I am Dr. Tiller

This website was created as both a memorial to the lifework of Dr. George Tiller and as a living testimony to the courageous lives of abortion providers.

The site contains photos of people who help provide abortions, and their testimonials. I cried like crazy reading this site. In a good way.

If you help provide abortions, please consider adding your story to the site.

X-posted.

I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to do something to protect our physicians in wake of Dr. Tiller's death.

What do you guys think about the possibility of a statute that bans public (e.g. at gatherings, or on the media) villification of specific abortion providers (i.e. by name)? I know there would be a first amendment challenge, but we have the whole "wanted poster" website precedent to work with...

When a woman faced stoning
for the sin of sex
Jesus stepped up and spoke
and stopped the sentence.
he placed his body
between the vulnerable and the vicious.
two thousand years later
new crowds gather
and write letters
and wave signs
and denounce
and threaten
and stalk, shoot, bomb, poison
to wound women
for the sin of sex.
in Jesus's absence
Dr. Tiller placed his body
between the vulnerable and the vicious.
Between his patients seeking help
and the dark crowds outside
the stalkers and the shooters
the sign-wavers and the letter-writers.
Jesus saved one woman from the mob.
Dr. Tiller saved thousands.
Dr. Tiller was killed
while worshipping Jesus
in the name of Jesus.
Had he not followed Jesus
he would not have been killed.
In this sad strange world
where they kill even gods
for the capital crime
of working for women,
they have made another martyr
who will not be forgotten.

x-posted to my journal and abortioninfo

Hello all!  I just joined the group and am glad to have found a community like this!  I'm a college student, so I have a little more time in the summer between classes to catch up on reading.  Does anyone have any suggestions for good reads about pro-choice issues?

I'm currently reading The Handmaid's Tale and I'm dying to read The Means of Reproduction by Michelle Goldberg. 

From the article:

A suspect in this morning's fatal shooting of George Tiller is in custody in Johnson County.

Authorities have yet to release more information about the arrest in Gardner. Wichita police have scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference to discuss the case.

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.

A church member who did not want to be identified said the gunman threatened another person at the church after the shooting.

Tiller's family issued a statement through Wichita attorneys Dan Monnat and Lee Thompson.

"Today we mourn the loss of our husband, father and grandfather. Today's event is an unspeakable tragedy for all of us and for George's friends and patients.

"This is particularly heart wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."

Police had said they were looking for white male who was driving a 1990s powder blue Ford Taurus with Kansas license plate 225 BAB. The vehicle is registered to an owner in Merriam, which is in the Kansas City area.

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.

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.

Allred said the 10 a.m. church service had already begun at the time of the shooting.

Homicide detectives and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston arrived at the church after the shooting.

Members of the congregation who were inside the sanctuary at the time of the shooting were kept inside by police, and those arriving were ushered into the parking lot immediately after the shooting.

Witnesses later were transported downtown for interviews and other members of the congregation were slowly released from inside the sanctuary.

By 12:30 p.m., what appeared to be a body was taken away in an SUV with a patrol car behind it.

At about 12:40, a police dog was taken to check out a black SUV. An investigator wrote down the tag number on the vehicle.

Tiller has long been a focal point of protest by abortion opponents because his clinic, Women's Health Care Services at 5107 E. Kellogg, is one of the few in the country where late-term abortions are performed.

"It's a terrible loss. I'm just really sad about the whole thing," said a former employee of the clinic who asked not to be identified. "He was a great guy. I understand people were against a lot of what he did, but for those who he helped, they'll never forget the kind of person he was."

Mark Mitchell, who lives near where the shooting occurred, said he knew Tiller attended Reformation Lutheran Church because of the periodic protests there and media coverage.

He said the protests would sometimes be as large as two dozen people. The last protest he can remember there was in the fall.

"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," anti-abortion group Operation Rescue said in a statement on its Web site. "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. We pray for Mr. Tiller's family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ."

Protesters blockaded Tiller's clinic during Operation Rescue's "Summer of Mercy" protests during the summer of 1991, and Tiller was shot by Rachelle Shannon at his clinic in 1993. Tiller was wounded in both arms, and Shannon remains in prison for the shooting.

The clinic was bombed in June 1986, and was severely vandalized earlier this month. According to the Associated Press, his lawyer said wires to security cameras and outdoor lights were cut and that the vandals also cut through the roof and plugged the buildings' downspouts. Rain poured through the roof and caused thousands of dollars of damage in the clinic. Tiller reportedly asked the FBI to investigate the incident.

No arrests were made in the 1986 bombing.

Sgt. Bart Brunscheen of the Wichita Police Department said earlier today that there has been no activity today at Tiller's clinic, although security crews were being brought in to make sure the building was secure. Officials also were going to check the clinic's security cameras to see if there was any activity over night.

Tiller and his clinic have faced continuous threats and lawsuits. A Wichita jury ruled in March that he was not guilty of illegal abortion on 19 criminal charges he faced for allegedly violating a state law requiring an "independent" second physician's concurring opinion before performing later term abortions. Immediately following the ruling in this criminal case, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts made public a similar complaint against Tiller that was originally filed in December 2008.

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who conducted an investigation into Tiller, said in a statement he was "stunned by this lawless and violent act which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law. We join in lifting prayer that God's grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller's family and friends.

Website includes photos, video, etc.

Did anyone else belong to feminist_rage and have any idea what happened to the comm? It suddenly like...disappeared?

