US DOJ Sues to Protect Mississippi's Only Abortion Provider

The Clarion-Ledger: Abortion Foe Admits Breaking Rule to Remain 25 Feet from Local Clinic, by Rebecca Helmes:

Longtime anti-abortion protester Roy McMillan admitted in court Friday that he had twice broken a federal agreement to stay 25 feet from Mississippi's only abortion clinic.

But the instances, he said, were times when he was moved by compassion to comfort a woman he assumed to be upset about getting an abortion and to help a friend who had passed out in the street.

When U.S. Justice Department attorney Julie Abbate asked McMillan if it would be morally justifiable to kill an abortion provider, including Jackson Women's Health Organization physician Joseph Booker, McMillan said he couldn't answer.

"I think there are times you can break a law for a higher good," McMillan said. But he said he doesn't admire people who commit violence against abortion providers.

A decision on whether he will be held in contempt for breaking the 1996 federal consent decree prohibiting him from approaching the State Street clinic and threatening or intimidating clinic workers could come as early as Friday.