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Rudolph's abortion stand led to bombings

ATLANTA, April 13 (UPI) -- Eric Rudolph issued a written statement after pleading guilty to four bombings Wednesday, saying he tried to force cancellation of the 1996 Olympics.

He said he wanted to embarrass the United States for its stand on abortion, CNN reported.

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In a two-page statement, Rudolph said he planned to place five bombs in five consecutive days at Atlanta's Olympic Park during the Olympics, but wasn't prepared to do it. Most of the motivation for the bombings came from the abortion controversy, according to the statement.

"Abortion is murder ... and when the regime in Washington legalized, sanctioned and legitimized this practice, they forfeited their legitimacy and moral authority to govern," the statement said.

He said abortion has become so unpopular in this country, the government was forced to make a plea deal with him.

He pleaded guilty to an abortion clinic bombing in Birmingham, Ala., as well as bombings at a women's clinic, a lesbian night club and a downtown park in Atlanta. The pleas mean he will serve four consecutive life terms rather than be sentenced to death.

As part of that plea bargain, Rudolph directed investigators to five different stashes of dynamite in North Carolina, where he had spent five years as a fugitive.

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