A man with ties to a paramilitary group shot and killed an abortion provider in Wichita Kansas today. Dr. George Tiller was acting as an usher for a service underway at his church when he was gunned down. The alledged killer fled but police say he was apprehended a short time later, apparently driving to his home in the Kansas City area. They believe he acted alone but there are indications he had connections with the Posse Comitatus and the Freemen, both right wing paramilitary groups*, and reportedly posted comments on an anti-abortion blog site.
Dr. Tiller was a focal point of the national abortion issue. He was shot through both arms by a protestor several years ago. The woman who shot him is in prison.
I met and interviewed Dr. Tiller after his clinic was bombed in the mid-80's; he was speaking in Kansas City. I ran into him just as he was leaving the venue and he was gracious as I fumbled with my equipment, trying to get ready. The actual Q and A is a blur, but I recall he struck me as caring deeply about his patients their health, and their right to choose. The kind of doc I would want to have in a crisis.
People on both sides of the debate have decried today's killing but I can't help but believe that many on the side of, ironically, the Right to Life movement are gleeful about Tiller's death. In fact, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal, some didn't bother to hide their pleasure.
"At the same time expressions of sympathy poured forth in Wichita, opponents of abortion drove past the clinic cheering and honking horns in celebration of Tiller’s demise."
Tiller was one of few physicians in the country willing to perform late-term abortions...or the murder of human beings... depending which argument you choose.
No matter what his beliefs or actions, his murder is repulsive. The fact he was shot down in a house of God, a place of peace where where families with children could also have been hurt, is depraved.
News stories have mentioned that Tiller's bodyguard was not with him at the time of the attack. I'm willing to bet that's because Tiller believed he would be safe in a place of worship.
If that's the case, he was tragically wrong.
*Monday Update: The suspect, 51 year old Scott Roeder of Merriam Kansas, was arrested in 1996 near Topeka for driving a car with a license plate "issued" by the Freemen, a group that believes they have immunity from paying taxes. Police found explosives in his car. He was charged with possession of explosive devices but the case was later dismissed on grounds of an illegal search. A number of people on both sides of the abortion issue knew or knew of Roeder, and several of those people have been quoted as saying they felt he was dangerous.
According to reporters I spoke to this morning who are covering the story, there are indications the County Attorney in Wichita may be considering recusing herself from the case and asking federal authorities to step in and prosecute Roeder under hate crime statutes.
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