THE FATAL SHOOTING of Dr. George Tiller illustrates with tragic clarity just how far away the nation remains from President Barack Obama’s hope for a civil debate on abortion. Tiller’s death makes any dialogue about abortion even more unlikely than it was before.
Anti-abortion organizations were quick to express their shock at Tiller’s death and condemnation of violence against abortion providers. But, coming from groups that continue to characterize Tiller as a mass murderer, both the profession of shock and the condemnation ring hollow.
Tiller’s death is a direct result of the conscious decision of anti-abortion organizations to make the demonization of abortion providers the cornerstone of their efforts to stop the practice of abortion. The result of such rhetoric is that the less-stable of the groups’ members or hangers-on become convinced that they have a positive duty to kill abortion providers and wipe abortion clinics from the face of the earth.
Tiller’s case is not unique. In the past 16 years, eight people have been killed in anti-abortion violence in the United States. The Wichita doctor was well aware of the risks. He had been shot once before and, over the years, his clinic had been bombed and vandalized.
By the same token, the people who demonized Tiller cannot claim to have not been aware of the effects of their rhetoric on some people.
But Operation Rescue did not kill George Tiller, nor did any other of the big national organizations. If police are right, the doctor was killed by someone from the farthest fringe of American political thought — a man who opposes government in all its aspects and who has a history of messing about with explosives. In other words, a nut who thinks he is a law unto himself.
In such a person, the wilder rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement can find fertile but dangerous ground.
There are worthy arguments against abortion, but they cannot be made convincingly by groups that claim full human rights for fetuses while insisting that those people who oppose that view are somehow less than human.
The fact remains that abortion is legal. If people think that is wrong, then their argument is with the law, not with the doctors and clinics that perform abortions.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
gooseylucy (anonymous) says...
Well said.
June 2, 2009 at 1:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I am pro life.
I am disgusted by this murder.
My feelings about both come from the same place.
June 2, 2009 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I was shocked when I first head of Tiller's murder. And the fact it was committed in his church was twice as horrifying. When Channel 13 first showed video of the accused murderer's car, it zoomed in on the Jesus symbol on the trunk. I flinched and wondered if the murderer ever really thought, What would Jesus do? The answer sure wouldn't have been to murder a man in a house of worship! Dr. Tiller was a man like any other, had a wife and kids and grandkids who now must mourn him. I'm sure his church family will not only mourn him but feel violated that this could happen at their church. I agree that when special interest groups try to make those they oppose less than human, it has dire consequences. That is the technique they use to train terrorists. And the government uses to excuse holding prisoners years without a trial. We're all human, even those who hold views we don't agree with.
June 2, 2009 at 2:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
arminius (anonymous) says...
Bad editorial Patrick! Bad bad Patrick!
I usually like your writings, but this is an exception.
You confuse the symptom for the cause.
Both the killing and the demonization are symptoms.
The cause is the inherent violence of abortion. Every child, as they are developing, acquires traits of a human... from brain activity to a heartbeat to emotions. To puncture and sever and destroy that life is barbaric, especially in the latter trimester (which Roe v. Wade gave license to regulate, the way... but no one reads it now.)
Violence breeds more violence. The suffering of an aborted child will resonate with some just as naturally as the suffering of slavery resonated with abolitionists. It's only natural for a John Brown character to emerge.
If we want to stop these kinds of things, we need to cease the scapegoating and address the larger problem of violence in our culture - including abortion.
June 2, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
arminius (anonymous) says...
By the way... After 9/11 there was a universal call from the American media to not judge our Muslim neighbors - to understand that the work of a few fanatics was not representative of local Muslim communities.
Why can't pro-lifers be extended the same grace? Could it be that you just don't like the pro-life cause?
There's an obvious double-standard in modern American journalism here.
June 2, 2009 at 4:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
I guess pigs do fly and hell has frozen over: Patrick finally wrote an editorial I agree with! This murder was an abomination and an ugly black mark on our society and all we believe in as a nation. Like or not, abortion is legal in the United States. Dr. Tiller forced no one to partake of his professional services. They came to him willingly and legally and paid him handsomely to perform his medical specialty. The final outcome was the choice of the patient, not the doctor.
It appears from comments I have read here and elsewhere that pro-lifers believe the only lives worth saving or protecting are those still in the womb. Once a fetus fills his/her lungs with oxygen, that life is no longer of any value; unless, of course, he/she agrees with pro-life politics and ideology. If not, they appear to be worthy of death.
Killing to protest killing seems a bit hypocritical to me.
June 2, 2009 at 6:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
bj
"It appears from comments I have read here and elsewhere that pro-lifers believe "
you must have missed my comment and the comments of most pro life people on here that I/we are disgusted by this murder the same way we are disgusted by abortion.
It seems to me that the demonization toward pro life people is alive and well but there probably won't be an article about that.
