Springs shooting refocuses attention on security concerns of Aurora, nearby Planned Parenthood clinics

AURORA | Advocacy groups are calling out hateful rhetoric used by some state lawmakers following the deadly shootings Friday at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs.

“We’re here to stand up today against those who use hateful and false statements to further their agenda,” said Amy Runyon-Harms, executive director of the left-leaning organization ProgressNow Colorado, who organized a press conference at the Denver Capitol building Tuesday along with the advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.

The organizers rallied on the steps of the Capitol and held signs showing specific phrases Colorado lawmakers have used against Planned Parenthood in recent years. The signs referenced the words of state Sen. Tim Neville, Aurora U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman and Colorado Springs state Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, all of whom are Republicans.

The organizers are part of a growing chorus of Planned Parenthood supporters who say Friday’s deadly shooting shows that the vitriolic rhetoric in local and national politics could be inspiring actual violence.

One of the signs held by a woman at Tuesday’s press conference in Denver attributed a phrase to Neville that said, “Some of the most disgusting videos of Planned Parenthood murdering, cutting to pieces and selling unborn baby parts were filmed right here in Denver, Colorado.”

Karen Middleton, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, said the hateful rhetoric coming from Neville and other lawmakers is depriving women of their basic rights to safely access healthcare. She added that the attack on Planned Parenthood should be considered domestic terrorism.

“If you’re tweeting that Planned Parenthood sells baby parts, you’re part of the problem. People take these tweets, these comments quite literally and we see the results,” she said.

Runyon-Harms also called out Aurora’s Rep. Coffman for voting numerous times to defund Planned Parenthood while also using the organization’s logo in a 2014 campaign ad.

The man arrested in the attack that killed a police officer and two civilians in Colorado Springs Friday uttered the phrase “no more baby parts,” a law enforcement official said.

Authorities have not elaborated on the gunman’s possible motives, but Planned Parenthood said witnesses described him as an abortion opponent. The “body parts” phrase echoed rhetoric that surfaced last summer, when anti-abortion activists began releasing undercover videos they said showed Planned Parenthood personnel negotiating the sale of fetal organs.

The anti-abortion group that made the videos, the Center for Medical Progress, condemned the “barbaric killing spree in Colorado Springs by a violent madman.”

Planned Parenthood said any payments were legally permitted reimbursements for the costs of donating organs to researchers, and has since stopped accepting even that money. Though the videos have inspired multiple investigations in Congress and in several states, none has confirmed any law breaking by Planned Parenthood.

Since the videos surfaced, threats have become even more frequent, abortion-rights leaders say.

“We’ve seen an alarming increase in hateful rhetoric and smear campaigns against abortion providers and patients over the last few months,” said Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. “That environment breeds acts of violence.”

Last year, protesters were a common site at the Planned Parenthood clinic on South Abilene Street in Aurora. The clinic doesn’t provide abortions, but it does offer other women’s health services, including birth control.

Cowart said Planned Parenthood clinics in Aurora and across the state would not close or change their hours in light of Friday’s violent acts. But she said Planned Parenthood is taking precautions.

“Safety of our staff and patients is our top priority,” she said in a statement. “Our security plans at each site are assessed and changed constantly in response to our environment and in coordination with local staff and local law enforcement. Today and everyday. For obvious reasons, we cannot share details of our security decisions.”

In a statement to supporters Tuesday, Cowart said in the past year, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains served more than 103,000 people — providing affordable birth control, life-saving cancer screenings, safe and legal abortion services, and other vital care.

President Barack Obama says he hopes the shootings will spur conversation and action on deterring gun violence.

Speaking at a global warming conference Tuesday, he said it will ultimately be up to Congress, states and local governments to act in ways that prevent people intent on committing violence from getting weapons.

All of the Republican presidential candidates say they favor restricting abortion rights.

Some were asked about the Colorado Springs shootings on Sunday’s talk shows.

Mike Huckabee condemned the attack as a “despicable act of murder” and said “what he did is domestic terrorism,” but then equated the killings to the abortions Planned Parenthood provides.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.