Advocates Weigh Impact Of Tiller Murder On Future Of Abortion Debate

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 03 Jun 2009 - 3:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Opponents and supporters of abortion rights on Monday said they expect the murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller on Sunday to further intensify the debate over reproductive rights in the U.S., with some abortion-rights advocates expressing concern that the killing could spur a new wave of protests or violence from opponents, the Washington Post reports. Tiller, one of the few U.S. doctors who performed abortions later in pregnancy, was shot to death on Sunday at his church in Kansas. According to the Post, Tiller's death has brought the issue of violence back into the spotlight in the abortion debate at a time when President Obama is urging both sides to find "common ground." Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the "ongoing pattern of hateful rhetoric" used by some in the antiabortion-rights movement contributes to violence like Tiller's shooting (Slevin, Washington Post, 6/2). Keenan singled out groups that she said have used "hateful rhetoric" in recent months. "If they truly abhor the violence their rhetoric is encouraging, then they need to stop using the inflammatory phrases to describe the people they don't agree with," she said, adding that "until then, I think their claims of the shock of Dr. Tiller's murder ring very hollow."

The antiabortion-rights group Operation Rescue is at the center of debate over whether certain rhetoric stokes violence in the movement, NPR's "Morning Edition" reports. The group's founder, Randall Terry, said after the shooting, "What that man did by shooting George Tiller is wrong. Period" (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 6/2). However, Terry also called Tiller a "mass murderer" who "reaped what he sowed" (Milligan, Boston Globe, 6/2). Tom McClusky, vice president of the Family Research Council's legislative arm, said the group is concerned with "how an action like this might be exploited" by abortion-rights supporters, particularly the idea of condemning the entire antiabortion-rights movement for Tiller's death. He said that FRC is "already seeing some indications of people trying to throw everybody into the same boat" ("Morning Edition," NPR, 6/2).

The Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, said that Terry's views do not represent the modern antiabortion-rights movement. Schenck added that he believes "that a lot of pro-life leaders from the past are not carefully, prayerfully thinking through the moral consequences of an act like" the shooting. Schenck and abortion-rights opponents also expressed concerns that the murder will harm the credibility of their attempt to block the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. "When an act like this happens, it becomes a greater threat to the pro-life movement than anything the pro-choice movement" could do, Schenck said (Boston Globe, 6/2). Andy Wollen of the centrist group Kansas Traditionalist Republican Majority said that Tiller's shooting "brings home the impact of the kind of rhetoric that the hard right uses when they talk about abortion." He said that when antiabortion-rights advocates "called him 'Tiller the Killer' and they call their political opponents 'baby killers,' as they do on a regular basis, they're opening the doors" to acts of violence.

Meanwhile, USA Today reports that U.S Attorney General Eric Holder has increased security measures for abortion providers and clinics across the country, including Tiller's clinic (Bello/Stone, USA Today, 6/2). Dan Monnat, Tiller's attorney, said that the clinic is currently closed for mourning but will reopen next week to serve women who "came to Dr. Tiller because they had nowhere else to turn" (Washington Post, 6/2). Scott Roeder, the man accused of shooting Tiller, remained in custody in Wichita, Kan., the day after the shooting. USA Today reports that the district attorney has until today to file charges (USA Today, 6/1).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations