For years, abortion foes tried to put Dr. George Tiller out of business. One of the few American physicians who performed late-term abortions, he was a target of violent extremists as well as principled opponents.
In 1986, his clinic in Wichita, Kan., was firebombed. In 1991, it was blockaded for six weeks. In 1993, he was shot through both arms. In March, Kansas prosecutors tried him on charges of breaking abortion laws; he was acquitted. In May, vandals cut wires to security cameras and made holes in the roof of Tiller’s clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, a fortified single-story building where abortion opponents keep a vigil.
But until Sunday, when a gunman shot Tiller, 67, to death in the foyer of his church, Tiller had survived and prospered.
In some instances, women and girls from around the world flew to Wichita to terminate pregnancies in the 22nd week or later. Some had discovered their wanted babies were seriously affected by genetic anomalies or other defects. Others were deemed too fragile physically or psychologically to carry a baby to term. But where supporters of legal abortion saw a savior, opponents saw a killer.
Tiller was working as a church usher at Reformation Lutheran Church and his wife, Jeanne, was in the choir, when he was gunned down about 10 a.m. Sunday.
Parishioner Adam Watkins, 20, told The Associated Press that he was sitting in the congregation when he heard a small pop.
“We just thought a child had come in with a balloon, and it had popped,” he said.
Another usher 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.
Later, Tiller’s attorneys released a statement from Tiller’s wife, his four children and 10 grandchildren.
“Today we mourn the loss of our husband, father and grandfather,” it said. “… This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace.”
Later, Wichita police announced they had arrested a 51-year-old man about 170 miles away. Wichita police said he could be charged Monday with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Tiller’s death comes as President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, has called for both sides of the debate to find common ground.
Obama said he was “shocked and outraged” by the killing.
Just two weeks ago, in a commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, Obama issued a plea for respectful discourse, but said: “The fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.”
Kelli Conlin, president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, echoed that sentiment Sunday in a statement about Tiller’s death: “It is cold-blooded, vicious actions like today’s assassination that make it hard for those of us in the pro-choice community to find common ground with those on the other side.”
Abortion foes were quick to condemn the killing, the first since Dr. Barnett Slepian was killed by sniper James Kopp at his home in Amherst, N.Y., in 1998.
“It’s tragic,” said Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, who attended Tiller’s trial in March. “The probability is that someone who opposed abortion did this. The reason we are pro-life is because we hate violence on any level. I don’t know of one legitimate pro-life leader who would not unequivocally condemn this.”
Troy Newman, the head of anti-abortion group Operation Rescue — who moved to Kansas from California to try to put Tiller out of business — said he was “shocked, horrified and numb.”
Chicago-area advocates on both sides of the debate also condemned the killing.
Toni Bond Leonard, Chicago-based board president of the National Network of Abortion Funds, said Tiller’s death was “sad and tragic.”
“Chicago clinics have always been very cautious to protect staff and the women who use them, and I don’t think that will change,” she said.
Eric Scheidler, a spokesman for the Pro-Life Action League who has participated in the long-running and sometimes heated protests at Planned Parenthood’s clinic in west suburban Aurora, called the shooting “reprehensible.”
Aurora Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said officers are “aware of” the shooting, and the department continues to work with Planned Parenthood to keep the clinic safe.
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Timeline of violence
A look at some cases of abortion-related violence:
Oct. 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian is fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. Militant abortion opponent James Kopp is convicted of the murder in 2003.
Jan. 29, 1998: A bomb explodes just outside a Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic (right), killing a police officer and wounding several others. Eric Rudolph later pleads guilty to that incident and to the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Dec. 30, 1994: John Salvi opens fire with a rifle in two Boston-area abortion clinics, killing two receptionists and wounding five others. Salvi kills himself in prison in 1996.
July 29, 1994: Dr. John Bayard Britton and his escort, James Barrett, are slain outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic. Paul J. Hill, a former minister and anti-abortion activist, is convicted of murder.
March 10, 1993: Dr. David Gunn is shot to death outside a Pensacola, Fla., clinic, becoming the first U.S. doctor killed during an anti-abortion demonstration. Michael Griffin is convicted in the case.
— Associated Press
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Case tossed
Kansas was stopped from prosecuting Tiller in 2006: chicagotribune.com/tiller
