I did not mean to kill abortion doctor, says activist

AN ANTI-ABORTION militant has admitted killing a doctor who provided abortions, but maintained he only intended to wound him.

"The truth is not that I regret shooting Dr Barnett Slepian. I regret that he died," James Kopp told a New York state newspaper in a prison interview.

"I aimed at his shoulder. The bullet took a crazy ricochet, and that's what killed him. One of my goals was to keep Dr Slepian alive, and I failed at that goal." Kopp, 47, said his outrage over abortion prompted him to shoot Slepian four years ago at his home.