| Monday-Sep-6-2010 |
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performance, money catches up to them." click here to read more quotes-archives click here to submit a quote or editorial you would like to share ARCHIVES click here for past articles to read
DR. TILLER KILLED BY ANTI-ABORTIONIST SCOTT ROEDER George Tiller (August 8, 1941 ¨C May 31, 2009) was a physician in Wichita, Kansas in the United States. He was the medical director of an abortion clinic in Wichita, Women¡¯s Health Care Services, which specializes in the provision of late-term procedures. Dr. Tiller was shot and murdered while serving as an usher at his Lutheran church on May 31, 2009. The Women¡¯s Health Care Services clinic is a family planning clinic in Kansas. In particular, Troy Newman and Operation Rescue have made it their goal to see the clinic closed. The clinic has been one of a limited number nationwide that provide late-term procedures. The clinic itself is unusual in that it offers funerary services to its patients. Some of these services include photographs, footprinting and handprinting, baptism, cremation, arrangement for burial in or out of state, and arrangement for amniocentesis and/or autopsy. Tiller was the target of anti-abortion violence. On August 19, 1993, he was shot in both arms outside of the Wichita clinic by Shelley Shannon, who received an 11-year prison sentence for the crime. On May 31, 2009, Tiller was shot to death as he served as an usher during church services. The anti-abortion group Operation Rescue condemned the murder: ¡°We are shocked at this morning¡¯s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller¡¯s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.¡± Background Tiller studied at the University of Kansas School of Medicine from 1963 to 1967. Shortly thereafter, he held a medical internship with United States Navy, and served as flight surgeon in Oakland, California in 1969 and 1970. Controversy Christin Gilbert Christin Gilbert, a 19-year-old woman with Down Syndrome from Keller, Texas, died in January 2005 after a multi-day abortion procedure performed at Tiller¡¯s facility, though reports conflict as to whether the abortion was performed by Tiller himself or by LeRoy Carhart. Gilbert had been 28 weeks pregnant. The autopsy stated that Gilbert died of sepsis following the abortion.[9] Tiller was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. After a petition from Operation Rescue, a grand jury was convened to probe the death,[10][11] which resulted in no indictments against Tiller. The O¡¯Reilly Factor controversy On Friday, November 3, 2006, Bill O¡¯Reilly featured an exclusive segment on his show, The O¡¯Reilly Factor, saying that he has an ¡°inside source¡± with official clinic documentation indicating that George Tiller performs late-term abortions to alleviate ¡°temporary depression¡± in the pregnant woman.[12] According to reporting data provided to the Kansas Board of Healing Arts for the year 1998, all of the post-viable ¡°partial-birth¡± (dilation and extraction) abortion procedures performed in Kansas during that year were performed because ¡°the attending physician believe[d] that continuing the pregnancy [would] constitute a substantial and irreversible impairment of the patient¡¯s mental function.¡±[citation needed] Tiller responded to O¡¯Reilly¡¯s statements by demanding an investigation into the ¡°inside source¡± through which the information was leaked, suggesting that Phill Kline, then the Kansas Attorney General, was responsible. Kline denied the charge. Trial and acquittal Tiller went on trial in March 2009, charged with nineteen misdemeanors for allegedly consulting a second physician in late-term abortion cases who was not truly ¡°independent¡± as required by Kansas state law.[13][14] The case became a cause c¨¦l¨¨bre for both supporters and opponents of abortion rights. Columnist Jack Cashill compared the trial to the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals,[15] while NYU Professor Jacob Appel described Tiller as ¡°a genuine hero who ranks alongside Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. in the pantheon of defenders of human liberty.¡±[16] On March 27, 2009, Tiller was found not guilty of all 19 misdemeanor charges stemming from some abortions he performed at his Wichita clinic in 2003.[17] Death George Tiller was shot dead around 10:00 am Sunday, May 31, 2009 while serving as an usher during worship services at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita.[7] Local television station KAKE reported that a suspect fled the scene in a light or powder blue Ford Taurus.[18][19] The suspect fled the scene in his vehicle and authorities are still investigating. The suspect was described as a white male in his 50¡¯s or 60¡¯s, 6¡ä1,¡± 220 lbs, wearing a white shirt and dark pants. The car is licensed to Merriam, Kansas. The car was later pulled over near Gardner, Kansas and a person was arrested at the time. [18][20] A candlelight vigil to honor Tiller has been announced for the night of May 31, 2009, in Old Town Square in Wichita.[21] Reaction to murder The Kansas chapter of the National Organization for Women issued a statement that read in part, ¡°The Kansas National Organization for Women is deeply saddened at the cowardly act of violence committed against Dr. George Tiller, a champion for women¡¯s reproductive freedom¡ªan act that ultimately took his life. Dr. Tiller, although previously surviving many acts of terrorism and violence directed at him and his clinic, did not allow it to stop him from standing up for the rights of all women. Kansas NOW grieves not only the loss of Dr. Tiller, but also the loss that all women needing access to safe abortion have suffered due to this act of violence.¡±[22] Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry, a founder of Operation Rescue, which is now under new leadership and known as Operation Save America, responded to Tiller¡¯s death by issuing a statement in which he wrote: ¡°George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller¡¯s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name, murder.¡±[23] The president of Operation Rescue, formerly known as Operation Rescue West in Wichita, Troy Newman, commented that ¡°Operation Rescue has worked tirelessly on peaceful, non-violent measures to bring him to justice through the legal system, the legislative system [¡] Mr. Tiller was an abortionist. But this wasn¡¯t personal. We are pro life, and this act was antithetical to what we believe. Our prayers go out to his family and the thousands of people this will impact¡±[24] The group also stated ¡°We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning¡±.[20] ¡°Dr. Tiller was a fearless, passionate defender of women¡¯s reproductive health and rights,¡± said Nancy Northup, President of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which had worked on a legal matters with Dr. Tiller. ¡°It¡¯s time that this nation stop demonizing these doctors, and start honoring them.¡± Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who had prosecuted Tiller, issued a statement saying, ¡°I am stunned by this lawless and violent act which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law. We join in lifting prayer that God¡¯s grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller¡¯s family and friends.¡± Bioethicist Jacob Appel, a longtime Tiller supporter, wrote, ¡°George Tiller will now become for American women what Medgar Evers became for African-Americans. That is no consolations for his friends and family, but it is the lesson of hope to be drawn from this horrific crime.¡± Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson also condemned the murder. |
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