Dr. George Tiller, an outspoken advocate for abortion rights and one of the few late-term abortion providers in the country, was shot dead in church this morning.
Cara writes at Feministe,
This is the first time an abortion provider has been murdered in over a decade. I have friends who work in abortion clinics. This is terrorism. And right now, I just don't have the words.
The loss of Dr. Tiller is deeply upsetting, and Cara rightly identifies this as a terrorist act. It is the culmination of an ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment against someone who was providing completely legal health-care services. I've been paying attention to the more militant strains of the anti-choice movement, so this news shouldn't have shocked me as much as it did. But, like Cara, I have friends who work and volunteer in abortion clinics. When violence against abortion providers was hitting a fever pitch 10 years ago, I was not strongly pro-choice identified. I remember reading about the murder of an abortion providers, but it certainly did not affect me the way this news has. Whether it's rational or not, today I'm afraid for everyone who works in a reproductive health clinic. And not only those that provide abortion.
I am also worried about what Tiller's murder means for women in Kansas and elsewhere in the country who need the services that he provided. The simple fact is there are almost no doctors who provide late-term abortions, especially in rural parts of the country. I was in Nebraska several years ago to interview Dr. Leroy Carhart (whose challenges to abortion-restricting laws went all the way to the Supreme Court), and Carhart and Tiller were the only two late-term providers in their region. If one wanted to go on vacation or got sick, the other had to fill in. There was no one else. Perhaps it would be a fitting memorial to Dr. Tiller to contribute to Medical Students for Choice, and encourage more doctors with a deep commitment to reproductive rights to become abortion providers.
UPDATE: More from the NY Times, Bastard.Logic, Pandagon, Matt Yglesias, SarahMC, Andrew Sullivan, and Pro-Science.
MEMORIAL VIGILS: See here.
Previous posts on Dr. Tiller:
A Hurrah for Dr. George Tiller
Judge in Tiller case has anti-choice history
The Attacks on Dr. Tiller Continue
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Do you know if this has made national news?
I was actually just thinking about this issue especially after seeing Operation Rescue leader, Randall Terry, on tv speaking out against Obama's visit to Notre Dame. His comeback and this atrocity have to be linked somehow...
Did Randall Terry publicize the names of specific physicians like Bill O'Reilly did? That seems to me to be the crucial distinction between protected speech -- loathsome though it certainly is -- and a deliberate incitement to violence that ought to be prosecuted.
Dr Tiller was already known because of his trial last year.
If someone publicized his name and because of that he was killed, I think that person should be held responsible. But I bet in this case no on needed to publicize him; he was already public.
Terry protested at Tiller's clinic often in the 90s and has stories up on his site mentioning Tiller.
Not to mention that Tiller has been shot twice before. At least that's what my dad told me who knew Tiller.
international even. I first heard about it on german radio.
And I was *literary* stunned.
I wish you the best of luck that you don't end, where we are...
I've heard various talking heads on the news declare this does a lot of harm to the pro-life movement, that this set back their cause five years and erases their recent gains, and so on.
You know what? I have to disagree. I think there are only 3 clinics in the country that perform late-term abortions, correct?
Now we're down to 2.
No matter what they say on TV, I'm pretty sure the anti-abortion crowd is celebrating tonight.
10 actually. Not that that's a sufficient number for the need either.
http://www.abortion.com/abortion_clinics_late_term.php
It has made national news. Google search shows. Plus MSNBC broke in to announce it. CNN hasn't said a word.
It's on cnn.com 's main page, that's where I read about it.
So sad. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
When I checked half an hour ago the BBC didn't have the news but now it does: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8076253.stm
International news - Sydney Morning Herald has the story.
Horrible, horrible. Anti-choice zealots have used terrorism, lies, distortions, exaggerations and misogyny to try and deny us our rights. Things like this make me wish they had a taste of their own medicine.
Just to be clear, what are you advocating? That pro-choice persons start murdering pro-life advocates?
In their opinion, we already do. (See: ALL TEH DEAD MIRACAL BABEHS.)
Not really. If they did they'd believe in the same penalties for women who had abortions as those who commit real murder.
They do believe in the same penalties.
I'd like to disagree. I wrote about it a little bit here (http://fitnessfortheoccasion.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/the-problem-with-calling-abortion-murder/), but check out this video directly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6t_tdOkwo
Some of them do, some of them don't.
Why do you want to know? You in bed with the enemy or something?
This is devastating ='(
"The loss of Dr. Tiller is deeply upsetting, and Cara rightly identifies this as a terrorist act."
Indeed.
Yeah, "pro-life," my ass. Anti-choice fascists never cease to amaze me with their hypocrisy.
May George Tillman RIP...
Perhaps we ought to consider using images in a similar fashion to anti-choicers? If we could get permission from their families, photos of murder victims with the words "pro life movement" above, and "murdered" stamped in red, could be just as visceral as the pictures of fetuses at protests.
In the book "Our Bodies, Ourselves" there's a horrible picture of a woman who died getting an illegal abortion pre-Roe. I've never seen it anywhere else. I wonder how many pro-lifers have seen that picture?
