On Tuesday, May 10, PBS is airing a documentary called “The Armor of Light,” detailing Rev. Rob Schenck’s journey as a commentator on gun violence. Schenck is an anti-abortion activist, who has compared abortion to gunfire. Throughout the documentary, Schenck questions the pro-life movement’s support of gun rights, wondering if it is at odds with the pro-life agenda. Notably, after negative backlash by the right against his series of anti-gun op-eds, Schenck published a statement backing down, saying that he does not believe in legal gun regulation. Schenck’s view is that gun control should be in the hands of community leaders, and not the government, meaning his views on gun control have zero integrity and no teeth.

Incredibly, in a blog post on Vice about why evangelicals are “wrong about gun control,” Schenck still manages to pander to the violent anti-abortion faction. He writes, “Violence can sometimes be stopped only by more violence, but that’s something all of us should deeply regret, not celebrate.” Given that anti-abortion activists, including Schenck himself, regularly refer to abortion as “violence” against the “preborn,” it is clear that this statement serves as a dog whistle to extreme anti-abortion individuals. Reading between the lines, it is not hard to infer Schenck is trying to not alienate those in his movement who say that abortion is a form of violence that must be stopped by more violence — an idea that multiple anti-abortion activists have taken to heart when they killed abortion providers.   

Troy Newman, a violent anti-abortion activist, appears in the film as the evangelical pro-gun contrast to Schenck’s views on gun violence. Unsurprisingly, Newman, whose organization Operation Rescue harassed Dr. George Tiller outside his clinic until his assassination, opposes any gun regulation, and does not find unrestricted access to firearms incongruent with his pro-life ideals.

It is incredibly disappointing that PBS would give a man whose organization has terrorized abortion providers a platform for anything, much less to support gun rights with no restrictions. Despite Newman’s small role in this documentary, in yet another genuinely confusing move, PBS invited him to participate in a town-hall discussion after it airs.

Advocates in the reproductive justice community are very aware that Newman supports violence, including unfettered access to guns. In his 2001 book Their Blood Cries Out, Newman advocated executing abortion providers. His organization led the repeated  harassment outside Dr. Tiller’s Wichita, Kan., abortion clinic, which included sit-ins and blockades so that patients and staff could not enter the facility.  This harassment, including the “Summer of Mercy,” continued until Dr. Tiller was murdered by Scott Roeder — an anti-abortion activist with clear ties to Operation Rescue. He once called a pregnant woman a “bitch.” Operation Rescue publishes the names and home addresses of doctors who provide abortion services — a practice that encourages harassment and violence at the hands of radical  pro-life activists. Cheryl Sullenger, the senior vice president of Operation Rescue, served two years in jail for plotting to bomb an abortion clinic. Sullenger and Newman have co-authored a guide on the most effective ways to harass people outside abortion clinics.

Furthermore, the hateful and violent rhetoric spewed by Newman and his organization spawn anti-abortion violence across the country. Newman was on the board of the Center for Medical Progress, an organization that created heavily-edited videos and accused Planned Parenthood of “selling baby parts.” In November 2015, Robert Dear went on a shooting rampage in one of the health centers featured in those videos. Dear murdered three people and injured nine others. In questioning by the police, he said “no more baby parts.” The rhetoric of Newman and his cohorts has had dire consequences and helped to promote multiple murders.

Interestingly, Newman resigned or was removed from the CMP board as of January 19, only five days after he was named in Planned Parenthood’s federal lawsuit against the organization. It is easy to assume that the CMP wanted to shed the baggage that comes along with Newman on their board — he has been the repeated target of protests by pro-choice activists, and even stated that Planned Parenthood was “hoping” for a shooting at one of their clinics.

It comes as no surprise that the leader of a terrorist organization that calls for murdering abortion providers in the twisted name of being ‘pro-life’ would support gun rights with absolutely no restrictions. What is surprising is PBS’s willingness to let Newman have any platform to voice his pro-gun and anti-abortion views, when Newman has a documented history of terrorism. He should not have been involved in the film project at all, and allowing him to participate in the town-hall is downright disgraceful. It is truly unbelievable that a terrorist whose rhetoric has spawned violence against abortion providers would be given a national platform to state an extremist view on guns.