Troy Newman

Who is Troy Newman?

Troy Newman is an American anti-abortion activist. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Newman was adopted as an infant and raised in the Southern California area. He is the president of Operation Rescue, known before 2002 as Operation Rescue West, which is currently based in Wichita, Kansas.

Newman became the head of this organization after Jeff White's Operation Rescue California closed due to legal judgements incurred against White. Newman moved his organizational headquarters to Wichita, Kansas. There, Operation Rescue West launched its "Year of Rebuke" campaign in an attempt at publicizing the names of those with political, professional, and social ties to late-term abortion provider George Tiller.

Newman developed the idea of utilizing panel trucks, called the "Truth Truck" fleet, being driven across the United States, covered with graphic billboard-sized images of aborted fetuses to publicize his organization's message.

Newman protested at the execution of Reverend Paul Hill. In a Sept 3rd, 2003 press release Newman stated, "There are many examples where taking a life in defense of innocent human beings is legally justified and permissible under the law."

Operation Rescue began documenting purported incidents of abortion-related injuries at the Women's Health Care Services requiring emergency hospitalization, including the third-trimester abortion death of Christin Gilbert, a 19-year-old with Down Syndrome. Information gathered by Operation Rescue allegedly contributed to the introduction of a strict clinic regulations bill in 2005, which passed both Houses of the Kansas Legislature by a two-thirds majority, but was vetoed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Newman was involved with a petition campaign to convene a grand jury to investigate Gilbert's death and other alleged wrongdoing by Tiller and his clinic. On July 31, 2006, the grand jury disbanded without returning indictments.