Ugly America

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Crime, Women's Issues1 Comment

By now, you may have heard about the killing of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas this morning.  It took place in (of all places) a church.

Dr. George Tiller has long been a target (literally and figuratively) of the religious right, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and others because he performs late term abortions.  As Amanda Marcotte wrote:

[Tiller] is one of the two doctors in the country that specializes in the very small percentage of abortions performed late in pregnancy (but before viability) done for health reasons, usually because the pregnancy is a danger to a woman's health or life, or because the fetus is dead or dying…. He's been shot in both arms, stalked by the attorney general's office under Phill Kline … and charged with the crime of performing a bunch of illegal abortions, for which he was acquitted.


This is perhaps something that needs to be emphasized: he performed abortions for women who wanted to have babies but couldn't.

While many abortion opponents are quick to condemn the killing (see, e.g., the Christian News Wire), the rank-and-file are, well, quite rank:

The comments on Free Republic are typically nauseating and vile as well.

This is a divided country on many issues.  But I don't see anyone on the left killing anyone on the right.  And if one did, there wouldn't be smatterings of applause.

In any event, if one is anti-abortion, I fail to see how this moves the ball forward.  More likely, the opposite.

As for the killer, who some will no doubt call a hero, all we know right now is this:

Wichita television station KAKE-TV reported that police were looking for a blue Ford Taurus with a K-State vanity plate, license number 225 BAB. Police described him as a white male in his 50s or 60s, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 220 pounds, wearing a white shirt and dark pants.

Latest Update:

KWCH Eyewitness News has confirmed the suspect in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller is in custody in the Kansas City area. Wichita police say the man was arrested near Gardner, KS at around 2:00 Sunday afternoon.