Dr. George Tiller, whose Wichita, Kansas, women's clinic has been the target of anti-abortion protests for years, was shot and killed at his church Sunday morning, his attorneys said.
The 67-year-old doctor was one of the few U.S. physicians who still performed late-term abortions. He survived a 1993 shooting outside his clinic.
Wichita police said they were searching for a powder-blue Ford Taurus in connection with the killing, which took place outside Reformation Lutheran Church shortly after 10 a.m.
I hate to add fuel to the fire, but I will bet my ass that when they find this guy he will be a member in good standing of church which preaches that doctor's who perform abortions are "baby killers". In no way is this a reflection of true Christianity, but it certainly is a reflection of the kind of religious intolerance espoused by these hate filled preacher which can be found all over the south, and right here in the Anchorage Baptist Temple.
This is why we must speak out against hateful rants coming from behind the protection of the pulpit. It is time to hold these assholes accountable for the results of their ignorant diatribes and vicious half truths.
And for the information of those who may not understand WHY a doctor would perform a "late-term" abortion, the usual reason is to protect the life of the mother or because of a horrible birth defect that the mother fears she cannot handle.
I am certainly not somebody who agrees with an abortion in the third trimester except in the most extreme circumstances but, whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Tiller, it is NEVER acceptable to murder somebody over it.
Update: They caught the guy. The suspect is a 51 year old male, and he shot Dr. Teller in the foyer of his church.
Here is what my friends Shannyn Moore and Phil Munger have to say about this horrible incident.
Gryphen, I find myself in the same position as you as regards abortion. I basically don't like it..especially in the third trimester. But to murder a doctor really says it all about the mindset of these idiots!
ReplyDeleteOk, here comes my tirade!!!!! Backward mean nasty gullible SHEEP are the type that are led to commit murder on behalf of, and in the name of, assholes who call themselves “Christians” but are simply power hungry greedy hate mongers. And SP is among those who incite ignorant bastards to do these acts. I am furious!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was actually inside the church, in the vestibule, Dr. Tiller was one of the Ushers this morning and his wife was in the choir.. they have since apprehended a suspect near Gardner, KS.
ReplyDeleteThey are saying several people in the church recognized the shooter as someone who protested several times before.
I prefer to call the places like
ReplyDeletePrevo's church and Palin's anti-churches and anti-religions. Jesus said that above all else we should love one another. He didn't give exceptions. "Christian" means follower of Christ, and people like Prevo and the Palin's are anything but followers of Christ.Their behavior mocks the teaching of Christ. Shame on them.
Murdering someone in the name of pro-life borders on demonic. This person needs to be brought to justice and if he is a church member, I hope one of his coreligionists turns him in.
ReplyDeleteAmerica needs a pro-life movement based on non-violence that assumes that EVERY human being whether they are preborn, low income, different looking, undocumented worker, foreigner or even a murderer has an innate value human beings must not take away.
You are right on.
ReplyDeleteIt is time for the Christian right to be held accountable.
They are the Taliban or the Reformationists that Thomas Jefferson feared.
It is time to call them to task.
It is time.
It is time to stand up to those who believe in Noah, Moses, Zeus and Santa Claus.
It's going to be challenge, perhaps historic, but when they start shootin', it's tim eto stand up for what science and accumulated knowledge has proven to be the real truth.
It may not be as comforting as a warm blanket or the truth, but I think we all have to learn to deal with it.
This whole thing pisses me off.
I would hope that the "Pro Lifers" are also opposed to any war, any where since it takes human life. What is their position regarding driving while drugged or intoxicated-- again the cause of thousands of deaths on the highways each year. Why haven't they been militant in outlawing cigarettes, another instrument of death, including second hand smoke. No, they are only concerned with the 9 months before a baby is actually born. Once it is born, it is sadly on its own regardless of food stamps, health care, adequate housing, education, and so on.
ReplyDeleteThis is TERRORISM. Dr. George Tiller was targeted by anti-choicers on websites. He was brought to court on specious counts (nineteen of them), and found not guilty of every one. He was shot in both arms, defending himself from an attack that was intended to be fatal. The murder of Dr. Tiller is nothing more or less than domestically fomented terrorism.
ReplyDeleteMay his memory endure as a blessing, but I've been in tears this afternoon. In tears and angry. Certainly there are many, many women who are remembering, in grief, anger, and gratitude, the professional attention that Dr. Tiller paid to them, in a time when fewer and fewer doctors will.
The Freepers have responded in their utterly predictable ways. Gryphen, I hope that there will be no cheesy references to scissors on your site.
from the Washington Monthly:
ReplyDeleteAs Amanda Marcotte recently noted, "[Tiller] is one of the two doctors in the country that specializes in the very small percentage of abortions performed late in pregnancy (but before viability) done for health reasons, usually because the pregnancy is a danger to a woman's health or life, or because the fetus is dead or dying.... He's been shot in both arms, stalked by the attorney general's office under Phill Kline ... and charged with the crime of performing a bunch of illegal abortions, for which he was acquitted."
