Roundup: Suspect in Tiller Murder in Custody; Operation Rescue Links Discovered

Dr. George Tiller Murdered in Wichita, Kansas, Suspect in Custody
Yesterday the reproductive health community was devastated to learn of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a Kansas abortion provider subjected to decades of anti-choice harassment (and shot in the arms before).  KansasCity.com has more on the alleged killer: "Scott P. Roeder, 51, of Merriam, was arrested on Interstate 35 near Gardner nearly four hours after Tiller was shot to death just after 10 a.m. in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita. Roeder was a member of an anti-government group in the 1990s and a staunch abortion opponent...Authorities said they expected Roeder will be charged today in Sedgwick County with murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Federal charges also are possible."  KansasCity.com offers more details about Roeder, including that "In April 1996, Roeder was arrested in Topeka after Shawnee County sheriff’s deputies stopped him for not having a proper license plate. The deputies said they searched the car and found ammunition, a blasting cap, a fuse cord, a one-pound can of gunpowder and two 9-volt batteries. One of the batteries was connected to a switch that could have been used to trigger a bomb.  Roeder was found guilty and sentenced in June 1996 to 24 months of probation with intensive supervision. He also was ordered to dissociate himself from anti-government groups that advocated violence."

Links to Operation Rescue?
Though Operation Rescue immediately denounced the murder -- "We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down...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" links between suspect Scott Roeder and the anti-abortion group are already emerging. On The Daily Beast, Michelle Goldberg reports, "The man arrested for Tiller’s murder, Scott Roeder, posted at least one comment on the Web site of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue suggesting that antiabortion activists attend Tiller's church en masse. According to local news reports, he had the group’s phone number on a Post-It in his car when he was arrested. He could be a lone lunatic, but he might also be part of a movement that’s reemerging after years of relative dormancy."  (Michelle and others have called attention to a comment posted on a cached Operation Rescue webpage by a person identifying as "Scott Roeder.")

LifeNews's take on the murder?  "Just hours after the shooting death of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller and without a potential suspect, leading pro-abortion organizations immediately blamed pro-life advocates for George Tiller's death."

The British Guardian provides context for the murder:

Tiller's death comes amid an intensifying of the abortion debate in America since the election of Barack Obama. Anti-­abortionists are suspicious of the new president, who they regard as an opponent. They have been angered by some of Obama's early decisions, particularly his removal of restrictions imposed by George Bush on federal funding of stem cell research and on funding family planning services that carry out or assist abortions in foreign countries.

Two weeks ago, discontent between the anti-abortion movement and Obama boiled over when he gave a high-profile speech at a Catholic university in Indiana. There were protests and several arrests at the University of Notre Dame, and the president was heckled by some as he took on the abortion issue head-on.

And the AP reports that anti-choice leaders worry that Tiller's murder will tamp down on questioning of Sonia Sotomayor's position on abortion rights during her confirmation hearings.

Many anti-abortion groups condemned the killing of Tiller, a prominent abortion provider who was shot dead at his church in Wichita, Kan. But they expressed concern that abortion-rights activists would use the occasion to brand the entire anti-abortion movement as extremist.

They also worried that there would now be an effort to stifle anti-abortion viewpoints during questioning of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

The Community Responds
Reactions not to miss: Gloria Feldt on Salon,

I want to hear massive outrage on the part of the community. I want it to start with President Obama. His statement today is a good beginning.

But that’s not nearly enough. He must immediately outline an action plan to increase federal protection for providers and clinics and call for stringent enforcement of the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act. He has an opportunity to make a speech that addresses women’s moral right to reproductive self-determination as passionately as his brilliant speech about race did during the primary. He can and should lead the nation to a larger and more productive conversation about the complex choices women make, and why women deserve the respect, equality and justice inherent in the right to choose to have, or not have, a child. He should bring together pro-choice and anti-choice leaders and get them to issue a joint statement decrying Tiller’s murder as well as all such violent opposition to one another’s efforts. Now that would be real common ground...