Off topic, I know, but this is the only comm I belong to where I think someone might now. i'll delete this if needed.

If you haven't heard yet, President Obama has overturned the Global Gag Rule!

What PP's Action Center has to say about it: 

"By overturning the global gag rule, President Obama has taken a tremendous first step toward promoting women's health around the world. Overseas health care providers will now be able to offer counseling, referrals, and services for the full range of reproductive health services to women without fear that the U.S. government will strip them of their funding."

Want to send him a thank you note?  Do it here.


Let's hope Obama keeps this momentum in reinforcing our rights!

Bolivia will hold a nationwide referendum this Sunday for its constituents to decide whether to approve or reject a new version of the country's constitution that would provide for abortion rights, religious liberties, and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens.

Take action to urge the President and Vice-President to vocally support the referendum publicly.
http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2009/01/bolivia-to-vote-on-new-constitution.html

Today is the 36th Anniversary of ROE v WADE!!!

Blog for Choice Day

This years topic:

What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress

I don't know how many of you have heard of change.org, but they're a very interesting website! Right now they are having an election to determine the top 10 ideas to present to President Obama as suggestions for his new administration. Go and support the end of the global gag rule!

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/end_the_global_gag_rule

Hi everyone,

We rarely make appeals for specific cases and specific women who call the EMA Fund for help, but today is a different story.

We are currently fundraising for a 12 year old girl who was raped by an adult and became pregnant as a result. Due to her circumstances, she is too far along in her pregnancy to terminate in Massachusetts and needs to travel in order to have her abortion. The total cost is $6500 and her procedure begins on Monday.

We hope that you will consider donating now to help us raise enough money for this girl to receive the health care that she needs.

You can donate to the EMA Fund via the Network for Good website (https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/ExpressDonation.aspx?ORGID2=043502604). If you make a donation online, please note in the designation box that it is for this girl. You can also send a check to the EMA Fund and designate your gift for this purpose. In either case, please also send an e-mail to emama@nnaf.org, so that we know your gift is on its way and we can increase our pledge to help this girl accordingly.

Visit our Facebook page:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/28632

PS - Please feel free to pass this message along to your like-minded friends, family, and colleagues.

I am looking for a charity supporting the education and health of women that takes a pro-choice stance. I would dearly love to support 'Women on the Waves' but as I will be fund-raising with quite a varied group, I know it would be way too controversial for some to accept and sadly, more likely to get us thrown out than given donations.

Reproductive health does not have to be the main focus of the charity's work but I would like to be confident that I was not supporting an abstinence-only program. So far I have considered uk.camfed.org/ but I would like an organisation that was overtly pro-choice (where relevant).

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

(x-posted to pro_choice)

Abortion ban, the reality

Women come for abortions
Yuliya Popova

Abortion tourism is a covert phenomenon between doctors in western Ukraine and pregnant women in eastern Poland.

LVIV, Ukraine Apart from Black Sea beaches and the Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine is a destination for unconventional kinds of tourism – political, sex and also abortion.

( Read more... )
Source: Kyiv Post , October 23, 2008

source: Federa

X-posted

Hello everyone

I am mostly a lurker here at LJ but right now I need some help. I run a pro-choice blog here in Sweden where I together with some friends try to counter the arguments and "facts" put forward by the anti-choice organizations. Anyway, today the biggest anti-choice organization had a post about Obama's stance on abortion and some stuff about partial birth abortion and what a horrible method that is blah, blah, blah. I would like to counter those arguments, but I need some help I am afraid.

First of all: if you don't know the answers to my questions yourself does anyone know where I can find facts about partial birth abortion (or dilation and extraction as it is really called, right? This method is never used here in Sweden)?

Second: Why is this method used? It is used to protect the health of the woman, because a regular birth or c-section would be too dangerous, right? The antis claim on their blog that this method is used ONLY b/c of the law (something about that if the fetus comes out with its head intact it would be murder).

Three: Correct me if I am wrong, but the american associations of health care providers also opposed this law, right?

Four: They say that this method of abortion is like a horror movie in real life, that it is grotesque and so on. How can I counter this? I was thinking about pointing out that this method is only used when the woman's health or life is in danger and we can't ban a medical procedure just b/c someone thinks it is grotesque.

Any help is appreciated!

Sorry for bad grammar etc I was in a hurry when writing this.

So how many people had abortion-related propositions on their state ballots and what were the results?

It looks like our prop 4 (parental notification for unemancipated minors seeking abortions) didn't pass, which is a relief.

I don't know what to say, i know If I get started I am going to rant for days.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903142.html

http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-dont-even-know-what-to-say-anymore.html

The general gist here? Palin asserts that Bill Ayers is a terrorist. But would not make the same assertion that someone who blows up an abortion clinic is a terrorist.

A while back I posted something about McCain's history with women, both publicly and privately. The intention wasn't some puerile smear, but to demonstrate that women's issues, basic rights that we currently enjoy, will not be protected under a McCain presidency.

McCain has pretty much made it clear, that he isn't on the side of women. Sure, there were the now-famous air quotes used when referring to the health of a woman as being an exception to any sort of abortion ban... and now this:



To quote Shakesvill: With the election approaching, however, McCain has finally fessed up his reasoning for picking Palin, someone he didn't know whatsoever: It was a cold political calculation designed to counter the "liberal Feminist agenda."

http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2008/10/shakesville-john-mccain-picked-sarah.html