This picture can be found on the web. Here's a link at Life and Liberty for women but be warned: THE FOLLOWING LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC, GORY, DISTURBING IMAGES: http://www.lifeandlibertyforwomen.org/abortion_pictorial.html They see all those fake fetus pictures and decide to fight fire with fire, I guess. The first pic is the one you described and it's a well-known picture of a woman dead from an attempt at self-induced abortion. The others are illustrations and stories about illegal/unsafe abortions.
Again, though: DO NOT CLICK THE LINK IF YOU ARE EASILY UPSET.
I was about to suggest the same thing, but I don't know if it's a good idea. Anti-choicers use pictures of still births and fake fetuses and label them "choice." If pro-choicers took the pictures of women who died from self induced/pre-Roe abortions, they'd be real women. That's kind of exploitive.
Although I have never heard of George Tiller until I read this, I am deeply saddened that someone who wanted to help improve women's lives was killed by a religious zealot who couldn't handle that. I was also very angered by the Bill O'Reilly video, and I couldn't even finish it.
Abortion is a very hard topic for me to debate with people, since it is so emotionally charged. However, I hope that both pro- and anti-choice advocates alike can comprehend the horror of this murder.
I feel sick. How can you oppose abortion as "murder" and justify murdering abortion providers. Horrible. My heart goes out to his family and to the women who will be affected by his death.
I'm not, of course, defending it, but from what I can tell the stock explanation by which anti-abortion terrorists defend their violence has them fashion themselves as latter-day John Browns. With that analogy, they insist they use violence as a last and necessary resort in a crusade against what they consider crimes against humanity.
Nevermind that they're totally, totally wrong.
Wow. This is heartbreaking.
Very "pro-life," indeed.
Dr. Tiller gave his life in the service of women's health. Think about that. :shudder:
May he RIP and may his murderer(s) be brought to justice. What devastating news.
I am fucking sick to my stomach. Pro-life my ass.
I got to meet Dr. Tiller about a year and a half ago at the Feminist Majority Foundation yearly meeting in DC. He was a wonderful speaker and gave a presentation about the lives of women he saved, as well as his career and the threats he faced. After he was finished speaking, he came and sat at the table I was at. I got to shake his hand.
Just last week, I thought of sending him a thank you card, but could not find one appropriate.
For those who say that we liberal feminists need to move beyond reproductive rights, let this be a wake-up call. Our fight continues.
And thank you to Dr. Tiller and all those who work to save women's lives.
If there's a charity being set up, please let me know.
Marc
I gave $50 to Medical Students for Choice in memory of Dr. George Tiller. Hopefully his death can result in the funding of more reproductive health providers.
Me too.
This is awful. I am at work right now and I almost started crying when I found out. I guess this hits me because I lived in Buffalo when Dr Slepian was murdered and I remember what that was like.
Hypocritical, psychotic woman-hating COWARD. I hope they find the person.
I'm worried about the patients that are scheduled to have abortions at his office tomorrow and are in a race against time to have access to a procedure.
I'm worried that this will energize anti-abortion terrorism.
I'm worried about my safety as an abortion provider and all the abortion providers in this country.
Thank you for your service as an abortion provider.
Ditto.
Yes, bluesweatshirt. Thank you for your courage and compassion. Do something good for yourself today -- you deserve it.
Thank you, bluesweatshirt. Thank you.
Thank you, bluesweatshirt.
Thank you.
Wow, this makes me so sad. Maybe this will motivate me to get off of my ass and go to medical school, so I can become an abortion provider.
News has broken over the pond, just seen the news story on BBC news channel... this is truly anti-humanitarian terrorism
I'm hoping that this will gird those who are pro-choice in Congress to write further protections for abortions and abortion-providers into law. Maybe they will wake up and realize that it's not enough to make it legal; it has to be protected as well, just like many other hard-won rights.
My thoughts are with his family and friends. This is truly tragic.
I haven't fully read the comments, but I'm sure I'm repeating the sentiment: pro-life my ass.
This is TERRORISM and should be treated as such.
I am shocked, outraged, and saddened by the news of Dr. Tiller's murder. I heard him speak in a workshop at the NAF annual conference last year. He seemed an extremely intelligent and compassionate man. My heart goes out to his family.
I hope authorities find and convict whoever is responsible for this. I will be even more outraged if justice is not served simply because Dr. Tiller devoted his life to helping women who had nowhere else to turn.
Wow, this is sad. I cant believe people actually think of middle-eastern people when they hear terrorist. This shows they exist in christian and most likely caucasian form. D :
Dr. Tiller was so brave. For years he was harassed, stalked, threatened, and even shot at, yet he kept going to work so he could help women who were in the worst of circumstances -- the patients nobody else would take. I can't think of anything more selfless.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110047731954#/group.php?gid=110047731954&ref=nf
I created a facebook group about George Tiller's murder and am hoping others will join to spread the word about the anti choice violence that is still very real in our society.
