Two packages recently received
by The Hamilton Spectator led to a media frenzy in Steeltown which ended
as quickly as it began when police concluded the packages were not related
to the shootings of three Canadian abortionists in recent years.
The sending and contents
of the packages made front-page headlines for days at a time in the Spectator
and also received prominent coverage in the broadcast media. The Spectator
at one point devoted an entire broadsheet page to a feature on "anti-abortion
violence."
The police conclusion eventually
led to some speculation among Hamilton pro-life activists that the packages
were actually sent by pro-abortion elements seeking to capitalize on the
propaganda and public relations victory to be gained by the exercise, although
media outlets neglected to look at that as a possible explanation.
The latest chapter in the
abortionist-shooting saga began Dec. 11 when the Spectator received a package
taunting police and threatening an unnamed, but outspoken, local woman
abortionist in "a morbid, bizarre fashion." It followed the Remembrance
Day wounding of Winnipeg abortionist Jack Fainman by a sniper.
Bizarre contents
In the package, blood-red
ink streaks highlighted previous newspaper articles on the abortionist
shootings and one of the police officers working on the case was called
a "pig." The stamp on the package bore an image of the Virgin Mary and
the Christ child. A book recommendation and telephone number promoted the
Catholic apostolate at the Fatima Centre in Fort Erie, Ont.
Hamilton police immediately
sent an officer to protect the woman abortionist and retrieved the package
from the Spectator.
At the time, the Spectator
quoted Dallas Blanchard, chair of the sociology department at Pensacola's
West Florida University as saying the package "sounds authentic, like it
is from one of the real kooks, the wild ones."
Blanchard was the Spectator's
sole source for expert comment on the shootings and was described as the
author of three books on "anti-abortion radicals."
On Dec. 20, the full-page
Spectator feature focused on the violent measures advocated by the U.S.
Army of God organization, even though buried in the article was a statement
by Blanchard that it is not a real organization.
A second, similar mailing
received by the Spectator around New Year's Day was said to compare "anti-abortion
radicals" to an army with a mission and suggested that the next sniper
attack on an abortionist will be fatal. It made further, frequent references
to the Army of God, as well as Atlanta-based Missionaries to the Preborn,
Portland-based Advocates for Life and Operation Rescue.
Violent image
The mailing also made more
threats against the unnamed Hamilton abortionist and was said to have depicted
her lying on the ground with blood running from her mouth.
Blanchard reacted with alarm
to news of the package. "This one seems more dangerous. I think your doctor
really needs to be warned."
On Jan. 3, the Spectator
reported that police believed the mailings were probably not from someone
connected with the shootings. "The evidence seems clear to me that these
letters aren't from the shooter," said Hamilton police Inspector Dave Bowen.
"The actions and behavior (between the shootings and the mailings) suggest
the same person is not responsible."
The article was the last
word the Spectator had on the mailings.
