Saint or Killer

Reproductive rights have once again taken center stage with the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a doctor who was the last resort for many desperate women, forced to face unthinkable decisions. These were women whose health and sometimes lives were in peril.





This brings us to the points I disagree with a friend of mine. The notion that the child is ‘unwanted’ is in more cases than any of us realize, simply not true. This is doubly so in reference to Dr. Tiller’s practice.

There’s a whole conversation to be had about reproductive rights in general, but first, I want to address Dr. Tiller’s practice specifically. Dr. Tiller was one of three (now two) doctors in America who specialized in third trimester abortions for women whose lives were in danger.

I think it’s a widespread misconception on the issue as a whole, that women who get an abortion and doctors who provide them do so casually.

So before we talk about the value that our society puts on life, we have to understand that we’re not talking about elective abortions. For these women, ‘choice’ is not really a factor. Dr. Tiller cared for women who were forced to make the agonizing choice between their health and sometimes even their own lives and the child that they truly and desperately want.

It’s a foregone conclusion that Scott Roeder is a murderer and his actions fall into the category of terrorism, so I’m not going to waste space on him here. Of course his actions can’t be defended and I don’t think anybody wanting to have an intelligent debate on this subject would try to justify what he did.

The sad thing is that there are only two doctors left in this country who will perform a late-term abortion to save the life of a woman.

To put it simply, women are going to die because Dr. Tiller is gone. And that can’t be good news to anyone who respects the sanctity of life.

This is pretty much my mind’s piece specifically on the type of abortions that Dr. Tiller provided, which was to save the life of the mother. Expect another piece on the broader abortion argument soon.