In Memoriam

After getting back home following worship services, lunch, and various errands that always seem to consume Sunday afternoon, I was shocked to see the news of the murder of Dr. George Tiller of Wichita. Dr. Tiller was shot and killed as he served as an usher at his church, Reformation Lutheran. According to the latest news from the Wichita police, the man shot Dr. Tiller after the worship service had started. Nearby men tried to apprehend him, but he threatened them with his gun and then fled to his car. The suspect was finally apprehended near Kansas City.

On the Kansas.com website are various statements about this murder. Most express concern for Dr. Tiller's family and revulsion at this act of violence - even those who adamantly fought against legalized abortion. The comment from Randall Terry, though, begins with the flat assertion "George Tiller was a mass murderer." And goes on from there.

I am convinced that the suspect is going to use the "killing Hitler defense" to justify what he did. That is, he will claim that his action in killing Dr. Tiller prevented the deaths of untold thousands of babies, so, while it may have been legally wrong for him to kill Dr. Tiller or wrong according to the laws of men, it was morally justified or right according to the laws of God for him to kill Dr. Tiller.

I have a unique perspective on the work of Dr. Tiller and the Women's Health Clinic. While I was in Wichita, I was called at times by the clinic to talk to women - both young and old - and their families as they faced the decision to have an abortion or not. I was photographed by protestors. They tried to prevent my entrance into the clinic. I suspect, but cannot prove, that someone from the anti-abortion groups followed me to find out where I worked or where I lived and inflicted damage to my car.

Dr. Tiller has been vilified as a mass murderer who would do anything possible to coerce a woman to have an abortion. NOTHING could be further from the truth. I know. I have talked to women who came there; I have watched others in the clinic talk to these women. At every stage of the process, the intent on the part of the clinic staff was to allow the woman and their family enough time and enough space without pressure to make their own choice. These choices were driven by different issues - sometimes the woman's health and life were at risk and sometimes the unborn baby was already essentially dead. Regardless of the reason, no woman ever made her decision lightly. Whether she chose to continue with the abortion or to leave the clinic and never return, the decision was a tough one. AND, at every stage of the process, the clinic staff and Dr. Tiller showed their care and concern for the woman and for the family.

Further, we have to realize that these were women who met all the legal requirements to have an abortion. This was not something illegal and shady. Dr. Tiller scrupulously followed the law. He had to. Over the years, someone would bring some charge against him in an attempt to shut down the clinic. The former Kansas Attorney General Kline is the latest example. Both the court and the governing body for the medical profession exonerated Dr. Tiller.

That was just a few months ago. I wonder whether the suspect finally decided to take things into his own hands.

Dr. George Tiller was a caring, compassionate man. He was concerned that the women who came to him received the best possible care during one of the most difficult times of their lives.