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In an impassioned plea before a US court, a born-again Christian argued Thursday that he had killed a prominent abortion doctor because he wanted to save the lives of unborn babies.
"I did what I thought needed to be done to protect the children. I shot him," Scott Roeder told the jury. "If I didn't do it the babies were going to die the next day."
Roeder, 51, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the May 2009 slaying of Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of a Kansas church.
In an unorthodox move that critics fear could provide a cover for political violence, he is seeking to convince jurors that he is guilty of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter.
Under Kansas law, that statute can apply to a person who takes action against another person based on an unreasonable but honest defense that he or she is preventing a greater harm.
District Judge Warren Wilbert has not yet ruled as to whether he will allow jurors to consider the lesser offense.
"It is not man's job to take life. It's never up to man to take life -- except in cases of self-defense or defense of others," Roeder testified.
"From conception forward it (abortion) is murder."
Tiller was one of only a handful of doctors in the United States to perform late-term abortions, which earned him the wrath of pro-life activists who had dubbed him "Tiller the baby killer."
Roeder did not dispute any of the evidence brought against him. He admitted he bought a gun and ammunition, and took target practice in the days prior to Tiller's shooting.
And he said he had thought about killing Tiller for years, even considering buying a sword to cut off the doctor's hands or hiding out like a sniper to shoot him walking into his Wichita, Kansas abortion clinic.
He also admitted that he had considered killing other abortion doctors, but said Tiller was his only "target."
He said he was spurred into action after realizing that nothing else was going to stop Tiller from performing abortions.
Roeder said he tried "sidewalk counseling" with women visiting Tiller's Wichita, Kansas clinic to persuade them to seek an alternative to abortion.
He also said previous attacks on Tiller and his clinic -- including a shooting and a bombing -- had failed to stop the doctor practicing.
"In 1993, Shelly Shannon shot Dr. Tiller once in each arm," Roeder said. "Even though he was back at work the next day, she was just trying to stop him."
Roeder said he'd also known that former Kansas attorney general Phill Kline, an abortion opponent, had unsuccessfully sought to prosecute Tiller.
Asked if he regretted his actions, Roeder said "No, I don't."
Roeder said he had attended church with his family when he was younger, but did not consider himself religious until he had a conversion experience while watching the "700 Club" on television in 1992.
The popular show, hosted by Pat Robertson, airs on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"I was alone in my room," Roeder said. "That day I did kneel down and accept Christ as my savior at that time."
After that, his views on abortion, which he had always considered wrong, became stronger, he said.
"I think the only exception, and I even struggle with it, is the life of the mother," he said, when asked if there were any circumstances under which abortion is justified.
In his opening statement to the jury, defense attorney Steve Osburn said his client believed the church was the best place to kill Tiller, who often employed personal security measures, without hurting anyone else.
"He killed Dr. Tiller because that was the only way to save the lives of the unborn," Osburn said. "These were honestly held beliefs and he had no choice."
