Violence at Abortion Centers

The first explosion occurred shortly before dawn last week at an abortion clinic in Wheaton, Md. Eleven minutes later, a second bomb blast shook a Planned Parenthood office one mile away, in Rockville. No one was hurt, but the eleven-year-old abortion clinic was destroyed, and the Planned Parenthood office sustained an estimated $50,000 in damages.

The attacks were the latest in a nationwide series of violent protests against abortion clinics and family-planning centers. According to Planned Parenthood, fires or explosions have damaged 20 such facilities so far this year, up from four in 1983. Although one group, the "Army of God," has claimed responsibility for bombing clinics in Virginia and Florida, most of the events appear to be unrelated.

Antiabortion groups denounced the destruction. But pro-choice advocates called for some White House response. "If any other institutions -- churches, schools or even commercial enterprises like McDonald's -- were being bombed at the rate of one every two weeks," said Judy Gold smith, president of the National Organization for Women, "President Reagan would certainly repudiate it strongly."