I emphasize this because it's a point that may go overlooked in much of the media coverage -- Tiller performed therapeutic abortions for women who wanted children.
----------
Which is to say,he was saving lives. For this, he must die?
"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he is shocked and outraged over the killing of an abortion provider at a Kansas church.
ReplyDeleteDr. George Tiller was shot and killed Sunday morning while he was serving as an usher at a church in Wichita, Kan. The White House released a statement from the president Sunday evening.
Obama says violence is not the answer to resolve differing opinions on abortion and said the shooting is a murder. Tiller was one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions. He was the object of decades of protests and attacks."
emphasis mine.
i'm sorry, but that fact that the fucking president has to clarify that when an unarmed, law-abiding citizen is shot and killed, in a church, and probably in front of at least some of his family and friends, for no reason other than he did something some felt was against their own interpretation of a personal religion, that yes, that IS a fucking MURDER, it means something much larger is really, deeply wrong with this country.
i'm happy he said what he did, it's the fact that he needed to.......
i'm so angry at the fundie hate-mongers right now, if any of them were truly "pro-life" they would care about what happens to children after they are born, not just fetuses before hand. and they wouldn't shoot, kill, bomb, vandalize, or otherwise terrorize anyone at all.
the term "pro-life" is an insulting lie, they are "pro-birth" and "pro-control" and "pro-hatred" and that is all.
Luna1580,
ReplyDeleteJust what you said.
Sadly, this murder seems to primarily a test of President Obama.
ReplyDeleteThe Right wingers of hate Jihadists, call us who voted for Obama, "baby killers"!
ReplyDeleteThey are stalkers of any ideology not of their liking, we have seen a mini version here, as the c4p'rs everyday yell for the stalking of Diva, Andree and anyone who disagrees with them, or the queen.
These people stalked Dr. Tiller, for years, and he was wounded in another shooting some years ago.
I agree with Gryphen this guy will be a "right to life" Christian Talibani mark my words. These are the people GINO is pandering too. We saw her sowing seeds of hate during the campaign. We see her everyday slamming our President, snearing "the FEDS" shrieking about what PO should do, her little right wing fansight get the PDF of the dismissed ethics complaint and no one else gets it?
All these people I am sick of! They are totally out of control, its time to call the noise of faux noise "hate speech" instead of free speech b/c Bill O, limpballs and others, Palin are inciting these wingnut lunatics and should be held accountable.
On Shannyns blog she has a sickening interview with Bill o. Lies, half truth, distortion must be stopped where ever it comes from.
These are the seeds of Hate. And GINO has planted her fair share.
Its time to stomp out the fruit of the seeds of hate where ever they are found.
I'm so sorry for Dr. Tiller's family.
luna1580, I have to wonder why you said "fucking president?" It seems incongruous with the rest of your post.
ReplyDeleteBookworm-
ReplyDeletethank you.
and i see you're a fellow "wreckreator" too? let's be internet friends! ;)
and lest we forget what prompted this whole discussion, remember that the man who died in his church this morning (while volunteering as an usher, to help a community he cared about, not just attending) was a true hero.
despite all "aperson's" (this was a comment stream from a poster over at pharyngula, i'm pasting a comment of mine from there) earlier woes about possibly executing his killer and making a "martyr" for the anti-choice idiots, Dr. George Tiller is a kind of martyr -one to the cause of women's rights to health and freedom.
i know most people commenting at this moment probably realize this, but the kansas city star has posted a nice write-up specifically about this:
http://www.kansascity.com/657/story/1226353.html
today is such a sad, sad day.
and the general media is starting to jump all over "Scott Roeder -crazy extremist, totally did it" i'm inclined to agree, but the man hasn't even been charged yet, and certainly not publicly confessed or been tried and convicted for it, so maybe he didn't. more on that should come out soon.
i literally cried about this murder. a lot.
anon-
ReplyDeletei said it because i was so angry that an authority as high as the elected office of the presidency was needed to point out that shooting Dr. Tiller was, indeed, a murder.
not because i disrespect obama. i'm from IL and i voted for him as my senator and as my president, and read his first book and am way excited to see what he will do in presidential office, but i am DISGUSTED that anyone in presidential office had to confirm that this shooting was indeed a murder. the "fucking president" was an emotional response that such a high authority was even required to say basically, "yeah, when you shoot an unarmed man in a church in cold blood that's a murder."
i was implying what was wrong with our country, not wrong with obama.
This does not "border on the demonic" -- it IS the demonic. How much further would you have to go to qualify ?
ReplyDelete