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was notorious for operating late term abortion clinic:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090531/D98HDH9G0.html

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Abortion provider Tiller shot dead at Kansas church; Wichita official says suspect in custody

By ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press Writer

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Prominent late-term abortion provider George Tiller was shot and killed Sunday in a Wichita church where he was serving as an usher, his attorney said. The gunman fled but a city official said a suspect is in custody.

The city official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. The official did not provide additional details.

Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was shot during morning services at Reformation Lutheran Church while his wife was in the choir, his attorney Dan Monnat said. Police said the gunman had fled in a car registered in Merriam, a Kansas City suburb nearly 200 miles away.

Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy.

Tiller's killing is "an unspeakable tragedy," his widow, four children and 10 grandchildren said in statement issued by Monnat. "This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."

The family said its loss "is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence."

A protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. More recently, Monnat said Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller's safety was in jeopardy.

In early May, Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building.

Anti-abortion groups denounced the shooting and stressed that they support only nonviolent protest. The movement's leaders fear the killing could create a backlash just as they are scrutinizing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whose views on abortion rights are not publicly known.

"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," Troy Newman, Operation Rescue's president, said in a statement. "Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning."

In 1991, the Summer of Mercy protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.

Tiller began providing abortion services in 1973. He acknowledged abortion was as socially divisive as slavery or prohibition but said the issue was about giving women a choice when dealing with technology that can diagnose severe fetal abnormalities before a baby is born.

After the 1991 protests, Tiller kept mostly to his heavily guarded clinic, although in 1997 he opened it to three tours by state lawmakers and the media.

Tiller remained prominent in the news, in part because of an investigation started begun by former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, an abortion opponent.

Prosecutors had alleged that Tiller had gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires. A jury in March acquitted Tiller of all 19 misdemeanor counts.

"I am stunned by this lawless and violent act, which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law," Kline said in a written statement. "We join in lifting prayer that God's grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller's family and friends."

Abortion opponents also questioned then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' ties to Tiller before the Senate confirmed her this year as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. Tiller donated thousands of dollars to Sebelius over the years.


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That a human being was murdered, regardless of his history, is a sinful and reprehensible act, that the act was committed in a house of worship makes it the more so.

These kind of circumstances sometimes cause people who loathed the victim, and that for which he stood, to lose perspective, see his death as justice, and see the perpetrator as heroic.

A caution - such postings are utterly unacceptable on a forum that proclaims itself as espousing and promoting Christian values and will not be tolerated.

May God have mercy on his soul.

Neil


"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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Originally Posted by Irish Melkite
That a human being was murdered, regardless of his history, is a sinful and reprehensible act, that the act was committed in a house of worship makes it the more so.

These kind of circumstances sometimes cause people who loathed the victim, and that for which he stood, to lose perspective, see his death as justice, and see the perpetrator as heroic.

A caution - such postings are utterly unacceptable on a forum that proclaims itself as espousing and promoting Christian values and will not be tolerated.

May God have mercy on his soul.

Neil
Huh? I thought was newsworthy and appropriate because it pertains to abortion, an issue we freqntly discuss here. What was inappropriate about it?

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David,

Nothing about your post. It is a preemptive warning by the administration to any poster that may want to read into this and post anything that is not acceptable. This does not reflect on your initial post.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator


Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ's own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. - Saint Gregory of Sinai
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David, my brother,

Nothing about your posting of the news item was inappropriate. My caution is directed at those who would take a triumphalistic view of this event - seeing it as "God's will" or "justice".

Many years,

Neil


"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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one thing that confuses some folks is the "smiley" that automatically appears on each post. i don't think there's a way to change it and when you post something serious or sad it looks like you're laughing about it. i remember being taken to task by folks about it before.

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I agree with Neil...

This is a VERY dangerous type of subject matter for a Christian forum, because of the danger it poses for the soul.

It may cause some people who read it to feel that justice was served and to lose sight that it was a crime and a sin of murder, in a house of worship, and infront of his family, no less..

It may cause others feel some sense of retribution because of how they judge him.

It may even cause others to be happy with the crime and the perpetrator--forgetting that this was cold blooded murder!

We are human and our logismoi (Eastern word concept for our sinful thoughts) are bound to run away, and when they do, our hearts will sin.

What this definitely will do is set back any understanding for us who are against late term abortion...

I join with Neil in asking God to be merciful on his soul. Judgement is His and His alone. His life was taken before he could contemplate any type of repentence. His family is grieving now-seeing a horrific and hateful act, losing their loved one. May God comfort them...

and may He have mercy on us all!

Alice, Moderator


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In addition to all of the fine concerns expressed thus far, let me add my angst that this murder will add to further attempts by the radical left to co-opt Holy Pentecost for their agenda and cause de jour..

In the 1980's there was the "Peace Pentecost" movement.

Earlier this decade, the rainbow stole/rainbow slash protestors, sometimes silent, sometimes not made their annual appearance at Pentecost.

