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George Tiller

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George Richard Tiller
BornAugust 8, 1941
Wichita, Kansas, U.S
DiedMay 31, 2009 (age 67)
Wichita, Kansas
EducationUniversity of Kansas (zoology, 1963)
University of Kansas School of Medicine (1967)
Internship, United States Navy
Known forMurdered
RelativesJeanne Elizabeth (Guenther) Tiller (spouse)
Medical career
ProfessionMedicine
Sub-specialtiesAbortion

George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was a physician from Wichita, Kansas in the United States. He was the medical director of a women's health care clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which would provide abortion after the 21st week of pregnancy (known as late-term abortion).

Tiller was targeted by violent extremists as well as principled opponents. Abortion opponents kept a daily vigil outside his clinic. 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 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America services.

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. In July 1970 he planned to start a dermatology residency. However on August 21, 1970, his parents, sister and brother-in-law were killed in an aircraft accident. In her will, his sister had requested that Dr. Tiller take care of her 1 year old son. Dr. Tiller had intended to go back to Wichita, close up his father's family practice and then go back to become a dermatologist. However, he quickly felt pressure to take over his father's family practice. Tiller's father had performed abortions at his practice. After hearing about a woman that had died from an illegal abortion, Dr. Tiller stayed in Wichita to continue his father's practice.

1993 shooting

Throughout his career, Tiller was a frequent target of anti-abortion violence. On August 19, 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms by pro-life activist Shelley Shannon. At the time she attacked Tiller, Shannon had been a pro-life activist for five years and had written letters of support to Michael Griffin, murderer of David Gunn. She called Griffin "the awesomest, greatest hero of our time." She traveled to the Wichita clinic, a site of frequent demonstrations by abortion-rights and pro-life activists, and shot Tiller with a semiautomatic pistol.

At her trial in state court, she testified that there was nothing immoral about trying to kill Tiller. The jury deliberated for only an hour before convicting Shannon of attempted murder; she was sentenced to 11 years. The following year, Shannon was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison on charges of arson, interference with commerce by force and interstate travel in aid of racketeering in connection to her participation in several fires and acid attacks on abortion clinics.

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. 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, which resulted in no indictments against Tiller.

The O'Reilly Factor

George Tiller was first discussed on The O'Reilly Factor on February 25, 2005. Subsequently Tiller was discussed in at least 28 episodes before his death. On the show he was sometimes described as "Tiller the Baby Killer" and O'Reilly warned of Tiller's "judgment day". 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 performed late-term abortions to alleviate "temporary depression" in the pregnant woman. 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 that continuing the pregnancy constitute a substantial and irreversible impairment of the patient's mental function." 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. O'Reilly also interviewed a woman who got pregnant when she was 13 and had her fetus aborted by Dr. Tiller.

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.

The case became a cause célèbre for both supporters and opponents of abortion rights. Columnist Jack Cashill compared the trial to the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals, 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."

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. Although acquitted of criminal charges, the state’s Board of Healing Arts continued to investigate ethical violations that mirrored the prosecutors' allegations.

Murder

George Tiller was killed on May 31, 2009, shot to death during worship services at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita where he was serving as an usher.

After threatening two others who tried to prevent his departure, the gunman fled in a car. Witnesses described the vehicle as a powder-blue 1993 Ford Taurus, registered to 51-year-old Scott Roeder of Merriam, in Johnson County.

Murder suspect

Scott Philip Roeder (born (1958-02-25)February 25, 1958) was arrested some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said. The suspect had been a member of the anti-government Freemen group and was convicted in 1996 on explosives charges after police officers discovered fuse cord, a pound of gunpowder and nine-volt batteries in the trunk his car, but an appeals court overturned this conviction in 1997, ruling that the search of Roeder's car had been illegal.

Reactions from pro-life groups and indiviuals

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, issued a brief statement saying simply that he and his coalition “condemn” the shooting.

Operation Rescue issued a statement, saying: “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.”

Jim Hughes, the president of Canada’s Campaign Life Coalition, and vice president of International Right to Life, also reacted to the shooting with dismay. “Not only is this sort of violence seriously damaging to the pro-life cause, it is also deeply contrary to everything that is meant by the phrase pro-life” he told LifeSiteNews.com. “Those of us in the pro-life movement do not want to see abortionists die, we want to see them convert.”