You Cannot Oppose Abortion Providers BY MURDERING THEM - RIP George Tiller
Update from 3:40 pm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090531/ap_on_re_us/us_tiller_shooting
Such a sad day for all who advocate for and provide abortion services. My thoughts go out to his family and may he rest in peace.
They caught the suspect in Gardner Kansas around 2 PM central time. The Wichita police are holding a press conference around 4 PM about it.
Here's the link to the local paper: http://www.kansas.com/news/breaking/story/833730.html
My heart broke when I saw this. My heart goes out to his family and his patients. May he rest in peace and his killer be brought to justice.
So sad. Thanks for posting Ann.
I would like to suggest a fund being set up for women in need of late term abortion services in Kansas who are going to be affected by Dr. Tiller's death. The ones affected right now and even ones in the future who now have nowhere to go now. Perhaps the fund could pay for travel expenses.
I think this fund would see a lot of monetary support come in, since anyone who cares about women's reproductive rights in this country is going to be trying to find some way to deal with this news and to find some way to not let this act have the effect that the murderer intended.
Anyway, I don't really have the connections or know-how to start such a thing, but I thought I'd suggest it here and hopefully someone working in the reproductive rights field might see it and run with it.
On a different note - I'd like to share a couple positive thoughts in the face of this saddening news:
1)This murder is only going to turn more people off of the "pro-life" movement
2)Perhaps it will encourage more students to become abortion providers in the future.
This later point is saying something, since what other profession can you think of where the fact that people have been murdered for what they do could actually encourage more people to go into the field? But I know that anyone considering being an abortion provider in the first place, cares deeply about these issues and so I do think that will be the effect of this shooting.
There is a Fund already in existence. The National Network of Abortion Funds runs a National Reproductive Justice Fund that specifically helps women facing the greatest barriers to abortion care. All too often, these are women who are later in their pregnancies and who have to travel to obtain an abortion. We work closely with Dr. Tiller's clinic, and all other providers who provide care in the 2nd trimester and beyond.
If you'd like to donate to this fund, please do so at www.nnaf.org/donate.html. You can specify in the designation space that you'd like it to go to the National Reproductive Justice Fund in honor of Dr. Tiller.
This is so incredibly sad and tragic. What sickens me most is that the people who took the life of George Tiller do not understand real death, real murder, or how it affects real people. What happened in Dr. Tiller's office was between a woman, her doctor, and her fetus. What happened in Dr. Tiler's church today affects his family, his community, and the Nation as a whole. May he finally find peace in death as we have no peace in this battle against childlike fundamentalism.
Thank you Dr. Tiller for standing on the side of life--grown adult women’s lives. Thank you for creating a clinic that took on the cases that very few other doctors had the courage to take on. Thank you for creating a clinic that emotionally and psychologically supported the women whose late-term abortions were often heart-wrenching experiences. Thank you Dr. Tiller’s staff, family, and supporters in Kansas who stood by this brave, moral man. I will hold you all in my thoughts and I am so so sorry that we live in such a cruel world where this man over the coming days (a hero) will be defamed by the anti-choice terrorists who feel that it is their right to control the bodies and lives of men and women simply because of their twisted and demeaning religious beliefs that have very little to do with justice or wisdom, but blind obedience to a parody of a evil, petty patriarchal god. Bless you Dr. Tiller and Thank You.
This should be investigated and treated the same as is done with terrorists theological groups with Islamic affiliations. Find out if this guy went to a specific religious sects meetings/worship and infiltrate them to see if there is any message being given out to incite or direct this kind of action and if this is so you shut them down and add anyone involved to a terrorist watch list. If warranted arrest and try them all.
I'm a pro-choice activist and have long followed Dr. Tiller's battles. Every day, I check out anti-abortion web sites in order to keep up with what these groups are working on, what plans they have, I read their inflammatory language about "the culture of death" and about "murder" and "slaughter" of the "pre-born"; as they call me and other women who have had abortions, as well as doctors like Dr. Tiller, murderers and killers. To that extent, I cannot be surprised. To that extent, I find absolutely hollow the disavowal of murders like this one from anti-abortion groups. I know this struggle will never end, but at times like these I feel hopeless if not helpless. I feel utterly shocked. I feel personally devastated that we could not protect Dr. Tiller. That every day this intimidation, this language, drives more providers away, stops others from taking part. Well, I feel absolutely gutted and sad and horrified. Dr. Tiller has been battling this for decades now. He kept going. I cannot imagine how hard it has been for his family, for him. And now he is gone. And, as one person posted on the Facebook page mentioned above, What Can We Do?
I am appalled and deeply saddened by this tragic news, particularly as a Kansas resident. My thoughts and sympathies go out to the family and friends of Dr. Tiller.
I hope this terrorist act will backfire against the anti-choicers, but I have a worrying feeling that this will just give them more hypocritical, ignorant, hate-fulled fuel for their disgusting fire.
All I'm feeling right now is a kind of horrified, sickened rage.
This kind of terrorism is the ultimate refuge of those who have no other leg to stand on to defend their nonsensical, hypocritical, hateful views.
I sure hope the killer gets this story written about him:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96286,00.html
I don't, because I don't support the death penalty. But I hope he suffers and rots in prison for the rest of his life.
