Florida: Abortion clinic is set on fire and vandalized

Broward County sheriff's detectives are investigating what could be the country's first arson attack on an abortion clinic this year, officials said.

Detectives could not say for sure that the arson fire and vandalism at Dr. Michael Benjamin's Tamarac office was the work of political or religious extremists, but the case was assigned to the department's elite Strategic Investigations Unit, which handles the largest and most complex investigations.

On Sunday morning, just past midnight, someone started a fire at Benjamin's office in the 7700 block of North University Drive by pouring a flammable liquid on the door and through the mail slot. The small fire burned itself out but caused smoke damage inside, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Liz Calzadilla.

The same person or people used red paint to blot out Benjamin's name on two building directories and deface 10 parking spaces reserved for Benjamin's patients.

Miami Herald version:

An arson fire at a Tamarac medical office where abortions are performed caused serious smoke damage but no injuries, police said.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies responded to an alarm at the office of Dr. Michael Benjamin, 7707 N. University
On Thursday, BSO spokeswoman Liz Calzadilla said: ``We do not have any specific information that would link this incident to an extremist group. However, the fact that Dr. Benjamin does perform abortions causes concern for that possibility.''
The fire caused extensive smoke damage to the interior of the office, Calzadilla said.
A woman who answered the phone at his office Thursday said Benjamin is out of town. She said the office has been open this week, with a nurse-practitioner handling patients. She would not comment on the vandalism.
''We do believe that this arson occurred because the ob-gyn performed abortions,'' said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, a pro-choice group based in Washington, D.C. The arson attack has the fingerprints of a politically motivated crime, Saporta said.
''He will not be intimidated by this kind of violence, from offering women services which protects their health and saves their lives,'' Saporta said of Benjamin, who is an NAF member.
''There's certainly a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the abortion folks,'' said Tom Brejcha, chief counsel of the St. Thomas More Society, a Catholic legal organization that represents the Pro-Life Action League.
Brejcha said that pro-choice activists often inaccurately classify crimes against abortion providers as politically motivated.
Violent protests against abortion providers are rare in Broward, Calzadilla said. On April 14, 2000, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the Fort Lauderdale Women's Center, 2001 W. Oakland Park Blvd, starting a small fire.
Benjamin, 63, has been in the news for his advocacy of a controversial sterilization procedure known as the quinacrine method, in which tiny pellets of quinacrine -- a drug originally used to treat malaria -- are inserted through the vagina into the uterus, where they cause scarring that blocks fallopian tubes and prevents eggs from reaching the uterus.
Detectives have not named a suspect or motive for the vandalism. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-TIPS.
''Obviously, someone is extremely angry, and we want to find out why they did this,'' said Calzadilla.

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