Abortion clinics throughout Europe are holding a minute's silence on Wednesday. The move is aimed at focusing attention on the increasing violence targetted against staff and clients of abortion clinics.

It follows the murder of an abortion doctor, George Tiller, who was shot dead in Wichita in the United States on 31 May. The pro-abortion lobby says being able to choose to have an abortion is a fundamental right of all women.

The operation is one of the commonest medical procedures in the world. However, each year, an estimated 70,000 women die after undergoing illegal and unsafe abortions.

photo: Anti-abortion protest in The Hague, 2006 (flickr/Jackie Kaver)