There are no words for this. How awful.
I just finished watching a documentary, 'Soldiers in the Army of God', which is about the radical anti-choice movement, people who consider it justified to murder abortion providers. I'd recommend it. It's got interviews with zealous anti-choicers and people like Paul Hill, who murdered an abortion provider in the late 90s. It's terrifying that there really are people who consider this moral.
I've seen that documentary. Chilling.
Like many here, my thoughts are with Dr. Tiller's family and friends. I hear they have a suspect in custody? May justice be swift and fitting.
If you are in the Boston area, please come to the vigil tomorrow night. Info below:
Boston Vigil for Dr. Tiller
Join the Boston community in sharing our grief and celebrating the life of Dr. George Tiller, a true hero for women across the country.
Monday, June 1st
6pm
St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
138 Tremont St., Boston
Across from the Park St. T stop
Please help us spread the word via email, Facebook, Twitter, and texts.
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=88629078374&ref=nf
Twitter hashtag: #BostonVigil and #Tiller (this one is attracting some unpleasant tweets, however)
Dr. Tiller was shot and killed Sunday morning while serving as an usher at his church in Witchita, Kansas. Since the 1970s, Dr. Tiller has provided critical abortion and reproductive health care at great personal risk. In doing so, he has saved the lives and futures of countless women and girls across the country. His murder is a tragedy for his family, friends, and colleagues. It is also a tragedy for the women who need his care and for the entire community of health care providers and advocates, and for all of us who believe in a woman's right to dignity and self-determination. Please join us in honoring this great man who truly lived by his motto to "Trust Women."
If anyone hears about a tribute or vigil or anything in New York, please let us know - I'd love to attend one.
If you are in the Portland area, please come to a vigil tomorrow night for Dr. Tiller.
Monday June 1st
9:30 -10:00 pm
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Please help us spread the word.
Facebook event:http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1065847648969&f=1&e=-12#/event.php?eid=105663331102
i can't breath.
I am shaking right now. What a loss this is... to his family, to his community, and to all of the women to whom he was so very dedicated. RIP Dr. Tiller. And thank you.
Fuck you, you crazy, anti-choice, wingnut, zealots, fuck you. I hate you, I fucking hate you! Fuck you!
Thanks for providing me the space to get that out. I'm stuck at home alone working on a paper and feeling anxious, jittery, and furious since finding out about this. I can't seem to discharge enough emotion, it refills as soon as I do. Does anyone know of any vigils planned in Philly?
I would love to hear people's thoughts on how we can mobilize to (non-violently) fight back. How can we turn this terrible tragedy into an opportunity to strengthen the pro-choice movement?
Donating to Med Students for Choice is a great idea. Another very worthy organization is the National Network of Abortion Funds, which helps low-income women pay for abortions:
http://www.nnaf.org/
Other people have talked about volunteering as clinic escorts...
There is also an opportunity to volunteer as a patient advocate for some Planned Parenthoods. These volunteers act as a support system for women going through the surgical abortion process. Contact your local PP to see if they have this position and if there is an opening.
After hearing the news I've also considered volunteering at a clinic again. I volunteered at the Boston PP clinic a few years ago and I thought THOSE protesters were scary. Though their "work" pales in comparison to what was done to Tiller and his clinic over the years
I just heard about this. I need to tell my dad as he knew George. My dad used to coach girls' basketball and his daughter was on the team. He told him that his father was also an abortionist, despite it being illegal at the time.
My heart breaks for Dr. Tiller's family, church, community, and patients. My prayers are with them, and with all the men and women who daily put their lives on the line to provide safe abortions in this country.
My ass is back on the clinic defense line as soon as I can find out where to sign up.
And to think, all those Fox News commentators browbeat Secretary Napolitano for that report on extreme right wing domestic terrorism, and look what happens ...
As a pro-life young woman who believes in the dignity of ALL human life, I am deeply saddened by this terrible news. The person responsible for this horrid act is NOT pro-life, no matter what he/she may think. Violence is never the answer! My sincerest condolences go out to Dr. Tiller's family. I am so very sorry for your loss.
I leave you all with a quote from Roman Catholic Cardinal John O'Connor:
"If anyone has an urge to kill someone at an abortion clinic, they should shoot me...it's madness. It discredits the right-to-life-movement. Murder is murder. It's madness. You cannot prevent killing by killing."
I just hope you realize that Dr. Tiller provided late-term abortions for women with problem pregnancies. His patients could have been seriously injured or died because of these pregnancies. Yes, "cute little innocent babies" can cause serious damage or death in the pregnant women they inhabit. Think about that before the next time you pull the lever to limit a woman's right to reproductive freedom.
Thank you for your comment, and your distinction here. Whether we disagree on whether abortion should be legal or not, it is universally agreed that what happened today was downright, terribly wrong.
Your courage for posting is appreciated here, at the very least, despite our drastic differences in opinion.
Words cannot express how I feel about this.
Why don't these freaking anti-choice extremists practice what they preach? "Thou shalt not kill," my ass.
