38 Responses to Breaking News: Wichita Doctor George Tiller Murdered at Church

1. newtonusr May 31st, 2009 at 11:12 am «

   disgraceful
   and the killer will get a statue and a parade

   thanks teddy
• BooRadley May 31st, 2009 at 12:39 pm «

  Seconded.
2. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 11:17 am «

   Imagine how brave this man must have been to have continued providing services after both his arms were shot sixteen years ago.
3. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 11:25 am «

   Amanda Marcotte has an excellent post up at Pandagon (excerpt):

   Dr. Tiller was a brave man and a real hero. He was already shot once in 1993, but despite the ongoing threat of violence, he continued to work diligently to provide abortion services to women who are often in the worst possible situation, facing down the termination of a pregnancy that was being eagerly planned for, until things went terribly wrong. If a woman has a later term therapeutic abortion—be it because it was a wanted pregnancy, she has serious mental health issues, or she is a child victim of rape—it’s rarely easy on her mentally or physically. Dr. Tiller’s clinic was renowned for the thoughtful patient support to help women get through what is a very difficult time—counseling, support groups, religious services for the lost baby if you desire.

   He didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to put his life and his family’s life on the line every day to tend to women going through a little-understood trauma. He didn’t have to go through a sea of protesters who hate women so much they actually think that women are lying about their problems so they “get” to have later term abortions. He didn’t have to suffer through relentless legal abuse at the hands of fundamentalist misogynists who obtain political power by exploiting voter ignorance about abortion. He didn’t have to make himself the target for this murder to help women, but for whatever reason, he rose to this challenge, and that makes him a real hero.
4. gannonguckert May 31st, 2009 at 11:45 am «

   Why isn’t this post on the FDL home page NOW? Somebody, please…
5. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 11:53 am «

   Update from Kansas.com:

   Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred said that several law enforcement agencies — including the FBI and the KBI — have been called in to help with the case.

   “This is going to be a larger search than probably maybe just Wichita that we’re looking for this individual,” Allred said. “So we’ve got the resources coming in to help us with this investigation.”

   Allred said that no one else was injured in the shooting. He would not say how many shots were fired. He said it’s unclear whether the shooter exchanged any words with the victim.

   “We’ve got several people going downtown,” Allred said. “This is going to be an investigation that is going to take a little while to get some of that information out.”

   Allred said the 10 a.m. church service had already begun at the time of the shooting.
6. Raven May 31st, 2009 at 12:28 pm «

   Where’s Phelps?
7. Raven May 31st, 2009 at 12:33 pm «

   Where’s Homeland Security?
8. allan May 31st, 2009 at 12:33 pm «

   Imagine how much time the FBI devoted to setting up the Newburgh 4 klown show,
   and how little they devoted to the kind of right wing extremists behind Tiller’s assassination.
9. AZ Matt May 31st, 2009 at 12:36 pm «

   There is a suspect in custody.
10. Funnydiva2002 May 31st, 2009 at 12:41 pm «

    According to Yahoo’s version of the AP headline, that’s “Late-term Abortion Doctor George Tiller…”
    Biased much?
    And to murder someone at their church, on a Sunday? In the name of, what, God? Some right to life? WTF? Guess we need another revision of “What’s the Matter With Kansas”?

    Feh.
    Thanks for posting on this, Teddy. I’ve been waiting for the FDL response!

    Funny Wheelie Diva
11. Raven May 31st, 2009 at 12:51 pm «

    Gotta get the issue up front for the SC hearings.
12. MollyNYC May 31st, 2009 at 1:01 pm «

    Operation Rescue, et al–who did everything but paint a bull’s-eye on his shirt–are busy absolving themselves. “Gosh, we certainly never meant for anyone to do something like that!” Sweet Jesus, what did they think was going to happen at the rate they were going? Hypocritical scumbags.

    I didn’t realize Dr. Tiller was 67. I’m hoping that a man that age might have been grooming a successor.
13. allan May 31st, 2009 at 1:12 pm «

    Updates from Radio Rwanda.
14. katymine May 31st, 2009 at 1:43 pm «

    This just makes me sick…..as a society I thought we had moved on from murder….. As a former healthcare provider, I remember the days where you could not get into clinics even if they only did routine GYN care…… the idiots would naturally assume that abortion must be done……. after all, there were no surgical suites, etc…….
15. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 1:44 pm «

    This is horrific.

    Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a member of the congregation.

    Tiller was serving as an usher at the church, one of six ushers listed in the church bulletin. He was handing out bulletins to people going into the sanctuary minutes before being shot.

    I’m sure we’ll be hearing a great deal from the religious right about the violation of God’s House.
16. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 1:45 pm «

    A police news conference is scheduled for 4pm, which is in 15 minutes, I think.
17. Raven May 31st, 2009 at 1:52 pm «

    Let’s see if it’s called terrorism?
18. ThatGuy May 31st, 2009 at 1:52 pm «

    The right wingers will NEVER move away from murder. It’s also why they will never have a claim to the moral high ground.

    I’d bet my last dime there will be death parties all over wingnuttia tonight. There will be celebrations. We may insult wingnuts but we don’t KILL them.

