[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             IN MEMORIAL: SHANNON LOWNEY AND LEANNE NICHOLS

                                 ______


                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 11, 1995
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, the violence continues and the death toll 
rises once again. In the wake of the recent clinic violence in 
Massachusetts, 25-year-old Shannon Elizabeth Lowney and 38-year-old 
Leanne Nichols are dead, five people are injured, and an entire Nation 
sits paralyzed by fear and shock.
  I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to the families of Shannon and 
Leanne. To them we offer this promise: We will not allow these women's 
lives to be lost in vain and we will not allow their sacrifice to be 
dismissed as mere casualties of a political conflict. These were not 
combatants--these were health care professionals. They were brutally 
murdered by those that seek to do through terrorism what they can never 
do through the ballot box.
  The time has come for an end to clinic violence. An end to the lame 
excuses offered on behalf of the offenders. An end to the fear that 
grips professionals, patients, and ordinary Americans throughout our 
Nation. An end to the sick belief that violence will reap political 
empowerment.
  Our Nation must act quickly to bring to justice both the assassins 
and those who incite them. Make no mistake: There is no greater threat 
to our national security today then the domestic terrorists roaming 
America under the cover of anti-choice politics. Dr. David Gunn, Dr. 
John Bayard Britton, Lt. Col. James Barrett, Shannon Elizabeth Lowney, 
and Leanne Nichols are gone forever, but their cause, the cause of 
freedom, lives on in all of us.
  Our challenge is clear, our resolve unwavering, and our cause is 
just. We pause now to remember those who have died, but we will not 
give up our freedoms and we will not capitulate to terrorism. These 
women expect better of us, and better we must do to honor their memory.


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