Father Frank Pavone, the head of Priests for Life, also issued a statement, saying: ”I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it. But whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions."

The National Right to Life Committee extended its sympathies to Dr. Tiller’s family over this loss of life. Furthermore, in unequivocally condemned any such acts of violence regardless of motivation, saying that the unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to the protection of life and an increase in respect for human life.

Reactions from pro-choice groups and individuals

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—an 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."

“Dr. Tiller was a fearless, passionate defender of women’s reproductive health and rights. It’s time that this nation stop demonizing these doctors, and start honoring them,” said Nancy Northup, President of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which had worked on a legal matters with Tiller.

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 consolation for his friends and family, but it is the lesson of hope to be drawn from this horrific crime.”

Barack Obama, the US president, said, "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence".

See also

References

  1. "George Tiller shot to death at Wichita church". Kansas City Star. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  2. ^ Robin, Abcarian (2009-05-31). "Abortion doctor George Tiller is killed; suspect in custody". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  3. (March 27, 2008). "" New York Time Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  4. Phillips, Don (1993-08-22). "Violence Hardly Ruffled Protest Ritual". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-06-10.
  5. ^ "Clinic violence and intimidation" (PDF). NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-13. Cite error: The named reference "naral" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Crow, Karen (2005-08-19). "A Violent Week in August". Choice! Magazine. Retrieved 2006-04-13. Cite error: The named reference "pp" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ Finger, Stan (2009-05-31). "George Tiller Shot to Death at Wichita Church". The Wichita Eagle. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  8. "Our Medical Director". Women's Health Care Services. Retrieved 2006-06-10.
  9. "George R. Tiller, MD". Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health. 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  10. Phillips, Don (1993-08-22). "Violence Hardly Ruffled Protest Ritual". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-06-10.
  11. ^ Ryan, Harriet (2003-03-11). "Kopp fifth clinic shooter to face trial". Court TV. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  12. "The Week March 20-26". Time Magazine. 1994-04-04. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  13. "Antiabortion Extremist Indicted in Attacks on Clinics in West". The Washington Post. 1994-10-25. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  14. "Guilty Plea Expected In Fires at Clinics". New York Times. 1995-06-04. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  15. "Woman Gets 20-Year Sentence In Attacks on Abortion Clinics". New York Times. 1995-09-09. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  16. "Gallery Two". Justice for Christin.
  17. "Grand jury to probe abortion clinic". KTEN News. 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-10.
  18. Phillips, Rachel (2006-05-22). "Abortion Doctor Subject of Grand Jury Investigation". KAKE News. Retrieved 2006-06-10.
  19. "O'Reilly's campaign against murdered doctor". salon.com. 2009-31-05. Retrieved 2009-31-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  20. O'Reilly, Bill (2006-11-06). "Killing Babies in America". The O'Reilly Factor Talking Points. FoxNews.com. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  21. "Dr. Tiller Abortion Patient Speaks Out!". FoxNews.com. 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2009-31-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  22. Tiller Jury Selection, Kansas City Star, March 18.
  23. Jury set in trial of Wichita late-term abortionist, Kansas Liberty, March 18, 2009
  24. Why George Tiller is on trial in Wichita, World Net Daily, March 19, 2009
  25. Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2009
  26. "Kan. doctor acquitted in abortion case - Crime & courts- msnbc.com". Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  27. "AP Names Suspect in Tiller Shooting". 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  28. "George Tiller suspect may be charged Monday". Wichita Eagle. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  29. "Tiller Shooting Suspect En Route to Wichita". 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  30. "George Tiller Fatally Shot at Wichita Church". KSHB-TV. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  31. "Barack Obama shocked by abortion doctor shooting". Telegraph. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  32. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960417&slug=2324642
  33. http://www.truecrimereport.com/
  34. Kansas Late-Term Abortionist George Tiller Shot and Killed - Pro-Life Groups React
  35. Ibid
  36. Ibid
  37. Ibidem
  38. National right to life condemns the killing of Dr. George Tiller
  39. Barack Obama shocked by abortion doctor shooting

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