I'm glad that Obama came out and said that this is not OK. In fact, I think he said it pretty perfectly: "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence."
Portland, OR vigil has been changed to start at 8:00 pm! Thanks for promoting it!
Any pro-life organization that does not publicly decry this murder shouldn't call themselves "pro-life." As if they should have in the first place, but especially now.
Oh, they'll publicly denounce it, even though they've spent years doing everything up to and including inciting violence against doctors and clinics. Even Operation Rescue, Terry Randall's baby, immediately came out against the murder, despite the fact that Randall has been involved with clinic bombings and cavorting with terrorists for years now. But hey, it's all okay, because they publicly denounce the murder!
This is un-fucking-believable. And in CHURCH? Gah. The poor man and the shit he's been through just to help women. I hope he finds peace. Anti-choice wingnuts sure haven't allowed him much thus far.
This comment has been deleted.
If you support this dreadful act of violence, then you are most certainly not "pro-life".
I don't have much to say to misogynists because they're almost always too bigoted to change, but how can you call this man a murderer? He saved womens' lives. He gave people hope. He actually valued women, unlike the anti-choicers who think we're just walking incubators. We're talking about women who had nowhere else to go. For some, it was either abortion or their own death.
Usually anti-choicers understand this when they start to grow up and are able to think of the situations that these women are in.
This event has made me decide that I will do my best, try my hardest, to go to medical school and eventually become an abortion provider. I'm not thinking about "killing babies". I'm thinking about saving women. If I end up helping even just one woman, and I walk out of that abortion clinic and get murdered like Dr. Tiller was today, then it will be worth it. It will be worth it if I help even just one woman, give her her life back.
Thankyou for deciding to go into this difficult and dangerous line of work and good luck with your studies.
Good luck in your quest to become a doctor!
What's interesting is that most "pro-lifers" concede that abortion should be permitted when the life of the mother is at stake or when the pregnancy has gone terribly wrong. And yet the man they've demonized most (and now murdered) provided abortions to women in those very circumstances. When they say they oppose "late-term abortions" they don't know what the everliving fuck they're talking about. They are protesting the very abortions they claim they can make an exception for. Abortions families hope they never have to face. As per usual, "pro-lifers" just show their ignorance and lack of critical thought when they condemn a man like Tiller.
A pro-lifer for murder? How lovely.
No one has the right to use my body, change it, and potentially endanger it, even if their life depends on it. People are not forced to give kidney transplants to save another persons life under the law, and for good reason. Forcing pregnancy on women is the exact same thing.
Respect my right to own my own body. I respect the right for you to own yours. There is absolutely no gray area here.
I had a similar discussion with a friend of mine a few months ago about how we disagreed about abortion and what it is for a woman to choose. I know you've gone way beyond condemning the women (to condoning actual murder) but I think what I shared with my friend could be useful. I know it is hard for you to think about someone ending the life of a baby, since that is how you see pregnancy -- a tiny little baby inside of a woman, but as adults we have to think about these things so we can make adult decisions. Please re-think your misguided anger.
The following was a response to my friend when she told me she didn't want to speak to me anymore after Barack Obama won the 2008 election:
I saw your grandmother the other day at an event celebrating Obama's inauguration in Lampasas. I gave her congratulations on her new grandchild, and expressed how happy I was that you were so pleased in the joy of motherhood. I know we've always disagreed on this topic, but now that we're older, and especially since you had experienced the difficulties of parenthood, I thought your opinions may have changed to permit some understanding for women who do not find themselves in as happy of situations.
Firstly, I think a separation must be made between a baby and pregnancy itself. I know this is hard, especially since you now have a personal connection with the joy of motherhood, but there is an important difference. I imagine that when you think of abortion, you think of a life ending -- as if someone has their own little Elaina inside of them that they have chosen to kill, and that isn't the truth of the matter. It is slanderous to suggest that when it is perfectly possible that someone who has had to make that difficult decision could read something like this and be accused of murder when she did no such thing.
Pregnancy has the potential to have an end result of a baby, but it is not a baby until the fetus has reached an ability to sustain itself outside of its mother’s womb, and a fetus, prior to this stage, is not a baby. In the first trimester, the most common stage in which women terminate a pregnancy, a fetus is a collection of cells that work towards its growth and development, but the fetus has no central nervousness, and it has no self-awareness. At this time, the pregnancy is more closely related to being a growth within a female's body, and so it is her body to do with what she pleases. Be comforted that most women choose to carry their pregnancy to full term and enjoy the happiness of parenthood. It is a matter of psychology at the same time; if a woman finds out she is pregnant, it is common for her to take joy in the fact that she has a “baby” inside of her, but she thinks of her pregnancy in this way because she wants a baby. You say parents-to-be shouldn’t return their gifts, but surely you can understand that pregnancy isn’t always a gift.
