While the closing of Dr. Tiller's clinic and the infuriating possibility that anti-choice extremist group Operation Rescue may try to buy the space has made us realize things actually could get worse, Dr. LeRoy Carhart brings us some hope.
Via Feministe, we find that Carhart has stepped in to take Dr. Tiller's place in providing late term abortions in Kansas, although potential plans to open an actual clinic are unknown:
A Nebraska doctor said Wednesday that he will perform third-term abortions in Kansas after the slaying of abortion provider George Tiller, but would not say whether he will open a new facility or offer the procedure at an existing practice.Dr. LeRoy Carhart declined to discuss his plans in detail during a telephone interview with The Associated Press, but insisted "there will be a place in Kansas for the later second- and the medically indicated third-trimester patients very soon."
"I just think that until everything is in place, it's something that doesn't need to be talked about" in detail, Carhart said a day after Tiller's family announced his Wichita clinic was permanently shutting its doors.
Tiller's clinic was one of the only facilities in the country that performed third-trimester abortions. Carhart has run his own clinic in Bellevue, Neb., since 1985, but had performed late-term abortions at Tiller's clinic because of Nebraska's more restrictive abortion laws.
Carhart is indeed of the Gonzales v. Carhart Supreme Court case, which upheld the 2007 Federal Abortion Ban. (Carhart argued that the ban didn't provide an exception for the woman's health.) He was also a longtime friend of George Tiller.
Check out Ann's piece from a couple of years ago when she met Carhart at his Nebraska clinic, which he had struggled to keep open himself amidst anti-choice forces. But whether or not he opens a clinic in Kansas or practices at an already-existing clinic, we all can rest easier knowing this brave doctor is stepping in to protect women's health and lives.
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This makes me so happy - a much needed sign of hope on a Friday morning after the sad events that have unfolded regarding Tiller's clinic. I agree that he is a brave doctor and am so happy that he is fighting the good fight!
What a brave, amazing man. This is fantastic to hear about, but I can't help but feel worried about him...
Wow. This just makes me so glad, yet so terrified for him.
I second that.
I just took a deep breath here reading this. Brave is the word.
I am so curious...it seems strange to me that all these amazingly brave people are all men who are risking their lives daily to protect women's lives. Does that seem strange to anyone else? Where are the women? Just an observation, was wondering what other people thought about that.
I whole-heartedly second what Alessa said.
I think a lot of it has to do with age. Dr. Tiller and Dr. Carhart started their training in an era when women doctors were rare.
ah, that makes sense. Sometimes the obvious just doesn't kick in with me :)
In addition to the basic age factor mentioned above, I'd also say they likely saw some of the horrors that went on before Roe v. Wade. Younger people without that direct experience might be less likely to count the risks to themselves and their families involved in providing late-term abortions worth it.
Yes, and I also think that older people are less likely to consider death quite as much of a problem; if you're young, have little kids, are just starting a family, it's harder to risk your life when you know your family needs you. Tiller's children were all grown; Carhart's children would be in their forties now.
I suspect in twenty years or so we'll be seeing the female doctors too. I do wonder, though, because I hear a lot of female OB-GYNs and female nurses online saying they stopped performing or participating in abortions except in emergencies when they had children themselves, because it was harder once they had gone through pregnancy to not think of it as a baby-- even if they were still very pro-choice and would gladly refer patients to a good clinic. I wonder if that will wind up being a factor or not.
Wow. I am so thankful to have such an amazing and brave man fighting for women's health and reproductive rights. I remember he was the one who pointed out in the Gonzales vs. Carhart that the law did not make an exception for women's health. I truly admire him, but I am really terrified for him as well. I know he already received "terrorism" from the antis early on in his career when he didn't fully commit himself to the cause yet, so I'm even more scared for him now after what happened to Dr. Tiller.