Now the abortion-on-demand movement has a martyr. Will his annual commemoration co-opt the liturgical day of Pentecost; or the calendar date--which would be a bitter irony as May 31 is the Feast of the Visitation, the Gospel for which recounts John the Baptist leaping in his mother's womb at the presence of the few-day-conceived embroynic Christ.

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Originally Posted by DAVIDinVA
one thing that confuses some folks is the "smiley" that automatically appears on each post. i don't think there's a way to change it and when you post something serious or sad it looks like you're laughing about it. i remember being taken to task by folks about it before.

Took me a bit to figure it out too. The smiley that appears by your name just means that you are online in the forum at that moment. If the face is closed it means you are not online in the forum at that time.

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God have mercy on his soul and the soul of the person who shot him.
Grant peace and rest to his wife, children, other family, and friends. Help people within the church to be free from the horror of this atrocity. God have mercy on us all.

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Vengeance is not ours to take. The seat of judgment is not ours to chair.

I am not sure how this will play out, it may set back some of the momentum the pro-life movement has gained.

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I hope that the murderer gets a life sentence. Far more merciful than the sentence imposed upon the Doctor.


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Anti-abortion and violence in the US

By Nick Triggle
Health reporter, BBC News


The killing of an abortion doctor has once again highlighted the aggressive and emotional nature of the abortion debate in the US. Why does the issue elicit such a strong response compared to countries such as the UK?


There are about 800,000 abortions a year in the US
It is perhaps a mark of the fervour that characterises the abortion debate in the US, that even President Barack Obama is not immune.

One of the few times he has faced an angry audience since taking power was during an appearance at Indiana's Notre Dame, one of the largest Catholic universities in the country.

He was heckled by anti-abortion activists over his decision earlier this year to lift restrictions on funding for abortion.

Indeed, heckling and protests over abortion are much more commonplace in the US than they are in the UK.

With hundreds of religious radio stations across the country, the anti-abortion movement enjoys a much higher profile than its equivalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

But as well as getting more attention, there is also more violence associated with the issue - as the shooting of Dr George Tiller demonstrates.

While many pro-life organisations have come out and condemned the killing on Sunday, the fact remains that violence and intimidation have remained a constant thread in the history of the modern-day movement.

Killings

According to data gathered by the National Abortion Federation, a pro-choice group, there had been at least nine killings in anti-abortion protests, 17 attempted murders and 400 death threats.

Bombings and arson attempts of abortion facilities also happen on a regular basis with cases often reaching double figures every year.

The most famous was probably the Christmas Day bombings which targeted three clinics in 1984 with the perpetrators dubbing them a "birthday gift for Jesus".

The abortion debate in the US has been gathering pace ever since a Supreme Court judgement in 1973.

The landmark Roe v Wade ruling decreed that most existing state abortion laws were unconstitutional and the termination of pregnancy should be made legal.

Since then there has been a gradual rowing back from that position - although laws do vary from state to state.


What is important to remember is that these acts of violence are not carried out by organisations but by lone individuals

John Smeaton, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
Restrictions are now in place on everything from funding and insurance cover to a particular form of late-term abortion known as partial birth by its opponents.

Partial birth refers to abortions over 20 weeks which require the dead foetus to be delivered vaginally.

This is now relatively rare with only a handful of clinics, including Dr Tiller's, willing to carry out such procedures.

In total, only about 2,000 of the 800,000 abortions carried out in the US each year are classed as partial birth.

One of the obvious differences between anti-abortion movements in the US and the UK is the level of involvement of religious groups.

With half the US population regular church-goers, everything from sexual abstinence and euthanasia campaigns to the abortion debate has been dominated by religious groups.

Gun crime

Dr Joe Cassidy, an expert in medical ethics at Durham University, believes this has played a role in the violence that has been seen.

"The debate in the US has been couched in the terms of defending the defenceless. That gives some people a feeling that violence is therefore justified.

"That sort of debate has never taken off in the UK. There is a feeling that it should be left to the government.

"But in the US there is a fundamentalist religious fringe which believe it is their duty to take matters into their own hands."

Dr Cassidy also said there was a marked difference in what opponents were trying to achieve. "In the US there is a will to ban abortion that is not present in the UK.

"Here the campaigners have been focusing on introducing more restrictions, which would be seen as selling out in the US."

But campaigners in the UK do not believe these differences really account for the violence that has attached itself to the US movement.

John Smeaton, national director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, who has condemned the killing of Dr Tiller, said: "I think it is more to do with the levels of gun crime in the US.

"Guns are more readily available so by the law of averages people providing abortions are going to be caught up.

"What is important to remember is that these acts of violence are not carried out by organisations but by lone individuals.

"I know many of the leaders of these organisations in the US and I know they share the same values as we do in the UK.

"Killings go against everything we stand for - the right to life."

www.bbcnews.com [bbcnews.com]





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The world will hate us whether or not this can be blamed in any way upon the Church or not. I think we must keep on speaking the truth and doing what we can to convince this sorry world that it isn't nice to kill babies or anyone else.

CDL

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