WICHITA, Kan. — Online auction house eBay has removed items that were posted for sale by anti-abortion activists trying to raise money for the defense of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion provider, the company said Monday.
Supporters of Scott Roeder — Regina Dinwiddie in Kansas City, Mo., and Dave Leach of Des Moines, Iowa — posted various items late Sunday in separate eBay auctions, including an Army of God manual, an underground publication for anti-abortion militants that describes ways to shut down clinics.
After about five hours, eBay removed 10 items, the activists said. The final two were removed by late Monday afternoon.
San Jose, Calif.-based eBay said the anti-abortion memorabilia violated its listing polices.
"Today, eBay removed several listings on our site that violated several of our policies including our offensive materials' policy. This policy prohibits items that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual, or religious intolerance, or promote organizations with such views," eBay said in a statement. The company would not say how many or which items it removed.
Roeder is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the May 31 shooting of Dr. George Tiller at his Wichita church. Anti-abortion activists are trying to raise money for Roeder, who has been appointed public defenders but was considering hiring private lawyers. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Among the last items removed from eBay was a worn Bible once owned by Shelley Shannon, an Oregon woman who shot and wounded Tiller in 1993 and was later convicted in a series of abortion clinic arsons and bombings. The other was a signed book of religious teachings written by Ohio anti-abortion activist Michael Bray.
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