Deadly shooting in US revives abortion issue

Robert Lewis Dear faces first-degree murder charges for attack at Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

Los Angeles – The armed man accused of killing three people and wounding nine at a reproductive health clinic in Colorado Springs has made his first court appearance.

Last Friday’s attack has once again raised the issue of abortion in the US, already a hot topic among Republican candidates in the race for the White House.

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Conservatives have accused Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organisation that provides a range of health services, including abortion, of illegally selling baby parts, an accusation it strongly denies.

Robert Lewis Dear, 57, appeared before a judge on Monday in a brief video hearing, standing next to public defender Daniel King.

Dear wore a white vest and blinked periodically as the judge spoke to him.

He only spoke once, saying “no questions” when the judge asked him if he had any questions about the multiple first-degree murder charges he faces.

Dan May, the district attorney, said Dear could face other charges, but he did not elaborate.

 

Source: Al Jazeera