Remember the Fallen

Today, Dr. George Tiller was murdered.

Dr. Tiller was an abortionist in Wichita, Kansas. He provided late-term abortions to women who made that most difficult decision to terminate during their second trimester. These women did not make the choice lightly – many carried fetuses with severe congenital defects, and it saved the woman and what would be the child from much pain and suffering. Women came from all over the country for the procedure.  These women put their lives in Dr. Tiller’s hands and he did what only two other clinics were willing or able to do. Whether you agree with the procedure or not, these women required the service, and he was one of the very few who would safely do what they needed done.

Dr. Tiller’s clinic was out of the ordinary. They provided funerary services – baptisms, in- and out-of-state transportation of remains, last rites. They did all the things that the Christians believe are necessary to send the soul to heaven. After using his career to both help women and honor the religion of his patients, he was murdered in a church. There is no excuse for cold-blooded killing, but a cold-blooded killing in a sacred place like a church is senseless, unbelievable, vile. I’m not Christian, but I can recognize that.

The women who will need and choose to have late-term abortions now fewer safe paths to their solutions. Killing Dr. Tiller is not just a murder of one man, but a murder of every woman who has an unsafe abortion at her own hands. The murderer of Dr. Tiller will have the blood and tears of women on his or her hands. Violence cannot resolve the abortion issue.

Some other brave doctors will step forward to provide the services that Dr. Tiller was providing for so many years. Two other clinics in the US provide these services. He was a martyr for the pro-choice cause and a hero for the pro-choice movement. Support Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, or your local family planning clinics by donating or volunteering for them to show your support for all the good work that they are brave enough to do. If you cannot donate time or money, simply write a short letter or postcard with your thanks.

This is a time when pro-choice citizens must stand up for what we believe more than ever, and not be frightened from this senseless, brutal, criminal, inhuman act of violence. Take the time to remember the fallen – those who have died fighting in this war for women’s rights to their own bodies. We, the pro-choice community, are heartbroken that Dr. George Tiller is gone.

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