June 2, 2009 at 6:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
What about those of us who don't necessarily want to see a complete ban on abortion, but are still disturbed by it and think as a means of birth control it is pretty much the same thing as murder, where do we fit in I wonder? The pro choice folks, who tend to be lefties, are just as busy as they can be demonizing anyone who is pro-life and Christian as a result of Tillers murder. This entire idea that people are somehow crackpots for believing a fetus has value beyond that of simple tissue....when does a human life become worth protecting I wonder, I am asking this of our pro choice folks who feel so demonized? Is it the moment it is born, is it the moment it could be viable outside the womb without medical assistance, is it the moment it could be viable outside the womb with medical assistance? It is clear to me while the left rails on about how crazy and over the top the pro-life movement is, they are every bit as inflexible over this entire issue. From my point of view, newborns for sure aren't as developed as a 5 year old, maybe there should be a one month grace period after a child is born to dispose of it?? Is anyone going to go for that on this board? "Alfalfa, you are nuts" I can hear what is being thought right now, but how far out is that idea?
The pro life people really need to accept that in some circumstances carrying a pregnancy to term is not going to be the choice for some, such as in cases of rape or incest, or severe deformaties, at the same time this entire argument from the pro choice side that the unborn cannot possibly be deserving of some protection is disturbing even for people like me, who would like to see the number of abortions cut drastically through the prevention of troubled pregnancies, rather than banned outright. The whole argument of "its legal so don't knock it" rings pretty hollow, slavery was once legal too, and in Nazi Germany and their occupied territories the extermination of Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and other groups was not just legal, it was government policy....I am glad a few people found fault with it.
June 2, 2009 at 6:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Excellent editorial, Pat, particularly your comment that pro life people should work to change the law itself, not work against the doctors who perform legal abortions. Dr. Tiller was murdered by a criminal who didn't want to take the time and energy to fight the law. I guess it was less time-consuming to stalk and kill someone. Coward! Lousy coward! And to think, he pleaded not guilty today. Imagine that. Pure cowardice.
June 2, 2009 at 7:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bryant (anonymous) says...
Funny. Liberals claim that a fetus isn't human and doesn't deserve human rights. However, they have no problems charging someone with two counts of murder when a woman and her fetus is killed.
June 2, 2009 at 8:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I'm with you, alfalfa, that abortions should not be used as birth control. It disturbs me, too. As a mom I can't imagine having an abortion after the baby is moving and kicking. I don't know what I would do if my child was deformed or something. Luckily, that wasn't a choice I had to make. In some cultures, the baby wasn't named until it was a certain number of days old. I'm sure this was to make it easier on the parents if it died and they believed it didn't have a soul yet. I'm not advocating that for this century, though. The current law is a messed up system and needs to be updated, in my opinion.
June 2, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
We hear from pro-choice people that the rape/incest/mothers life in danger incidents are "frequent", even though the statistics plainly state just the opposite. I've listened to women speak (at church) talking about how they had an abortion when they were younger and how much they regretted it now. I wonder, how many people who wrestled with the option of abortion and decided not to later regretted their decision to go ahead with the pregnancy? (Excepting once they get into their rebellious teen years, of course :)
http://www.clinicquotes.com/site/stor...
June 2, 2009 at 10:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
It is pretty interesting how the left is spinning all of this. Keith Olbermann is blaming Bill O'Reilly and Fox news, I watched his video diatribe in which he seems to be advocating against free speech. Mr. Kelley seems to take the position if anyone is in the wrong it is all the people who genuinely believe abortion is murder, it seems if anyone is supposed to give it is on the pro life side. Several liberal writers are using this to trash the NRA and push for more gun control, and almost anyone with an ax to grind against religion is throwing all Christians under the bus as though this murder was the result of a jihad against Tiller declared by the believers in Christ. As I watched Olbermann rant against the irresponsible way Fox news(in his opinion) had treated the subject of abortion and Tiller, I was reminded of how he allowed a guest to characterize all who attended Tea Parties as racists, and I wondered if Mr. Olbermann has ever heard the word "hypocrite". I attended a tea party, and I certainly am not a racist, and my reasons for attending had nothing to do with race and everything to do with my concern for the financial future of this nation. If someone is killed at a future tea party, do I get to blame MSNBC and Keith Olbermann for promoting the idea tea parties are nothing but watered down KKK rallies?? For any type of compromise to be reached on any issue, both sides must want some sort of peace, it is clear the left wing pro choice folks aren't interested in a truce any more than the radical right pro lifers are.
June 2, 2009 at 11:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dalelinn (Dale Linn) says...
Mr. Kelly,
To say, "Tiller’s death is a direct result of the conscious decision of anti-abortion organizations to make the demonization of abortion providers the cornerstone of their efforts to stop the practice of abortion. The result of such rhetoric is that the less-stable of the groups’ members or hangers-on become convinced that they have a positive duty to kill abortion providers and wipe abortion clinics from the face of the earth." is a rationalization that could be said (inacurrately) about any group opposed to anything. Of course there are people on the fringe that are capable of doing anything. I guess that means that nobody should speak up about anything that they are opposed to or is just plain stupid. Does that mean if I think something falls in that category that I am to blame when I write something against it and some radical kills the person I write about? If so, you had better quit writing some of your articles before you, yourself are charged.
