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December 1998
Volume 62 |
Number 12
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VENTILATIONS
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| A Shot Through
the Heart of Personal Freedom |
It was approximately 10 p.m. on a Friday night in late October.
Occasionally, teenagers will ignite firecrackers, so when my wife
heard the lone "firework" detonate a few homes away from ours,
she paid no notice to the source. However, within five minutes,
Amherst, New York, police cars converged on the residence of Barnett
Slepian, M.D. It was soon to be discovered that the prominent
obstetrician, who also performed abortions, was assassinated by
a sniper with a high-powered rifle through his kitchen window
in full view of his family shortly after returning home from religious
services. I recall a numbing effect upon learning that a colleague
was murdered. As the events unfolded, this sense of shock evolved
into abject sadness for the doctor, his wife, his children and
his patients.
From a personal perspective, a strange turn of events then occurs
when international news develops three doors from home. The media,
mostly television crews, start to camp outside in the neighborhood,
with two-story antennae or satellite dishes set atop their diesel-generated
motor television studios. Eight to 10 crews canvass the area,
knocking on doors or approaching residents every time they venture
outside in order to obtain some comments on camera. In this neighborhood
of professionals, mostly physicians, the thought of appearing
on television to express their feelings as neighbors is irreverent
to the memory of their fallen colleague, and all refuse to comment.
Thus, the media are relegated to conducting live interviews with
teenagers and curiosity-seekers who live in the suddenly enlarging
"neighborhood."
As time elapses, the sadness and depression turns to outrage.
A stranger comes into our neighborhood, stalks a physician, executes
him and steals away under cover of night. However, it is apparent
to everyone who lived around the Slepian family that this murder
was not a local problem but a global act of terrorism. This expert
marksman, in carrying out his assignment, or mission, or vision,
or whatever, has violated a nation's personal freedoms, the professional
interaction between a patient and physician and the rights of
women to make decisions about their own health. More disturbing,
however, is this act's assault on our country's sense of personal
safety and freedom that families have come to expect.
As physicians in general, and anesthesiologists specifically,
we should be very disturbed by this treasonable act, for Dr. Slepian's
murder is not so much a personal vendetta as it is a political
statement. Dr. Slepian was not a radical physician who spearheaded
a ring of abortion factories; he was a man who stood true to his
belief that women have a right, a constitutional right, to decide
what may happen inside their bodies. He personally stated that
he looked forward to the day when abortions became an unnecessary
procedure.
Dr. Slepian was primarily an obstetrician who also delivered
hundreds of babies during his truncated professional career. Thus,
the bullet that ended his life represented a statement against
every physician's right to practice the standard of care protected
by law, regardless of its controversy. In essence, this event
implies that if you do not agree with the law, then terrorize
those who effectuate it and the practice will be slowed or stopped.
Thus, events like these must be swiftly addressed, lest other
acts of terrorism, not only in the prolife/prochoice issue, but
in other controversial areas proliferate. Once it has been established
that public policy can be altered more quickly by the bullet than
the ballot, no American engaged in any controversial yet legal
activity is safe.
Coming to America is every immigrant's dream. This is a land
where we hope that anyone, rich or poor, can sit in their backyards
or ride their bikes in relative safety. The bullet fired by this
zealot, coward or professional assassin that killed Dr. Slepian
was heard beyond the confines of our neighborhood and throughout
the world. Its message is clear: the virus called terrorism can
also infect our country in the most personal and intimate ways.
- M.J.L.
Editor's Note: This editorial is not intended to stir
up the abortion controversy but to address the repercussions of
a terrorist act on our personal freedoms.
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