Soldiers in the Army of God

According to statistics quoted in this disturbing 2000 HBO documentary, since Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court's 1973 decision legalizing abortion—there have been 2,400 "incidents of violence" against abortion clinics and doctors, resulting in seven deaths. Directors Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson's film chronicles the activities of the Army of God, whose members preach and practice violence as the best, indeed the only, means to end legal abortions. Army of God should not be confused with those who, for whatever reason, honestly oppose abortion and advocate legal means to end it; rather, these are fanatics who believe that the justices who were in the Roe v. Wade majority should be executed. Members include criminals such as the notorious Paul Hill, who in 1994 killed "abortionist" Dr. John Britton and his escort outside a Florida clinic (interviewed here on Death Row, the utterly unrepentant Hill calmly tells us that he hopes his deed will inspire others to do the same); smarmy hypocrites such as Bob Lokey, an ex-con (he served 20 years for murder) who claims that while he himself would never kill anyone, he sure wouldn't complain if someone else does; and self-righteous "soldiers" pretending to be doing God's work, whose guiding principle is "an eye for an eye." More than anything, Soldiers in the Army of God suggests that this most divisive of issues may ultimately be irreconcilable: witness the vicious, futile circle represented by Hill—after reasoning that "abortionists" were murderers, he became a killer himself; then, in 2003, he was put to death by lethal injection. DVD extras include additional footage and an Esquire magazine article on the armed abortion movement. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)