Abortion doctor George Tiller murdered at Kansas church

by: Pam Spaulding

Sun May 31, 2009 at 19:23:29 PM EDT

Get ready for more of these because the fetus-citizen advocates and womb-controllers are distressed at the political change around the country, and a good number of them are off their rockers evil. Late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was shot to death at a Wichita, Kansas church today.

Dr. George Tiller, who remained one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions through decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher and his wife was in the choir.

...Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was serving as an usher during Sunday morning services when he was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church, Stolz said.

..."We just thought a child had come in with a balloon and it had popped, had gone up and hit the ceiling and popped," [congregation member Adam] Watkins said.

Another usher came in and told the congregation to remain seated, then escorted Tiller's wife out. "When she got to the back doors, we heard her scream, and so we knew something bad had happened," Watkins said.

According to the Wichita Eagle, Tiller's clinic has been vandalized repeatedly.

Tiller's clinic was severely vandalized earlier this month. According to the Associated Press, his lawyer said wires to security cameras and outdoor lights were cut and that the vandals also cut through the roof and plugged the buildings' downspouts. Rain poured through the roof and caused thousands of dollars of damage in the clinic. Tiller reportedly asked the FBI to investigate the incident.

...Sgt. Bart Brunscheen of the Wichita Police Department said there has been no activitiy today at Tiller's clinic, although security crews were being brought in to make sure the building was secure. Officials also were going to check the clinic's security cameras to see if there was any activity over night.

Tiller and his clinic have faced continuous threats and lawsuits. A Wichita jury ruled in March that he was not guilty of illegal abortion on 19 criminal charges he faced for allegedly violating a state law requiring an "independent" second physician's concurring opinion before performing later term abortions.

I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning.  However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

A man was murdered today.  

Thousands of people are murdered in this country every year, but this man was murdered for believing in sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.

This man was murdered because he believed in a woman's right to personal autonomy.

This man was murdered because he believed that a woman should be able to make her own decisions about her body and her reproductive health.

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation joins the majority of this country in expressing our outrage at this senseless murder and in offering our condolences to the family of Dr. George Tiller.

NARAL Pro-Choice America:

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, today issued the following statement on the murder of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kan.

"On behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice America, our prayers and thoughts are with Dr. Tiller's family and friends at this moment, a moment that fills us with immeasurable shock and deep sadness.

"For almost two decades, Dr. Tiller and those individuals who helped provide care to his patients have lived under intense harassment tinged with persistent threats of violence. Even under these adverse circumstances, Dr. Tiller never wavered in his commitment to providing abortion services and other reproductive health care to women and their families, often in the most difficult and heart-breaking circumstances.

"Dr. Tiller's murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita.

"We understand that the investigation is ongoing and that law-enforcement officials are pursuing a suspect. If it proves to be an act of anti-abortion violence, as we suspect it is, then the full weight of the law must be used to send a clear message that these types of attacks will be prosecuted fully and swiftly.

"We also call on opponents of a woman's right to choose to condemn this action completely and absolutely. What happened today in Wichita cannot become the beginning of a more aggressive wave of violence targeting abortion providers and the women for whom they provide care. Women accessing their legal right to abortion-and the providers who make this possible-should never be targets of violence."

People for the American Way:

Dr. George Tiller, a physician who has been targeted for years for his willingness to provide abortion procedures often in the most difficult circumstances, was assassinated today in his church in Kansas.  People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan issued the following statement:  

"I am deeply saddened by the killing of Dr. Tiller.  He was a man who was dedicated to the belief that all women deserve access to safe reproductive health services including abortion.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends, and his community.

"People have a right to disagree about abortion, but it's impossible to separate today's tragedy from the violent language that has been directed for years at doctors like George Tiller.  Those who have inflamed emotions and dehumanized their opponents around the issue of abortion should take pause before they continue such dangerous rhetoric."

And here is the reaction on the right; it's disgusting.

You know Randall Terry of Operation Rescue had to blame the victim:

George Tiller was a Mass-Murderer, says Randall Terry -- We Grieve That he Did Not Have Time to Properly Prepare his Soul to Face God

Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, led protests against George Tiller's late-term abortion clinic in Wichita in 1991.

Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue states, "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.

"Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches."

Frank Pavone of Priests of Life:

"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, whether an angry post-abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution. We should not jump to conclusions or rush to judgment.

A small sample of the hatred expressed on twitter after the assassination of Dr Tiller.

   * Crap, I always forgot hashtags. I'm happy Tiller's dead. - Jennifer Waite, Selah, Washington
   * UPDATE... Doctor George Tiller was aborted today in his 204th trimester - aren't paybacks a bitch - Punch
   * oh HAPPY DAY! Tiller the baby killer is DEAD! - Samantha Pelch
   * George Tiller the baby killer was shot dead this morning. God bless the gunmen who hopefully won't be caught. - readnwatchchris, Creedmor. NC
   * was George Tiller the baby killers brain scrambled the way he scrambled full term fetuses.. one can only hope - Brad S
   * Infamous baby killer George Tiller gunned down at (irony) church. Why do I not feel sorry for him? Have fun at Judgment Day. - James Fiddler
   * tiller the baby killer shot dead...wow. is it insensitive of me to say what goes around comes around? - Brad M. Negulescu Cleveland.
   * George Tiller the Baby Killer shot dead. May he rot in Hell. - Amy Strong
   * Tiller Baby Killer was shot and killed this morning Justice has been served. - Shirl Ledeux
   * Thinking about "Tiller the baby killer" He now knows the wages of sin is death. - Dianne McDowell
   * May Tiller rot in Hell , infanticide is the murder of babies, he WAS a provider of death like Hitler, Bundy the list goes on.... - Dennis, A People Voip Company
   * Burn in hell George Tiller - mikedanben Sparta, NJ (41.005501,-74.672)
   * No need to pray for George Tiller. We know he went straight to hell!!!!! - Laurie D. Bailey Olive Branch, MS
   * Good ridence to Tiller - babies will not be murdered because he is now gone. Wonder how he likes hell! - Jay Emess, Southern, NJ
   * Karma is a beautiful thing. Cheers to the hero who sent George Tiller where he belongs... straight to hell. - Matthew Kamar
   * omg!george tiller abortion dr. was killed n his church parkn lot! hell yea! - Sarah Gulick, Wtichita, Ks
   * George Tiller: Burning in Hell for the last three hours. - darthdilbert Kettering, Oh
   * Hmm, I know it's wrong, but I feel like the Late-Term Abortion Doctor George Tiller, got what was he deserved..... - Mary Keogh London England
   * Boom Boom Boom. George Tiller was served a very very late term abortion this morning. - Chad Coleman, coeur d'alene, Id

The Twitter search "Geroge Tiller" OR #Tiller was running at about one tweet per second for the last two hours.