Kansas Judge Rejects Change of Venue and “Necessity Defense” in Scott Roeder Trial

Statement of Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) in response to the pre-trial hearing for Scott Roeder:

Today Judge Warren Wilbert denied the requests of Scott Roeder’s defense team to move the trial venue out of Sedgwick County, Kansas, as well as to introduce the so-called “necessity defense” as justification for the cold-blooded murder of Dr. George Tiller.

Although an extreme wing of the anti-abortion movement believes that it is justifiable to use deadly force to stop abortion, their attempts to use such a defense in court have been repeatedly rejected. Attempts by convicted murderers Paul Hill and James Kopp were both found to not meet the legal standards of justifiable homicide laws and were not permitted during their trials.

There is no justification for murdering doctors who provide abortion care. Scott Roeder has confessed to the murder, and he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.