George Tiller, MD, Gave His Life, in His Church, for Following the Law. BuzzFlash Honors Him with the Wings of Justice Award

WINGS OF JUSTICE

George Tiller, MD

George Tiller, MD, receives the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice accolade posthumously.

Tiller was a good man whose views differed from those held in the "right-to-life" movement. He was one of many victims of relentless and violent extremism by domestic terrorists obsessed with that single issue. He was vilified, too, by nonviolent opponents. Despite decades of harrassment of every kind, he continued his work providing legal abortions to women and families who had made heart-wrenching choices independently and who needed his help. He remained guided by his own steadfast moral compass.

Unlike his attackers, Tiller accepted the judgment of the United States Supreme Court and its Roe v. Wade ruling, which itself was made to save America's women from the scourge of back-alley, unsafe abortion. As The New York Times reports today, 19 million unsafe abortions occur yearly, killing 70,000 women worldwide. That reality is what Tiller was up against. That was his fight.

Every day that Tiller went to work, he directly confronted the most difficult of reproductive health questions -- questions ultimately decided not by him, but by his patients. His Women's Health Care Service was one of just three facilities in the country providing access to abortion after the 21st week of pregnancy.

The work was not easy. Tiller took intimidating lawsuits and protests in stride. He accepted the necessity of cloistering his family within a gated community, of hiring bodyguards, of wearing a bulletproof vest. He overcame repeated attacks on his place of work, and a previous assault by a gunman. But he could not overcome an assassin's bullet, aimed point-blank to his head, delivered inside the sanctuary of his own church on a Sunday morning.

Here's how Planned Parenthood described Tiller's long experience as the target of "right-to-lifers":

He was continually harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career -- his clinic was burned down, he was shot by a health center protester, and he was recently targeted for investigation, only to be acquitted by a jury just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with compassionate care that others were unwilling to offer.

Now, as Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-Choice America acknowledges, "Dr. Tiller's murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country." Which is to say, the terrorists won.

Public figures such as Randall Terry and Bill O'Reilly publically singled out Tiller as being deserving of hate. They and others made him the face of legal abortion in the United States.

Tiller did not seek martyrdom. Very likely, the hate-mongers have thrust it upon him.

For his strength and compassion, BuzzFlash awards George Tiiller, M.D., the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice award.

^{Photo by Jon Goering.}

See also, Don't Kid Yourself; the Murder of Dr. George Tiller is Part of the War Against Women, a BuzzFlash News Analysis.

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Nominated by BuzzFlash staff. To see a full list of past Wings of Justice honorees, click here.

WINGS OF JUSTICE