Troy Newman (activist)

Troy Edward Newman
Born	1966 Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Residence	Wichita, Kansas
Nationality	American
Other names	Troy Edward Newman-Mariotti
Occupation	Anti-abortion activist President, Operation Rescue
Known for	Anti-abortion activist
Spouse(s)	Mellissa Newman

Troy Edward Newman-Mariotti, known as Troy Newman (born 1966), is an American anti-abortion activist. He is the president of Operation Rescue, which is based in Wichita, Kansas, and sits on the board of The Center for Medical Progress.

Newman became involved in the anti-abortion movement in the early 1990s, and in 1999 became president of Operation Rescue West, which had split from the original group and later took on its name. The organisation was originally based in Southern California, but moved to Kansas in 2002. The primary reason for relocation was to allow the group to focus on its campaign against abortion doctor George Tiller, which culminated in his assassination by Scott Roeder, an Operation Rescue supporter. More recently, Newman attracted international attention for his illegal entry to Australia (and subsequent deportation).

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Newman was adopted at birth to a family in San Diego, California, where he grew up as a self-described "surfer boy". He has cited his own experience as an adoptee as one of the reasons for his anti-abortion views. Newman made contact with his birth father later in life, and subsequently added his birth father's surname, Mariotti, to his own, although professionally he continues to use only his original surname.

Reared Roman Catholic before joining the theologically conservative Presbyterian Church in America, Newman attended Whitefield Theological Seminary and graduated from Maranatha Baptist University. He first became interested in the anti-abortion movement in 1990, after attending an anti-abortion rally. He had previously given little thought to the subject, and he and his future wife, Mellissa, even made use of Planned Parenthood facilities on at least one occasion, for blood tests. After becoming involved in the movement, Newman balanced his work as an electronic engineer in the aerospace industry with his participation in anti-abortion protests. However, he quit his job in 1995, in order to devote his full attention to stopping abortion.

...
Wikipedia