    The US will never be great again until republicans are no longer an active political entity. They ALL approve of this, lip service notwithstanding.
19. foothillsmike May 31st, 2009 at 1:53 pm «

    The Amerikan Taliban strikes.
20. dakine01 May 31st, 2009 at 2:02 pm «

    Book Salon up at the Mothership with Dear President Obama… hosted by Christy
21. sunshine May 31st, 2009 at 2:06 pm «

    This will bring the issue of abortion to the fore front of the Supreme Court Justice nomination. We are the party that beleives in choice; as the majority of Americans do; and I want a SCJ that has the balls to stand up and say so. My grandmother died during the Great Depression after having an illegal abortion. With a husband out of work and no jobs to be found and owing a large amount of money to the grocery store and no longer able to get more credit, in her desperation she choose an abortion that was illegal and not provided by a doctor and she died a couple days later. The story is the Doctor couldn’t/wouldn’t help her because she did an illegal act. Her husband raised 4 children alone. We are now in the midst of another great depression and people are losing jobs and health care like crazy and though they have more time to make babies they have less money to pay for babies or expensive birth control. I would not be suprised to see the number of abortions go up.
22. wmd1961 May 31st, 2009 at 2:12 pm «

    Suspect arrested.
23. sunshine May 31st, 2009 at 2:16 pm «

    The right wing war mongers are doomed if they make this an issue. Many families are homeless, jobless, cramped up living with extended families and may seek the services of Doctors like George Tiller.
24. RevDeb May 31st, 2009 at 2:20 pm «

    I’ve been to Tiller’s clinic doing supportive witness in 2001 when the nuts were coming back to try to close it down.

    Here’s the thing. The local police, the local feds all are on the side of the nuts. They didn’t care about Tiller and the sad but necessary work he did. They were antagonistic to the clinic and barely did what they needed to. During that week of hell in 103 degrees, the locals, the feds, the marshals, ATF etc were taking pictures of US not of the Army of God folks.

    Obama had better come out strongly against the domestic terrorists that did this.

    I am SO freaked.
25. RevDeb May 31st, 2009 at 2:22 pm «

    there are NO news outlets in Philly carrying the presser. Nor is CNN or CNNHN. What the hell is wrong with these people?
26. mooreagal May 31st, 2009 at 2:43 pm «

    Christo-Fascists
27. Jkat May 31st, 2009 at 2:48 pm «

    despicable … brought to you by the american taliban ..
28. GregB May 31st, 2009 at 2:59 pm «

    The killer may be part of a cell of terrorists. I wonder if the reich wingers will want him waterboarded?

    -G
• RevDeb May 31st, 2009 at 3:02 pm «

  they will want him canonized. Bastards.
29. jcinOR May 31st, 2009 at 3:11 pm «

    La Figa quotes Randal Terry of Operation Rescure as saying, “We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.” What does “peacefully protest them” mean? Complain that they are alive?
30. sunshine May 31st, 2009 at 3:11 pm «

    Dr. Tiller’s wiki page.

    George Tiller was shot dead on May 31, 2009 while serving as an usher during worship services at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita.[25][7]

    The Wichita Eagle is now reporting Bill O’Reilly has been detained for questioning in regards to the slaying. Bill O’Reilly’s lawyer declined comment when approached.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tiller
• Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 3:23 pm «

  That is not true. There is no such report on the Wichita Eagle website (kansas.com)
• sunshine May 31st, 2009 at 4:23 pm «

  Your right, I looked and couldn’t find it either.
31. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 3:17 pm «

    From LATimes:
    

    But Warren Hern, a Colorado physician and close friend of Tiller’s who said he is now “the only doctor in the world” who performs late-term abortions, said Tiller’s death was predictable.

    “I think it’s the inevitable consequence of more than 35 years of constant anti-abortion terrorism, harassment and violence. George is the fifth American doctor to be assassinated. I get messages from these people saying, ‘Don’t bother wearing a bulletproof vest, we’re going for a head shot.’ “

    When President Obama was elected last fall, Hern predicted that anti-abortion violence would increase, he said. Because Obama supports legalized abortion, said Hern, its foes “have lost ground. . . . They want the doctors dead, and they invite people to assassinate us. No wonder that this happens. . . . I am next on the list.”
32. Teddy Partridge May 31st, 2009 at 3:28 pm «

    From the White House:

    THE WHITE HOUSE

    Office of the Press Secretary

    _______________________________________________________________________________________

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    May 31, 2009

    STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT ON THE MURDER OF DR. GEORGE TILLER

    I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he
    attended church services this morning. However profound our
    differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they
    cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

    ##
33. sunshine May 31st, 2009 at 4:10 pm «

    Tiller was in court Fri and found not guilty.

    Attorney Lee Thompson, left, congratulates Dr. George TIller after bailiff Mary Mazur reads the jury’s verdicts of not guilty in Sedgwick County District Court Friday, Mar. 27, 2009. Tiller was acquitted Friday of 19 misdemeanor charges stemming from some abortions he performed at his Wichita clinic in 2003. Jurors found that he did not break a state law requiring that two Kansas physicians without legal or financial ties sign off on any abortion once a fetus can survive outside the womb. TILLER0531

    http://www.kansascity.com/934/gallery/1226113.html
34. laurenc May 31st, 2009 at 8:35 pm «

    “However profound our
    differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion,” you know what? Hillary would never have said that. Instead, “women’s privacy rights have been guaranteed since l972. This is settled law. Vigilantes are murdering the doctors who protect women’s privacy. I will track them down and the right-wing ideologues who enable them.”
    but Obama instead at Notre Dame equated “both sides” as being reasonable people and assumes that “most people want less abortion.”