Analysis by Tom Bogdon
About 250 persons gathered at the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain on the Plaza Monday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor Dr. George Tiller, the Wichita abortion provider who was gunned down Sunday while attending church services in Wichita. The Tiller slaying, allegedly the work of a rabid abortion opponent from Johnson County, Kansas, was just the latest manifestation of the bitter struggle over the abortion issue touched off by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in the 1970s.
Tiller was a nationally known figure in the abortion struggle because he was one of only a few physicians willing to perform late-term abortions. Speakers at the candlelight vigil included Peter B. Brownlie, president/CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, who was himself accompanied by an armed, uniformed bodyguard.
A Planned Parenthood staffer provided this reporter with a copy of the statement Brownlie issued on Sunday after news of Tiller’s death spread:
“All of us at Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri are horrified, angry and deeply saddened at the murder of Dr. George Tiller,” Brownlie said. “Our hearts and our prayers go out to Dr. Tiller’s wife, his children and other family members, to his brave and dedicated staff and to the thousands of women who have benefited from Dr. Tiller’s compassionate and dedicated care.
“Dr. Tiller’s murder is an enormous loss for our movement and for women and their families across America,” Brownlie continued. “He provided abortions to women late in their pregnancy and under some of the most difficult medical circumstances.
“Dr. Tiller had been harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career—His clinic was burned down, he was shot in both arms by an abortion protestor, and he was recently targeted for investigation by Phill Kline in Kansas, with a jury acquittal coming just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with abortion care that others were unwilling to offer,” Brownlie said.
“Planned Parenthood’s paramount concerns, as always, are the safety of our staff and patients,” Brownlie said.
“We’re grateful law enforcement has a suspect in custody. Nevertheless, our security staff is working closely with law enforcement personnel and is taking all appropriate steps to secure our sites.
“We will miss Dr. Tiller as a friend and colleague and as a colleague dedicated to serving women and families,” Brownlie concluded. The Catholic Church, a leading abortion opponent, immediately distanced itself from the Tiller slaying. Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed profound regret upon learning of Tiller’s violent death.
“Our bishops’ conference and all its members have repeatedly and publicly denounced all forms of violence in our society, including abortion as well as the misguided resort to violence by anyone opposed to abortion,” Cardinal Rigali said.
“Such killing is the opposite of everything we stand for, and everything we want our culture to stand for: respect for the life of each and every human being from its beginning to its natural end. We pray for Dr. Tiller and his family.” In Kansas City, Catholic Bishop Robert W. Finn said: “As Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I have consistently urged the faithful to pursue peaceful, prayerful and legal means to end abortion. The murder of Dr. Tiller is abhorrent to those of us who embrace the culture of life. I have asked the faithful to pray for the solace and comfort of the Tiller family.”
This week, President Barack Obama is in the Mideast as he seeks to bridge the wide chasm between Islamic and Western cultures. On May 17, the President attempted to bridge a divide perhaps as wide or wider between the pro-choice and pro-life movements in America today. He did so as commencement speaker at Notre Dame, America’s leading Roman Catholic University.
According to the Associated Press, Obama acknowledged that “no matter how much we want to fudge it…the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.” But he still implored the University of Notre Dame’s graduating class and all in the U.S. to stop “reducing those with differing views to caricature. Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It’s a way of life that always has been the Notre Dame tradition.”
The invitation to Obama to speak at the Notre Dame commencement and to receive an honorary degree had in itself roused noisy controversy because Obama supports abortion rights, although he says the procedure should be rare. “ I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” the President said. The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, introduced Obama and praised the President for not being “someone who stops talking to those who disagree with him.” Jenkins said too little attention has been paid to Obama’s decision to speak at an institution that opposes his abortion policy.
Ahead of Obama’s address, at least 27 people were arrested on trespassing charges. They included Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as “Roe” in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. She now opposes abortion and joined more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators at the school’s front gate. The President ceded no ground. But he said those on each side of the debate can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make with both moral and spiritual dimensions.
“So let’s work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term,” Obama said.
He said he favored “a sensible conscience clause” that would give anti-abortion health care providers the right to refuse to perform the procedure. Just days before Obama’s Notre Dame speech, a Gallup survey found that 51 percent of those questioned call themselves “pro-life” on the issue of abortion and 42 percent “pro-choice.” This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults identified themselves as “pro-life” since Gallup began asking the question in 1995.
It seems certain the abortion issue will be a factor as Obama, Congress and the nation attempt to craft a health care policy designed to make quality health care affordable for all Americans. In that debate, will all abortions in all cases be considered to be basic health care to be paid for with public funds, as with treatment for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses?
There is likely to be considerable debate about that. My view is that Mr. Obama’s “sensible conscience clause,” giving health care professionals the right to refuse to perform the procedure, should also apply to taxpayers whose consciences tell them that abortion is morally and spiritually wrong.
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