Secondly, you brush off the idea that if a woman is raped, it would be somehow just as easy to carry the pregnancy to term as your pregnancy was. It is unjust to take the life of something you consider to be a baby, but what about the woman? She’s been raped and something has definitely been taken from her than she can never get back. Women go to therapy for years after being raped and never fully recover their sense of self-worth or natural sense of sexuality, but can you imagine how much harder it would be to be carrying your rape inside of you for nine months? And endure the pain of birth as more pain inflicted on you from your rape? And see the traits of your rapist in your child’s face? And be forced to see your rapist again and again in a custody or child support battle? Can you imagine Elaina having to call a rapist her father? What would you tell her when she asked who her father was? Moreover, if Elaina grew up and – God forbid – she was the victim of rape, would you ask her to keep the baby?
But finally, what I cannot stand in any sense is to hear people put down women who have had abortions as if they could not someday become a loving mother. My mother was sixteen when she got pregnant for the first time, and as poor as we were when I was growing up, I shudder to think the condition her and her child would have been in if she had chosen to carry that pregnancy to term. Six years later, she chose to have me, and it was an honor to be her child (regardless of her past) and I could not imagine a mother giving more love to their child than she gave to me.
Should my friend have carried to term a child whose life would have been measured in hours, not years, and who would have felt only pain? Let me remind you that not all babies are perfectly formed little angels. Google anencephaly, trisomy 18, trisomy 13. And then there's conjoined twins, ectopic pregnancies, pre-eclampsia...
Things can and do go horribly wrong in pregnancy, and there are conditions I wouldn't force my pet to live with, let alone my child.
I hope that was satire because I actually laughed a little at how ridiculous it is.
And come on, Miroslav Satan had nothing to do with this! He's far too busy playing hockey.
Dr. Tiller was an inspiration. Women all over our country have lost a friend today.
He understood our lives were just as valuable as anyone else's.
Godspeed good man.
[THIS COMMENT HAS BEEN DELETED.]
This is an extremely ignorant comment.
"Do you feel that guilty for having abortions that you want to see other women kill their flesh and blood!?"
I don't think most of us have had abortions. Out of the ones that have, I don't think most of them regret it or feel guilty about it. Just because we don't think women are walking incubators doesn't mean we feel guilty about some prior event. Try to think outside of the box for once. These women aren't waltzing into abortion clinics saying "oh joy, I'm going to have my 10th abortion today!!! I totally can't wait. I'm gonna have a party when I get home, and then work on getting pregnant for another abortion!" as anti-choicers seem to think. For some of these women, this decision determines whether they'll get to live on or whether they'll die because of complications in their pregnancy.
I don't know how your god has anything to do with this. Why do you think your god is pro-life? It says nothing like that in the bible. Who knows, if your god does exist, maybe it actually values the lives of women more than those of fetuses.
Belief in god has nothing to do with this at all. I hate to break it to you, but you're bible is so unclear and contradictory that your god, your entire RELIGION, is up for interpretation. Just because your preacher says so doesn't mean it's right. There is no "right" in religion, it's all interpretable. This Doctor probably interpreted his god as a pro-choice one.
Your point is moot.
Look at your comment, I am just wondering that if you live in this planet too short or you just choose selectively distort the true meaning of giving birth.
No one in the world like to have an abortion (why will somebody pay to have surgery anyways?! surgeries are not fun at all!) but all of these women who choose have abortion are also someone else's child, parent, spouse, lover, siblings, colleague, friend... They have also contribute to this planet, why you choose not to see this fact and keep spitting venom on them?
As for George Tiller, he choose to save women's life throught the mean of providing abortion. He never take the opportunity of giving birth as granted, and didnt outweight the baby's right over the mother's right. Of course in the religious circumstense he might as well be a sinner, BUT LET'S FACE IT, SO YOU ARE A SINNER TOO, JUST LIKE HIM. So STOP JUDGING.
An FYI, folks. If this thread draws more anti-choice trolls overnight, please just ignore! We'll clean house in the morning.
I wonder if any of Dr. Tiller's patients will speak out against his murder and talk about their experiences. But perhaps it's unsafe for them to talk about it.
PRO-LIFE?! Those assholes. Those hypocritical, self-righteous, idiotic, ASSHOLES.
WHAT OF HIS FAMILY? THEY ARE PUTTING A VALUE ON LIVES IN THIS, AND PLAYING THE GOD THEY ADVOCATE. I AM DISGUSTED, SICKENED BY THIS!
No one who needed Dr Tillers compassionate care, wanted to be there.
No one wants to have brain surgery either.
Im glad we have brain surgeons, ( imagine a world where the religious rights said 'its wrong to operate on brains!, lets kill brain surgeons for playing god!')
I am so sad and angry that Dr George Tiller was murdered today. He was one of my heros.
A friend of mine worked with him, she said he was more dedicated to women's lives than anyone she had ever met.
How dare they take away this man and try to stop such important work?
We must all step up and look squarely at the need for late term abortions, we must stand firmly in support of this choice, as unpleasant as it is to look upon.
They lost their case in court,so they took him out. NPR said there is only one more such provider in the country. How can they have gotten so far in the attack on our lives?
Can we fully embrace motherhood when this option is taken away? when we can be forced to bear a child, to bring into living a being we dont want to give birth to?
