![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
George Tiller, 1941-2009
May. 31st, 2009 02:53 pmDr. George Tiller was assassinated at his church in Wichita, Kansas this morning.
Dr. Tiller's clinic was bombed in 1986. Dr. Tiller himself was shot in 1993. He was acquitted of performing illegal late-term abortions in a criminal trial in March 2009; the trial itself may have been triggered by citizens of Kansas signing a petition to bring Dr. Tiller before a grand jury. ADDED: At one point, the attorney general of Kansas attempted to get access to Dr. Tiller's confidential medical files, claiming he wanted them so he could prosecute statutory rape cases.
From Dr. Tiller's own testimony at his trial this March:
Tiller became emotional as he told the jury why he continues to practice, even though he and his staff have been harassed for years by anti-abortion protesters, one of whom shot him in both arms as he left work in 1993.
" 'Quit' is not something I like to do," Tiller said. He has not closed shop, he said, because his patients need him and he has the "strong support" of his family -- including his wife of 45 years, three daughters (two of whom are physicians), a son and 10 grandchildren.
He said that one family conversation crystallized in his mind the importance of his work.
"My daughters came into my study," he said. "I was reading. And they said, 'Daddy, if not now, when? If not you, who? Who is going to stand up for women with unexpected and badly damaged babies?' I had the support of my family, and we were able to proceed ahead."
I notice that I've been writing this post in as neutral a tone as I can muster. That's because I don't know how to express my anger and my grief. I'm going to take refuge in silence, now. Please share with me a moment of silence for a doctor who continued to serve his patients despite all manner of attacks, verbal and physical, legal and illegal, and who died for this service.
Added: The Wichita Eagle has a gallery of file photos of Dr. Tiller and his clinic.
Dr. Tiller's clinic was bombed in 1986. Dr. Tiller himself was shot in 1993. He was acquitted of performing illegal late-term abortions in a criminal trial in March 2009; the trial itself may have been triggered by citizens of Kansas signing a petition to bring Dr. Tiller before a grand jury. ADDED: At one point, the attorney general of Kansas attempted to get access to Dr. Tiller's confidential medical files, claiming he wanted them so he could prosecute statutory rape cases.
From Dr. Tiller's own testimony at his trial this March:
Tiller became emotional as he told the jury why he continues to practice, even though he and his staff have been harassed for years by anti-abortion protesters, one of whom shot him in both arms as he left work in 1993.
" 'Quit' is not something I like to do," Tiller said. He has not closed shop, he said, because his patients need him and he has the "strong support" of his family -- including his wife of 45 years, three daughters (two of whom are physicians), a son and 10 grandchildren.
He said that one family conversation crystallized in his mind the importance of his work.
"My daughters came into my study," he said. "I was reading. And they said, 'Daddy, if not now, when? If not you, who? Who is going to stand up for women with unexpected and badly damaged babies?' I had the support of my family, and we were able to proceed ahead."
I notice that I've been writing this post in as neutral a tone as I can muster. That's because I don't know how to express my anger and my grief. I'm going to take refuge in silence, now. Please share with me a moment of silence for a doctor who continued to serve his patients despite all manner of attacks, verbal and physical, legal and illegal, and who died for this service.
Added: The Wichita Eagle has a gallery of file photos of Dr. Tiller and his clinic.
