Abortion lightning rod Dr. George Tiller gunned down in Kansas church
Abortion lightning rod Dr. George Tiller gunned down in Kansas church
BY HELEN KENNEDY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Updated Sunday, May 31st 2009, 3:36 PM
One of the nation's most controversial abortion doctors was gunned down today as he walked into his Kansas church for Sunday services, officials said.
The shooter, a white male, escaped briefly in a car registered in Kansas City, but was captured within hours, the Wichita Eagle reported.
Dr. George Tiller, 67, was killed just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, where he was an usher.
His wife, Jeanne, watched from the choir.
The Tillers were members of the congregation for 25 years and anti-abortion protesters had frequently targeted the church for sidewalk demonstrations in the past.
One of only three doctors in America who performed third trimester abortions, Tiller's clinic drew women from all over the world whose unborn children had been diagnosed with terrible deformities.
It also made him a leading target of anti-abortion zealots, both in the courtroom with dozens of legal challenges and on the sidewalk with countless demonstrations.
Wichita is headquarters of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and was ground zero for violent protests in the 1990s.
In 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms by a woman who was sentenced to 11 years for the crime and remains behind bars. The wounds were not serious and he later testified he tried angrily to drive after the shooter as she ran away.
Tiller's clinic was also bombed in 1986 and blockaded for a month during the mass abortion protests of 1991.
He drove an armored car.
During the 1990s, Tiller often received protection from the US Marshal's service and went to the White House to personally thank President Clinton. It was unclear when that guard was dropped.
Operation Rescue released a statement saying "we denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place."
Members of the Reformation Lutheran Church congregation who were inside the sanctuary at the time of the shooting were being kept inside the church by police to be interviewed.
A former Navy flight surgeon, Tiller began performing abortions when they became legal in 1973.
He specialized in late term abortions, those performed on women more than 22 weeks along who discover their fetus is badly damaged and will not live, or will survive only on machines.
A website called AHeartbreakingChoice.com collects tragic stories of women who traveled to Wichita to abort much-wanted pregnancies long after picking out names for their babies and decorating their nurseries.
Tiller's clinic was also unusual in that it offered extensive grief counseling that included funeral viewings, cremations and post-mortem baptisms.
Tiller has said he also accepted some patients with healthy fetuses, including girls as young as 10, rape victims and women who were suicidal.
Critics, including the high-profile Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, who referred to him on air as "Tiller the baby killer," accused him of performing late abortions on some women who were simply depressed.
The most recent legal case against him, a citizen-initiated grand jury investigation on charges that he violated a state law requiring a second opinion for late abortions, ended in acquittal in March.
A jury took 45 minutes to find him not guilty of all 19 counts.
Tiller remained a target: his clinic was vandalized just a few weeks ago when wires to security cameras and outdoor lights were cut.
The other two late term abortionists are in Boulder, Colo., and Los Angeles.
hkennedy@nydailynews.com
Abortion lightning rod Dr. George Tiller gunned down in Kansas church
BY HELEN KENNEDY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Updated Sunday, May 31st 2009, 3:36 PM
One of the nation's most controversial abortion doctors was gunned down today as he walked into his Kansas church for Sunday services, officials said.
The shooter, a white male, escaped briefly in a car registered in Kansas City, but was captured within hours, the Wichita Eagle reported.
Dr. George Tiller, 67, was killed just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, where he was an usher.
His wife, Jeanne, watched from the choir.
The Tillers were members of the congregation for 25 years and anti-abortion protesters had frequently targeted the church for sidewalk demonstrations in the past.
One of only three doctors in America who performed third trimester abortions, Tiller's clinic drew women from all over the world whose unborn children had been diagnosed with terrible deformities.
It also made him a leading target of anti-abortion zealots, both in the courtroom with dozens of legal challenges and on the sidewalk with countless demonstrations.
Wichita is headquarters of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and was ground zero for violent protests in the 1990s.
In 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms by a woman who was sentenced to 11 years for the crime and remains behind bars. The wounds were not serious and he later testified he tried angrily to drive after the shooter as she ran away.
Tiller's clinic was also bombed in 1986 and blockaded for a month during the mass abortion protests of 1991.
He drove an armored car.
During the 1990s, Tiller often received protection from the US Marshal's service and went to the White House to personally thank President Clinton. It was unclear when that guard was dropped.
Operation Rescue released a statement saying "we denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place."
Members of the Reformation Lutheran Church congregation who were inside the sanctuary at the time of the shooting were being kept inside the church by police to be interviewed.
A former Navy flight surgeon, Tiller began performing abortions when they became legal in 1973.
He specialized in late term abortions, those performed on women more than 22 weeks along who discover their fetus is badly damaged and will not live, or will survive only on machines.
A website called AHeartbreakingChoice.com collects tragic stories of women who traveled to Wichita to abort much-wanted pregnancies long after picking out names for their babies and decorating their nurseries.
Tiller's clinic was also unusual in that it offered extensive grief counseling that included funeral viewings, cremations and post-mortem baptisms.
Tiller has said he also accepted some patients with healthy fetuses, including girls as young as 10, rape victims and women who were suicidal.
Critics, including the high-profile Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, who referred to him on air as "Tiller the baby killer," accused him of performing late abortions on some women who were simply depressed.
The most recent legal case against him, a citizen-initiated grand jury investigation on charges that he violated a state law requiring a second opinion for late abortions, ended in acquittal in March.
A jury took 45 minutes to find him not guilty of all 19 counts.
Tiller remained a target: his clinic was vandalized just a few weeks ago when wires to security cameras and outdoor lights were cut.
The other two late term abortionists are in Boulder, Colo., and Los Angeles.
hkennedy@nydailynews.com
