Roeder: I Was "Defending Innocent Life"

[Trigger warning.]

This guy makes my teeth clench together so hard I feel like I may spontaneously generate a new universe between my molars:

A man accused of shooting a Kansas abortion provider confessed to the slaying Monday, telling The Associated Press that he killed the doctor to protect unborn children.

Scott Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., spoke to the AP in a telephone call from jail, saying he plans to argue at his trial that he was justified in shooting Dr. George Tiller at the abortion provider's Wichita church in May.

"Because of the fact preborn children's lives were in imminent danger this was the action I chose. ... I want to make sure that the focus is, of course, obviously on the preborn children and the necessity to defend them," Roeder said.

"Defending innocent life — that is what prompted me. It is pretty simple," he said.

I just love this rationale and the rage-inducing parsing contained within. He's not a TOTAL FUCKING HYPOCRITE, you see, because he's specifically pro innocent life, so Dr. Tiller doesn't count.

Not that Dr. Tiller had broken any actual laws or anything (making him actually and technically "innocent"). But Tiller broke God's Law, according to Roeder, so he was justified in killing him. Interesting calculation, that. I wonder if Roeder would then support my right to kill anyone who broke a law I thought should be on the books, based on my random and personal belief system. (I don't want to kill anyone—but that's not really the point, now, is it?) Meanwhile...

His confession came on the same day several strident abortion opponents released their "Defensive Action Statement 3rd Edition" that proclaims any force that can be used to defend the life of a "born child is legitimate to defend the life of an unborn child." The statement's 21 signers demand Roeder's jurors be allowed to consider the "question of when life begins" in deciding whether lethal force was justified.

Among the signers are Eric Rudolph, James Kopp and Shelley Shannon — all serving prison time for targeting abortion doctors.

So, unless I'm mistaken, the signers are effectively signaling their intent to kill more abortion providers, which leaves me with two questions: 1. Does this not render them, according to their own twisted rationale, legitimate targets of anyone who wants to prevent the murders they intend to commit? 2. Why the fuck are they not in jail?