Oh my god. Who is that other provider, and who the hell is protecting them?
*******
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Peaceful & Pro-Choice Vigil for Dr. George Tiller
8:00pm
Tuesday, June 2nd
Human Rights Monument @ Elgin & Lisgar
Ottawa
This vigil will be a chance to gather to honour Dr. Tiller, and to gather together offering support to one another. Many of us are deeply shaken by what happened, and this event will allow us be together in solidarity, showing support for his family, his staff, for the women and families he has served, and for the abortion community.
Please join us in a peaceful gathering.
Bring candles, flowers, whatever you like.
This is an accessible event for people of all faiths and genders, open to anyone that would like to join us in solidarity.
fairly simplistic response here- but how can so called pro life people be pro murder?
RIP dr tiller.
True pro-life people like myself, CANNOT be pro-murder. It is one thing to believe that the legal system has the right to use capital punishment but quite another thing to endorse murder. It is clearly wicked to murder anyone, especially babies.
I'd bet you all of the money in my bank account that the man who murdered Dr. Tiller believes he's every bit as "pro-life" as you.
Dr. Tiller has saved lives and been a crusader for women's health. You are sadly misinformed about late-term abortions. Only 1.4% of abortions are considered "late-term" and of those, the overwhelming majority are because of defects in the fetus incompatible with life or because the life of the mother is at risk. Most of the late term abortions provided by Dr. Tiller were very much wanted pregnancies, but couldn't be carried to term because of the complications that can arise and fail to be diagnosed earlier.
You might consider getting more informed about your subject before posting to public forums like this one. You just end up sounding ridiculous.
Rest in peace, Dr. Tiller. Your work helped countless women, and you will be remembered as a hero for abortion rights.
This incident is a tragic reminder that the anti-choice fringe is still very active, and now more than ever, we need to resist them and fight for our reproductive rights.
RIP Dr. Tiller. This just makes me ache inside, for his family and friends, for all the women that need his help and won't be able to receive it. The man was incredibly brave, putting his life on the line to save women. I just hope someone takes up his mantle, others do not let themselves be afraid, because abortion providers have had to put up with domestic terrorism for TOO LONG.
I don't know if you have any power over the google ads (I think?) right below the article, but when I clicked in here, I was met with one for purchasing pro-life promoting clothing. Which just made me wince.
Google ads are keyword driven, I believe. It's very hard to control their actual content.
That's why, for example, fat acceptance blogs frequently avoid them - all they'll show is diet ads in what is supposed to be a space safe from diet drivel.
Maybe they can do something, but I doubt it.
Thanks for the info, I didn't have any idea how ad space works so I was curious if there was any means to take certain ads out of site circulation. :)
Google ads are keyword driven, I believe. It's very hard to control their actual content.
That's why, for example, fat acceptance blogs frequently avoid them - all they'll show is diet ads in what is supposed to be a space safe from diet drivel.
Maybe they can do something, but I doubt it.
This is very sad. The picture referenced
above and what it represents is certainly
tragic, but YOUR culture of death and disdain
for the innocent unborn is what led to it,
convincing women that putting themselves in
harm's way to get an abortion at any cost is
more important than a loving sacrifice of
bringing a baby's development to full term and then, perhaps, giving it up for adoption, into the hands of new loving parents. I decry the murder of anyone, even of a murderer of innocents like this Dr. who was killed. This battle should be waged through the legal system, and by opening hearts and minds up to the reality of the tragedy that is abortion, not taking the law into our own hands. The killing of Tiller was MURDER and the killing of innocent babies, whether in the womb, partially in the womb or born is also MURDER of the worst kind.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/01/25/my_late_term_abortion/
You need to read this woman's story, and know that there are thousands of tragedies like hers. I know a story like hers very personally. As I said upthread, not all babies are born healthy. Would you want your baby to suffer pain, to gasp for air? Do you have any idea how many children with special needs live their entire lives in group homes because people will NOT adopt anything other than a perfect child? How many babies have you adopted from the foster care system?
Why don't we discuss how terrible it is to murder a child's soul and future by forcing him or her to be born into poor economic conditions, and/or into violent, crime-addled neighborhoods, and/or to drug addicted/abusive/neglectful parents who never wanted them to begin with? What kind of "life" do you think they'll have after the "miracle" of their birth? My mother is a public school teacher in one of the worst economic areas in this country. A young boy who once told her, through tears, that he WISHED his crack addicted mother had aborted him. What is the miracle in that kind of deep, psychological self hatred?
Why don't we discuss how pro-life activists push, guilt, and lie to women in order to persuade them to carry their fetuses to term, only to abandon and shun them as whores and leeches once they seek welfare to support their precious miracle after it's birth?
Why don't we discuss the fact that anti-choice politicians have the worst voting records where child services and public education reform are concerned? How many hours of service have you dedicated this month to the thousands upon thousands of needy "miracle" fetuses now that they've been born? Where does your so-called Christian compassion end?
Dip a toe into the real world, please. Not everyone has the life of priviledge that you do. If the experience doesn't open your eyes, nothing will.
