benham ...
of
Operation Rescue, labeled calls for nonviolence "pitiful" and suggested that unless abortion was outlawed, "we are in store for more bloodshed in the streets—the likes of which will sicken even the sturdiest among us."
This murder was the climax of a series of five sniper attacks in four years in northern
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Slepian was the fourth doctor and up to that time the seventh person in the United States to be
murdered for performing abortions.
[NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. (2006)]
Clinic violence and intimidation
. Retrieved February 9, 2010
Following Slepian's murder, Kopp fled the U.S., being placed on the
FBI Top Ten Most Wanted
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William Kin ...
list, but was arrested in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 2001 and extradited. He was tried and convicted of second degree murder in Buffalo and is currently serving a 25 years to life term of imprisonment. Kopp was also convicted of federal charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The
Ani DiFranco
Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums.
DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...
song "Hello Birmingham", from her 1999 album ''
To The Teeth'', was written as a response to the Slepian murder.
See also
*
Anti-abortion violence in the United States
Anti-abortion violence is violence committed against individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence have included destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes against people, in ...
*
Abortion-related violence
Anti-abortion violence is violence committed against individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence have included destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes against people, in ...
*
David Gunn (doctor) David Gunn may refer to:
* David Gunn (author), military science fiction author
* David Gunn (composer), American composer
* David Gunn (doctor) (1946–1993), American doctor and murder victim
* David John Gunn (1887–1955), New Zealand farmer an ...
*
Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...
*
George Tiller
George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide ...
*
Christian terrorism
Christian terrorism, a form of religious terrorism, comprises terrorist acts which are committed by groups or individuals who profess Christian motivations or goals. Christian terrorists justify their violent tactics through their interpretat ...
*
Donald Spitz
Donald Spitz is an anti-abortion Christian terrorism, Christian terrorist in the United States. He lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he runs the websites of and is a spokesperson for Army of God (Terrorist Organization), Army of God, an anti-ab ...
References
External links
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Article from Chicago Tribune (registration required)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Slepian, Barnett
American obstetricians
American abortion providers
Victims of anti-abortion violence in the United States
Assassinated American people
People murdered in New York (state)
Male murder victims
Deaths by firearm in New York (state)
University of Denver alumni
Physicians from Buffalo, New York
People from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Physicians from Rochester, New York
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
1946 births
1998 deaths
1998 murders in the United States