June 3, 2009 at 6:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Well at least we certainly know who to blame if Palin, Bush, Cheney or any prominent GOP politican is killed, based on their demonization here and on other "news" outlets which provide the cornerstone of efforts to stop their campaigns. Same (only different circles) for Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Olbermann, etc.... and not only that, but all Christians, all Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and all atheists.
Hypocrites all. Arrest every one of 'em. I can identify about 30 prime suspects on this board alone (including me).
June 3, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
What must happen before an abortion? A pregnancy, right? How does a pregnancy happen? Sex, right? It seems that in our culture sex on TV, movies, and, in magazines is all over the place and if you try to say that all this talk about it and graphic imagery might have something to do with all the teen pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies, rape, and incest you are quickly shot down and freedom of speech is brought up. It's interesting how speech can cause one thing(supposedly) but it's unimaginable that it could cause another. How does that work?
I'm not advocating for a ban on any "literature" or anything, I'm just pointing out another one of those "inconsistencies" you see so often from the left.
June 3, 2009 at 9:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
You are dead on seriouslyfolks! I have a small child and there's COMMERCIALS I don't want him to see now. On early in the evening. I mean the KY one is not one I want to explain. Plus all those darn ED products. I told my husband he gets to explain ED to our son. And the darn burger commercial with the woman in a dress acting sexy. Give me a break! And that is not the raunchy tv shows. And they wonder why 12 year olds are getting pregnant! You see young celebrities getting knocked up. They never show parents with dark circles under their eyes staggering around half awake with baby spit up on them. THAT is reality. A rich spoiled brat with 3 nannies makes it look cool to have a baby and kids follow that lead. Don't get me wrong, babies are wonderful but not for kids or the faint of heart! It's a hard job raising a child and only adults should try to tackle it.
June 3, 2009 at 10:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
SpongeBob isn't even sacred anymore, with the girls dancing around with the "square butts" and the lyrics....... wonder what they're trying to use to sell there.......
June 3, 2009 at 10:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Sorry, I should have used the word "immune". I realize use of the word "sacred" brands me a religious zealot. I expect the FBI will come crashing in my window any second now. Unless I kneel down and profess Obama as the Messiah. Then I can say whatever I want and it will be Just.
June 3, 2009 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I wasn't tryin' to side track the discussion just to point out that the left says speech influences action in one area but denies that it influences it in another.
June 3, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
giggles (anonymous) says...
Sex sells. You see all of the raunchy commercials and tv shows. Young entertainers flaunt what they have to sell their product. Until you take the money out of sex, you won't see an end to such solicitations, (no pun intended). After all, it is the world's oldest profession...
I do not like abortion, however, I have seen and heard where it has helped in bad situations, and I have seen it abused as a form of birth control. Bottom line, it wasn't my choice. Individual cases bring different things to the table. I make my personal feelings based on each case. I worry that if I have the government or the medical community making my medical or personal decisions for me, I will no longer really have any freedom. In essence I would feel like some sort of slave, only subject to what my master (government) has decided for me.
June 3, 2009 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoehorn (anonymous) says...
Cut the cable on the tv. Also, in the spirit of trying to find common ground in the murder of Dr. George Tiller, let's all write it up as just one last late term abortion. Will that appease everyone?
June 3, 2009 at 2:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Shoehorn, I don't have cable or satellite tv. This crap in on network tv before 8pm. We watch lots of PBS at my house. And buy movies to watch. Murder is never justified. I feel bad for the killer's family, to be honest. Everyone loses in a situation like this.
June 3, 2009 at 3:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoehorn (anonymous) says...
I see Dr. Tillers murder as a tragedy, also. It is interesting to observe. Those in support of abortion eventually base it down to the question of legality, yet they are the same ones that condemn slavery or genocide, even when it is/was legal. Taking that position, you cannot condemn the Hitlers, Stalins, or Hussiens of the world because their Gov'ts said "it's legal". Obama says we must seek middle ground on this controversial issue. Where is the middle ground between life and death?
June 3, 2009 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Good point, shoehorn. Abortion is still illegal in quite a few countries around the world. Since we're supposed to be moving towards a more "global" society, who's right?
Sometimes blogging here is sortof a middle ground between life and death..... LOL
June 3, 2009 at 3:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I think once we go (if we go) to socialized health care the gov is going to be making all those decisions for us anyway.....
June 3, 2009 at 3:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
giggles (anonymous) says...
Let's face it, we as a nation have asked the government to step in too many times on too many issues, now they run too many things. If somebody wants something, they just turn to the government and say make it so. Then the government shapes and forms it, packages it up and puts lots of red tape on it, sending it to us C.O.D. We are a country run by government, not a government run by the country. Soon they will ultimately decide everything for us, "for the greater good". Just think of the issues we have asked the government to act on, education, medical, energy...and now for the greater good, they took it upon themselves to act on banking and the car industry.
Too many people want them to decide what is right and wrong, but then where is the line drawn? I think if we ever drew a line it must have been in sand and was washed away long ago.
June 3, 2009 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )