This is bad. Horrible. The Wichita Eagle is reporting. CMR offers prayers to the family. We also pray that the person who did this wasn’t acting in the name of the unborn because this would certainly set back the pro-life cause terribly:
George Tiller, the Wichita doctor who became a national lightning rod in the debate over abortion, was shot to death this morning as he walked into church services.
Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a member of the congregation. Witnesses and a police source confirmed Tiller was the victim.
No information has been released about whether a suspect is in custody.
Homicide detectives and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston have arrived at the church.
Members of the congregation who were inside the sanctuary at the time of the shooting were being kept inside the church by police, and those arriving were being ushered into the parking lot. Witnesses are being transported downtown for interviews and other members of the congregation are slowly being released from inside the sanctuary.
Tiller has long been a focal point of protest by abortion opponents because his clinic, Women’s Health Care Services at 5701 E. Kellogg, is one of the few in the country where late-term abortions are performed.
Protesters blockaded Tiller’s clinic during Operation Rescue’s “Summer of Mercy” protests during the summer of 1991, and Tiller was shot by Rachelle Shannon at his clinic in 1993.
Tiller was wounded in both arms, and Shannon remains in prison for the shooting.
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. Immediately following the ruling in this criminal case, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts made public a similar complaint against Tiller that was originally filed in December 2008. Tiller’s medical license could eventually be suspended or revoked by the board on the basis of the complaint.
June 1, 2009 at 2:54 am
Human Life International has documented more than 8,519 acts of violence and illegal activities by pro-abortionists. These crimes include:
* 1,251 homicides and other killings
* 157 attempted homicides
* 28 arsons and firebombings
* 904 assaults
* 1,908 sex crimes (including 250 rapes)
* 106 kidnappings
* 420 cases of vandalism
* 290 drug crimes
* 1,616 medical crimes
June 1, 2009 at 4:30 am
Information has been released about the suspect. It appears that he does have ties to the anti-abortion group “Operation Rescue,” as well as prior arrests and convictions. More here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/20…r- Assassination
June 1, 2009 at 4:44 am
Another site has claimed that my comment above was “cut and paste” so I want to clarify my point above, which I think is pertinent here, ie: that, because of the suspect’s criminal record and personal history, the anti-abortion movement is going to receive negative national attention for Dr. Tiller’s murder.
I do not have any affiliation to Daily Kos! It is merely an example.
June 1, 2009 at 8:16 am
Pish posh. Heretics/Fundies are always shooting their churches up these days. It happens nearly every month. God’s will be done.
I bet Jenkins is very happy to be hiding behind a Roman collar right about now.
June 1, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Further to B. Disraeli’s post above:
Culture War SCORESHEET
Media space devoted to reporting, opining, and commenting on the tragic killing of American abortionist George Tiller will be largely used to condemn pro-human-rights persons as violent and dangerous.
Being familiar with a bit of hard data might be useful to your discussions over the next little while. I would not use the data to defend acts of violence, but it is valid to be able to counter the mis-characterization of Pro-Human Rights advocates as violent, specifically if characterized as having acted “more” violent than the Anti-Human Rights/Pro-Death side has.
Human Rights Culture War Violence Scoresheet
Violence Committed by Pro-Human-Rights “Extremists” or “Vigilantes” http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_viol.htm
Violence Committed by Anti-Human-Rights “Extremists” or “Vigilantes”
http://abortionviolence.com/
Deadly Violence by Anti-Human-Rights Mainstream Functionaries
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/wrjp339.html
Executions by Abortion 1920 – 2008 (Low estimate): ≈ 1,000,000,000
Worldwide Wars, Genocides, Famines, Ritual Suicides. Human Sacrifices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_disasters_by_death_toll
Combined Total (High Estimate): 438,000,000