Spokane man’s hearing in abortion doctor threat continued

DENVER — A court hearing for a 70-year-old Washington man accused of threatening a Colorado abortion doctor has been continued until April 5. Donald Hertz attended a hearing Monday via phone after his attorney W. Russell Van Camp said he was too ill to travel from Spokane to U.S. District Court in Denver. A judge says Hertz will be expected to attend the April hearing in person. Van Camp has said Hertz would plead guilty. Hertz is accused of calling the Boulder Abortion Clinic and threatening to kill members of Dr. Warren Hern’s family. The alleged threat came within weeks of the slaying of Dr. George Tiller, who operated an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kan.