When it comes to decrying Tiller’s unspeakable murder, I want to hear it from Congress. I want to hear it from clergy, the medical profession, the media and civic leaders: "This kind of violation will not be tolerated. Period." I want to see leaders and people at the grassroots joining hands together in support of those who provide women with reproductive health services, including abortion. I want them to put the yellow armband on, to assume Tiller’s name as so many took on the Obama’s middle name, Hussein, when he was disparaged during the election. Doctors have a special responsibility. David Toub M.D, MBA, who provided abortions when he was a practicing physician in Philadelphia, told me, "This could have been any of us who provide or provided abortion services. I'm just as annoyed by some of my own colleagues and the American Medical Association who marginalized us and even looked down at anyone involved in providing abortion."

 

Calling the murder of Tiller "a kind of terrorism that works," Matthew Yglesias assesses the impact of anti-choice violence: "Random murder of civilians in order to coerce political concessions doesn’t have a great track-record. But direct action terrorist violence against abortion providers has, I think, proven to be a fairly successful tactic. Every time you murder a doctor, you create a disincentive for other medical professionals to provide these services. What’s more, you create a need for additional security at facilities around the country. In addition, the anti-abortion protestors who frequently gather near clinics are made to seem much more intimidating by the fact that the occurrence of these sorts of acts of violence."

More on Tiller
May 31: WJTV Mississippi: Jackson Abortion Clinic Takes Safety Precautions

May 31: USA Today: Abortion provider was accustomed to threats

May 31: Daily KOS: More proof that it's anti-choice, not pro-life

May 31: Politics Daily: Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly Among Early Scapegoats for Tiller Murder

May 31: AP/HuffPo: Recent Cases Of Abortion-Related Violence

May 31: The Moderate Voice: Dr. George Tiller and Anti-Abortion Terrorism

May 31: Feministe: In honor of Dr. Tiller

May 31: The Colorado Independent: Late-term abortion doctor decries Tiller killing: ‘This is a fascist movement’

Other News to Note
May 31: The Washington Times: Middle East fertility wars

May 31: Nyasa Times: Mangochi poorly responding to family planning methods

May 31: NJ.com: Looney Liberals Against Abortion

May 31: Catholic News Agency: Kmiec and Robert George disagree on how to deal with Obama and abortion

May 31: Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Letter of the day: Diaz nomination to Holy See an affront to true Catholics

May 31: Abilene Reporter News: Planned Parenthood and medication abortions

May 31: Cleveland Daily Banner: Banquet raises 'Hope' awareness

May 31: The Olympian: Cuts to health care hit home

May 31: Las Vegas Review Journal: Couple starts family through 'embryo adoption'

May 31: Argus Leader: Editorial: Keep politics out of sex ed

May 31: The Star: Emotions high as veil around adoption lifts

May 31: Michigan Radio: Adoptions Increase in Michigan

May 31: The News and Observer: From fast track to mommy track to adoption activist

May 31: Fredericksburg.com: Obama and abortion: So much smoke

May 31: Asheville Citizen-Times: One district may show what's ahead for sex ed

May 29: Kentucky News-Enterprise: Some situations certainly call for an overhaul

May 30: NYTimes: Sotomayor Would Be Sixth Catholic Justice, but the Pigeonholing Ends There

May 31: Boston Globe: No simple decree against abortion

May 30: Catholic News Agency: White House claims no Roe v. Wade ‘litmus test’ for Sotomayor

May 31: Scotland News: Dani Garavelli: Lessons on sex education

May 30: Christian Post: FOTF Praises Obama on Adoption Concern

May 31: HuffPo: Too Clever By Half: Obama, Sotomayor and The Politics of Abortion

May 31: Chicago Tribune: The ghosts of today's abortion debate linger

May 31: Catholic News Service/Georgia Bulletin: Engage Obama or fight him? Law professors discuss his abortion stance

May 30: Patriot Ledger: Obama charisma a challenge to pro-life

May 30: The Star: 'Extreme' adoption: Finding foster families for life

May 30: Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette: Obama's actions, beliefs fit many church teachings

May 30: Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel: Only safe sex is no sex