Pro-life movement decries murder of Kansas
late-term abortion provider
Dr. George Tiller, killed on Sunday morning in Wichita,
Kansas
Prominent voices of the pro-life movement have repudiated the murder of
the late-term abortion provider George Tiller, who was shot and killed
Sunday morning at a Wichita Lutheran church.
Tiller was shot dead by an unidentified assailant shortly after 10 a.m.
at Reformation Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Wichita. The 67-year-old was
one of the few U.S. physicians who still performed late-term abortions
in the country.
Troy Newman, President of the Kansas-based Operation Rescue said in a
statement that his organization “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."
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List -a
nationwide network of Americans dedicated to representing pro-life
women in politics- also condemned "this anti-life act in the
strongest of terms."
"The heart of the pro-life movement is one founded in love. Without
this driving powerful center no justice can possibly be achieved.
Authentic progress in women's rights has always encompassed the
protection of human rights of every person across the board. The rights
of one human being can never be honored by diminishing or ignoring the
rights of another. This week as we gather for our annual June Tea
event, themed Love Lets Live, we will lift up George Tiller's loved
ones in prayer," Dannenfelser said.
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, expressed his
sadness at hearing of George Tiller's murder.
"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."
"But whatever the motives," Pavone emphasized, "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."
Shaun Kenney, executive director of American Life League, explained
that leaders within the pro-life movement "often discuss justice in
connection with our mission to end the tragedy of abortion. Today, Dr.
George Tiller's life ended in an act defying those principles."
"With genuine sorrow, we reflect on today's events in prayer. Justice
for all human beings includes the lives of those with whom we
fundamentally disagree as well as the victims of abortion. We firmly
hope the perpetrators of this act are apprehended, that the facts be
made known, and that justice according to the law is preserved and
dispensed," Kenney said.
Rev. Patrick Mahoney, a former national spokesperson for Operation
Rescue who had just completed leading two weeks of prayer vigils
in Wichita during the latest trial of Dr. Tiller, also denounced the
shooting, and said that he and other pro-life leaders will hold a news
conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday "to discuss the
impact the shooting of Dr. George Tiller will have on the pro-life
movement and the Supreme Court."
Tiller began providing abortion services in 1973 but during the 80's
became one of the most prominent and vocal late-term abortionists.
In 1991, his abortion clinic was the center of the "Summer of Mercy"
protests organized by Operation Rescue. The protests drew thousands of
pro-life activists to Wichita for peaceful demonstrations marked
by civil disobedience and mass arrests.
After the protests, Tiller kept mostly to his heavily guarded clinic,
but remained prominent in the news. In 1993, Tiller was shot in both
arms by a protestor.
Tiller was a significant donor to the political campaigns of the former
Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, the pro-abortion Catholic
recently appointed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services.
Tiller contributed to Sebelius directly and to political action
committees that he controlled. During Sebelius' tenure as governor,
Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann declared that Kansas had become
"infamous for being the late-term abortion center for the Midwest."
Sebelius repeatedly vetoed legislation that would have affected
Tiller's business.
According to the Wichita Police Department, a 51-year-old suspect was
arrested three hours after the shooting about 170 miles from
Witchita.
Comment posted on
IllinoisReview by Sam Pierce...
This killing is unfortunate on
several
levels. While I must admit that I feel relief on behalf of the babies
who might be spared Tiller's brutality, a person cannot decide to exert
his or her own idea of justice (again assuming that is a factor.) A man
(granted, a vile killer) has been murdered. This man has a family and
this should not have happened. The pro-life community (a.k.a. decent
human beings) must now expect an onslaught of hateful attacks and
accusations from the type of person that has no problem with a baby
being partially delivered, his skull punctured, and his brain sucked
out of his cranial cavity.
Given the current political
landscape
and the numbness of the nation as evidenced by the election of the most
radically pro-abortion candidate in history to the office of President,
there is little doubt that the Axis of Abortion and their willing
accomplices will be able to make something of a martyr out of this
horrid excuse for a doctor.
Source: Catholic News Agency
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Date: May 31, 2009
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Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state
coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our
society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political
persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic
backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has
been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the
human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is
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