Editorials Respond To Kansas Abortion Provider Tiller's Murder

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 03 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The following summarizes recent editorials responding to the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, who was one of the few physicians in the country providing care for women in need of the procedure later in pregnancy.

~ Los Angeles Times: Tiller's murder "is a reminder that fringe adherents of the 'pro-life' movement are willing to desecrate the very value they claim to champion," but "it distorts reality to insinuate that millions of Americans who oppose abortion condone such tactics," a Times editorial states. The editorial continues, "Tiller's killing shouldn't be exploited by activists on either side to score political points." According to the Times, "Sadly, Tiller's assailant is not one of a kind, but neither is he typical of the antiabortion movement," as "[p]rominent pro-life organizations long have condemned violence against abortion providers while working to restrict the late-term abortions for which Tiller was known." The editorial also notes that the murder "was forthrightly condemned by the National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life and Kansas' four Catholic bishops." It continues that despite this, "some pro-choice activists are suggesting, overtly or subtly, that the responsibility for Tiller's death is shared by the broader pro-life movement," and the "implication is that the mainstream pro-life movement has to be nudged into opposing violence." According to the Times, "Some 'arguments' are thinly veiled incitements to violence against individuals and should be punished for the crimes they are," but "the basic premise of the antiabortion movement -- that a fetus is a person -- is by definition a 'dehumanization' of abortion providers, even if it's expressed in decorous language." The editorial states, "The militancy of some pro-life groups constitutes an alarming assault on a constitutionally protected right, but the answer is not to limit expression." It concludes, "It's unfair to ask antiabortion activists to muffle their message because it might inspire an unbalanced individual to commit an atrocity" (Los Angeles Times, 6/2).

~ New York Times: Tiller's killing "was a reprehensible act of domestic terrorism directed toward the dwindling cadre of physicians who risk their safety to perform legal medical procedures," a Times editorial states. The editorial continues that for Tiller "and physicians like him, the threatening protests and incidents of violence and harassment never really stopped." According to the Times, "For his principled devotion to women's health and constitutionally protected rights, [Tiller] was the target of protests at his clinic, his house and his church," all of which forced him "to fend off trumped up legal challenges aimed at shutting down his operations." Although U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said that the U.S. Marshal Service will begin providing protection to certain abortion clinics and doctors, he should "consider taking the additional step of revitalizing the National Task Force on Violence against Health Care Providers that former Attorney General Janet Reno established during the Clinton years," the editorial continues. According to the Times, "There must be a sustained focus by federal and state officials to prevent further acts of violence and intimidation," and "[i]f it turns out that additional laws are needed, Congress should take action." The editorial concludes, "Over time, the combination of anti-choice restrictions and ongoing harassment by protest groups even short of violence have served to make abortions harder and harder to obtain. That trend must be stopped" (New York Times, 6/2).

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