'Violence begets violence': Republican state rep blames Planned Parenthood for Colorado Springs shooting

Colorado Rep. JoAnn Windholz says the ‘true instigator of this violence and all violence at any Planned Parenthood facility is Planned Parenthood themselves.’(Facebook/JoAnn Windholz)

A Republican state representative is blaming abortion provider Planned Parenthood for the deadly shooting at its Colorado Springs clinic on Nov. 27 that left three people dead and nine injured.

"Violence is never the answer, but we must start pointing out who is the real culprit. The true instigator of this violence and all violence at any Planned Parenthood facility is Planned Parenthood themselves. Violence begets violence. So Planned Parenthood: You stop the violence inside your walls," declared Colorado state Rep. JoAnn Windholz, according to Raw Story.

Suspect Robert Lewis Dear, 57, is facing first-degree murder charges for the shooting rampage, Reuters reported.

Planned Parenthood said reports that Dear told investigators "no more baby parts" showed that his motive was based on an anti-abortion agenda.

"When a violent act happens at a Planned Parenthood facility (most recent in Colorado Springs) the left goes on 'auto-pilot' blaming everyone in sight when they should be looking in a mirror. Free Speech has brought to light the insidious selling of baby body parts. These facts and overall mission of the abortion industry would easily send anyone over the hill who wasn't rational," Windholz added.

She attended the session of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado on Planned Parenthood in which abortion videos were shown.

"The 'war on women' is what [Planned Parenthood] began with Margaret Sanger and it has turned into a war on the family, especially children. It has changed children from a blessing to a commodity making it very hard to consider ourselves to be a civilised respectful rational society," Windholz said.

Amy Runyon-Harms of ProgressNow Colorado criticised Windholz for her statement.

"This is exactly the type of rhetoric I am speaking out against today," Runyon-Harris told The Colorado Independent. "For one of our sitting elected lawmakers to utter the phrase 'Violence is never the answer but...' is unconscionable and inexcusable. Shame on Representative JoAnn Windholz."

Windholz beat incumbent Democrat Jenise May by 237 votes in the 2014 election.