On the contrary, pro-choice women don't "disdain" life, as you put it. We revere it. We respect life to the point that we profoundly affirm that women are perfectly capable of deciding what to do with their bodies without anyone else's input. Dr. George Tiller did the same - he cared for women, delivered healthy children and offered empathetic, respectful care for families who found themselves in incomprehensible situations.
Despite what you might have been brainwashed to believe, no woman gets an abortion because she just feels like it. Women who seek out late-term abortions are especially sympathetic, their cases typically involving horrific, life-threatening medical problems. One woman in such a case might choose to sacrifice her health - or life - for her baby, and another might not. Either way, it's the business of the patient and her family. Not yours.
For you or anyone else to claim that women are morally or intellectually incapable of making decisions regarding their pregnancies is sexist to the extreme. Dr. Tiller respected the capacity of humans to bear life more than you ever will.
Candlelight vigil for Dr George Tiller TONIGHT @ 7pm on the Polk St steps of SF City Hall. Bring candles IN containers. Dr Pratima Gupta (Board of Directors of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health) and other speakers to be announced. Tell EVERYONE you know. Thank you Bevan Dufty and City Hall for your last minute help, and Lisa Geduldig for organizing this vigil.
San Francisco Candlelight vigil for Dr George Tiller TONIGHT @ 7pm on the Polk St steps of SF City Hall. Bring candles IN containers. Dr Pratima Gupta (Board of Directors of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health) and other speakers to be announced. Tell EVERYONE you know. Thank you Bevan Dufty and City Hall for your last minute help, and Lisa Geduldig for organizing this vigil.
i am so upset about this.
alessa, thanks for your concern, the US Marshalls are now protecting many abortion providers. They have also shut down the Operation Rescue webpage ( Im assuming it was them) and Dr Tillers webpage is now unaccessable.
Looking over the web, many amazing stories are coming out about Dr Tillers work
Here is one: http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2009/week23/ about a couple with co-joined twin pregnancy
Here is another amazing one: from the dailykos, by a doctor who referred to Dr Tiller
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/1/737587/-A-Doctors-StoryWhy-I-and-my-patients-will-miss-Dr.-Tiller
I was a premedical student in Nebraska and testified 25 years ago to the UN Regents that they had no right to limit the training of students in termination of pregnancies. They were being lobbied by the right to stop all abortion training. Few people spoke out, the anti-choice folks won.
All over the country,medical education caved in to this lobbying. Now we have a handful of abortion providers, most over 50 years old. Fortunately we have a cadre of enthusiastic students coming through the ranks.
I love the idea of donating to Medical Students for Choice (www.medicalstudentsforchoice.com )in honor of Dr. Tiller. This may be a good time to Call/email your local abortion clinic today and say thanks. or send them a donation for uncompensated care.
I just read bifemmefatele's link, what a story,so informative and painful. thanks for that one.
justreadbifemmefatele's link, what a story,so informative and painful. thanks for that one.
Considering abortion is one of the most divisive moral and political subjects in the U.S., Newsy does a good job here of providing insightful news perspectives from different sides on this recent controversial and tragic event.
I wish those on both sides of this issue could reach some common ground, but like some things in life, it doesn’t look like this will happen for quite some time in this country.
Considering abortion is one of the most divisive moral and political subjects in the U.S., Newsy does a good job here of providing insightful news perspectives from different sides on this recent controversial and tragic event.
I wish those on both sides of this issue could reach some common ground, but like some things in life, it doesn’t look like this will happen for quite some time in this country.
I first learned of what happened via a phone call from my mother. She knew how upset I would be, so she wanted to be the one to inform me. I remember sending him a supportive letter and receiving a hand written thank you card in return. I still have it. My mom and I talked briefly about it, the hypocrisy of course, but also about how these psychos are not following the Bible or Christianity - they are USING it, to support their twisted desires. Sounds familiar, where have I heard that before...oh yeah, how the Taliban doesn't follow Islam, they USE it to justify their violent methods! Terrorism is terrorism is terrorism.
Through my local NOW chapter I have already started the ball rolling on activating in his honor. I am pushing for donations to Medical Students For Choice, and I want to see more protections for abortion providers, their staff, and their patients.
My heart is aching so badly for him, his loved ones, and all the women who will be hurting without him. My one hope is that this will stir a fire-storm of work in activists all over the country toward preventing this from ever happening again, and to strengthen our fight for women's lives.
May he Rest In Peace.
This is so absolutely horrible, I hope his killer goes to prison for the rest of their life.
Rest in peace Dr George Tiller. I hope other brave and dedicated people will follow your example.
I can't believe this.
It's unbelievable.
Even though I quickly check Feministing a couple of times a day, I didn't notice this. Why, I saw a headline on a abortion doctor killed, I assumed without reading it that the article was about the accused getting out of jail or something. I guess my mind skipped the idea that an abortion doctor would be killed now. I thought it was in our past. I guess I was wrong.
I just needed to share my reaction, and my thoughts on assuming that this wouldn't happen in 2009. But maybe I live in a bubble and don't know the amount of evil and oppression that is still raging in our society.