WRATH OF ANGELS:
The American Abortion War
By James Risen and Judy L. Thomas
Basic Books, 402 pages, $25
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” saith the Lord. — Romans 12:19 (King James Version)
As I write this, a man hides in the Appalachian backcountry, a suspect in the murderous bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala. In Florida, a man waits on Death Row for killing a Pensacola abortion doctor and his driver and escort. The militant wing of the anti-abortion movement–a movement that only a decade ago seemed poised to reverse the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision–now seems shattered, the outlaw province of self-styled anti-government militias.
In “Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War,” journalists James Risen and Judy L. Thomas grippingly trace the activist side of the anti-abortion campaign from the early days of rosary-reciting Catholic women to the bomb-hurling 1990s. This is a compelling and important book, crucial for understanding not only the battle over abortion but also the transformed role of religion in American life and politics over the last 25 years. It is a melancholy tale, devoid of true heroes but spilling over with gutless politicians and prelates and self-aggrandizing preachers. Defeat and despair eventually drove many militant anti-abortion activists from passive resistance to violence and to the edgy extremes of American society where gun-toting fanatics parade in military fatigues and advocate overthrowing the government itself.
The complex story is told in a series of overlapping episodes. Anti-abortion activism began with non-violent techniques borrowed from the anti-war movement by young, left-leaning Catholics. Even then, however, extremists used non-violent groups as a cover for clinic bombings. By the mid-1980s, fundamentalist Protestants, especially Pentecostals, took control of anti-abortion militancy, changing the tone and tactics dramatically. Randall Terry’s Operation Rescue developed the notorious tactic of outing abortion doctors, advertising their addresses and picketing their homes. Terry’s self-styled rescuers crawled toward clinics to block access to them, threw themselves in front of doctors’ cars and harangued staff members and patients. Operation Rescue paid a stiff price as fines and jail sentences mounted.
Eventually, Terry’s lieutenants stole Operation Rescue from him. The organization mounted the “Summer of Mercy” in Wichita, Kan., in 1990, targeting a specific doctor, George Tiller. The Wichita campaign briefly re-energized Operation Rescue, but with dubious lasting effects. Extreme tactics alienated the public and finally roused a federal judge, who levied fines and jail sentences. With the collapse and failure of Operation Rescue, many of its leaders and members drifted from mainstream protest toward violent extremism, which many anti-abortion activists still refuse to condemn. Meanwhile, even Reagan-appointed justices on the Supreme Court accepted a national consensus favoring abortion. Pro-choice had won.
While the story itself is fascinating and compellingly told, this book is remarkable for discussing the evolution of actions and beliefs. Risen and Thomas have articulated the arcana of Catholic and Pentecostal theology with clarity and intelligence. They have also taken the religious values of their subjects seriously and without the condescension that has precluded true understanding of the anti-abortion movement.
Several themes stand out. Pentecostal religion played a major role in energizing the movement, whether for newer Catholic charismatics like John O’Keefe and Samuel Lee, or for Terry, who was a Protestant Pentecostal. This was not an accident. Believing that the Holy Spirit prophesies and speaks directly through them, charismatics feel the call to transform the world now–just as the Spirit is transforming them now. This belief distinguishes Protestant Pentecostals from other evangelicals, who for most of the 20th Century have believed it is a Christian’s responsibility to convert as many souls as possible, rather than participating in movements of social reform.
Both spirit-infused movements–those of the Catholic charismatics and the Protestant Pentecostals–needed to justify their resistance theologically.
To condone mass disobedience of the law on religious grounds was anathema to the Catholic hierarchy. Painfully aware of being outsiders in American culture, Catholics had often steered clear of social controversy (such as slavery) in order to avoid anti-Catholic reactions. For leftist Catholics grounded in the anti-war writings of Thomas Merton and the activity of the Berrigan brothers, however, civil disobedience constituted a necessary challenge to a secular establishment gone mad. So when Roe vs. Wade overturned state anti-abortion laws, younger Catholics such as O’Keefe and Lee looked to the anti-war movement for inspiration and tactics.
For Protestant Pentecostals, justifying civil disobedience was trickier. Pentecostals tended to social and political conservatism, so even the language of the anti-war movement sounded suspect. “Rescue” had to replace “passive resistance.” American fundamentalist tradition also weighed heavily against worldly activism. The solution came through the writings of Francis Schaeffer, a conservative American Calvinist living in Switzerland. Schaeffer defended evangelical civil disobedience, especially against abortion, by referring to a higher, Gospel-based law that superseded corrupt worldly dictates. Schaeffer’s views profoundly influenced a generation of conservative evangelicals, including Randall Terry.
The shift from Catholic to fundamentalist domination in the anti-abortion movement, accomplished via Operation Rescue, also proves important for Risen and Thomas. Fundamentalist preaching brought a decisive change in tone, from Catholic emulation of Jesus’ compassionate suffering with victims to evangelical emphasis on Christ’s wrath and judgment. As a result, verbal assaults on women and violence against doctors seemed inevitable. Risen and Thomas make it clear that, because of the distinct and even contradictory religious outlooks of the different denominations, cooperation between Catholics and fundamentalists was expedient and temporary. They strongly hint that Terry and other fundamentalists were uncomfortable with Catholic leadership and succeeded in co-opting the movement.
Different ecclesiastical structures brought distinct strengths and weaknesses. For Catholics, the national organization of the church provided built-in resources. Among evangelicals, independent pastors controlling their own churches allowed for flexibility. In the end, however, religious leadership undermined the movement. Nationally, the Catholic bishops were uneasy about wasting political capital on the abortion issue. Among Protestants, some Baptist leaders denounced the activism of Operation Rescue, and threats of government fines kept pastors from risking too much for the unborn. Flexibility also allowed preachers to play the prophet for individual glory. If Randall Terry was determined to run the show, co-worker Joseph Foreman was equally determined to take over. Their infighting makes it clear that spiritual motives were often less than paramount in the crusade.
Finally, “Wrath of Angels” points out that many members of the extreme anti-abortion groups of the late 1980s and early 1990s have turned up in the anti-government militias that have sprouted around the country in the last decade. In the early 1980s, right-wing religious groups were among the most patriotic Americans. Now, however, some rail against the very existence of the American government. Risen and Thomas are sketchy about the connection, but extreme anti-abortion rhetoric must figure heavily in this antagonism. The political process betrayed the pro-life forces, as Ronald Reagan extolled their virtues but refused to be photographed at the annual Washington rally. Reagan’s own judicial appointees upheld Roe vs. Wade in case after case.
Fundamentalists disillusioned with the political process could look to an activism based on belief in the superiority of biblical over secular law and honed in the battles over the modern “holocaust” of abortion. So armed, some radicals could turn to violence against the U.S. government as the logical outcome of God’s demands for Christian life in a heathen world. Such an outcome would be a tragedy–for there is room in the American debate about the ethics and limits of abortion–and for the movement it would be a final irony. After all, anti-abortionists across the political spectrum found common cause in Deuteronomy 30:19:
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
The defenders of life may have chosen death, and the nation will feel the curse.
