George Tiller医師が殺害されました。女性の選択の権利を信じる私た

SAD DAY FOR ALL OF US WHO BELIEVE IN WOMEN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE.

女性の選択の権利を信じる私たちのすべてにとって悲しい日になりました。
合州国、カンザス州で後期人工妊娠中絶を受け持ってきた、George Tiller医師が殺害されました。
彼は、中絶を担当できる医療者がいなければ、選択はありえない、と主張し、どのような環境にいる女性をも支援してきました。

私たちは、この殺人に強く抗議・非難し、どのような環境の女性をも支援するという活動を今後もつづけていく
と改めて決意しました。

A prominent US abortion doctor has been shot dead at a church in the
city of Wichita, Kansas.
　
Sixty-seven year-old George Tiller was killed just after 1000 (1500
GMT) at the Reformation Lutheran Church.

The gunman, described as a white man, fled in a car, but officials say
a suspect is now in custody in Wichita.

Dr Tiller, one of the few US doctors who performed so-called late-term
abortions, had been vilified by anti-abortionists in the US.

His clinic - called Women's Health Care Services - had often been the
site of demonstrations, and he had been shot and wounded by an
assailant 16 years ago.

Questioning of the suspect, a 51 year-old man, is continuing. Wichita
Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said he was likely to face one charge of
murder and two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a
gun at two other men.

Dr Tiller's lawyer, Dan Monnat, said his client was killed while
serving as an usher during a morning church service. His wife was in
the choir at the time.

Dr Tiller's widow, four children and 10 grandchildren issued a
statement calling his killing "an unspeakable tragedy".

The statement said: "This is particularly heart-wrenching because
George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."

They said his death was a loss for Wichita and for women across
America, saying he had dedicated his life to providing women with high-
quality health care, despite frequent threats and violence.

'Cowardly'

Anti-abortion groups also denounced the shooting.

In a statement, Troy Newman of Operation Rescue said his group had
worked for years through peaceful and legal means and through the
proper channels to see Dr Tiller "brought to justice".

ANTI-ABORTION ATTACKS

· Oct 1998: Dr Barnett Slepian shot dead, Buffalo, New York

· Jan 1998: Policeman killed in blast at clinic near Birmingham,
Alabama

· Dec 30 1994: Two receptionists shot dead at clinics near Boston

· July 1994: Dr John Britton and a volunteer escort killed outside
clinic, Pensacola, Florida

"We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this
morning."

Phill Kline, an opponent of Dr Tiller and a former attorney-general of
the state of Kansas, said: "I am stunned by this lawless and violent
act, which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of
law."

The shooting came two weeks after President Barack Obama made a major
speech on abortion at one of the main Catholic universities in the
US.

Correspondents say the president is attempting to defuse the abortion
issue - a highly emotive subject in US public life - by arguing that
while it should remain legal, the government should do all it can to
limit the number of unwanted pregnancies.

But members of the anti-abortion movement have been angered by the
president's reversal of restrictions on federal funding for embryonic
stem cell research and for family-planning groups which carry out or
facilitate abortions outside the US.

A late-term abortion is the termination of a foetus beyond the 20th
week of pregnancy, when it is potentially old enough to survive
outside the womb.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8076253.stm

By Anna Clark
Created May 31 2009 - 3:22pm
(cross-posted at Isak [1])

Many have heard the really terrifying news that Dr. George Tiller, an
abortion provider in Kansas, was gunned down this morning [2]while he
attended services at his Lutheran church in Wichita.

At this writing, a suspect has just been taken into custody. [3]

The chilling fact of Dr. Tiller's death comes after years of being
terrorized: he'd been shot before (in both arms); had his clinic
bombed, flooded and vandalized; received decades of death threats;
wild lawsuits; and was the unfortunate target of conservative media
that hounded him. He'd also been stabbed--and went back to work the
next day.

While of course everybody has the right to personally oppose abortion,
the killing and harassment of Dr. Tiller is beyond the pale. (I've
articulated my own pro-choice feelings about abortion here [4], here
[5], and here [6]). The hypocrisy of murder being the recourse of
someone who is "pro-life" is so evident it barely needs discussing.

What does need emphasizing: Dr. Tiller's courage in persevering with
his work--his commitment to the women who came to him--even in the
face of such cruelty is astonishing. His murder comes down in my mind
to an act of terrorism; it is, after all, intended to send a fearful
message to other abortion providers or advocates or women who seek
abortions. (Matthew Yglesias makes a powerful point [7] about how
effective this is.)

As Feministe points out [8], this is the first direct shooting of an
abortion provider in more than a decade (after a fearful spate of them
through most of the 1990s), though the anniversary of Roe v. Wade last
January saw one man smashing his SUV into a St. Paul clinic full of
patients and employees [9]. It seems that clinic bombings and murders
increase substantially during pro-choice administrations.

A candlelight vigil in honor of Dr. Tiller is planned in Wichita
tonight at 8pm in Old Town Square. Find more info on Facebook. [10]

As well, this is a wonderful time to donate and volunteer our time to
organizations that have Tiller-esque courage and compassion. Consider
showing your love for these favorites of mine:

Medical Students for Choice [11]
National Abortion Federation [12]
Abortion Conversation Project [13]
Backline

[14]
Read more about Dr. Tiller--his life, work, and death--here:

The Wichita Eagle [15]
The Kansas City Star [16]
Mike Hendricks [17]
Daily Kos [18]
Feministing [19]
Dr. George Tiller's clinic website [20]
Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War [21], by James Risin

Peace, my friends. Peace.

Access to Abortion
abortion
Dr. George Tiller
late term abortion