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5/31/09

Abortion provider Dr. George Tiller shot and killed - KSN TV

Abortion provider Dr. George Tiller shot and killed - KSN TV

WICHITA, Kansas -- Wichita abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed just before 10:00 Sunday morning during church services at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita.

Dr. Tiller, 67, was in the foyer of the church serving as an usher when a gunman came in and fired one shot at Dr. Tiller, killing him.

The suspect got away, initiating a search for the light blue Ford Taurus registered to a home in Merriam, Kansas. A 51-year-old man was later arrested on a highway just outside of Kansas City.

Right now, police believe the suspect acted alone but note that it is very early in their investigation. They will not release his name until he is formally charged Monday. He is expected to be charged with one count of murder and two counts of assault for threatening two bystanders who tried to intervene.

Dr. Tiller has been the focus of controversial and sometimes violent protests. He is one of the few doctors in the country that performs late-term abortions. His clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, has been the scene of many protests over the years and was bombed in 1986.

Organizations on both sides of the abortion issue have issued statements condemning the shooting.

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JOURNAL ENTRY: IT'S HIM! OMG!! IT WAS HIM!!!!!!!!!!

5-31-09 - http://www.kansas.com/topstories/story/833730.html

The age is right, the place of the vehicle registration is right, and I have documentation that Numb Nuts was wanting to antagonize Tiller during his worship service. If this proves to be Numb Nuts, my daughter and I would be free, after 7 years of hell from this man.
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IT'S HIM! OMG!! IT WAS HIM!!!!!!!!!!

George Tiller killed in church, Scott Roeder the suspect held

VIDEO: Man Arrested in Connection With Tiller Slaying

http://www.kmbc.com/video/19617185/

VIDEO: Man Arrested in Connection With Tiller Slaying

Late-term abortion doctor shot dead inside US church

Late-term abortion doctor shot dead inside US church

A doctor who was one of the few in the US to continue carrying out late-term abortions was shot dead in a church today.

George Tiller, 67, who had been picketed, bombed and shot in the arms in previous incidents, was killed at his church in Kansas, according to police sources.

Tiller was a controversial man, whose clinic has been the site of protests for two decades. He was shot and wounded by a protester in 1993 and someone placed a bomb on the roof of the clinic in 1986, seriously damaging the building.

Police spokesman Gordon Bassham would not confirm the victim's identity but said a 67-year-old "high-profile individual in the community" was shot and killed. He was shot at 10am in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran church in Wichita, police and city officials said.

According to the reports a white man carrying a handgun shot the doctor and then fled in a blue Ford Taurus.

"It's an unfortunate incident to happen on a Sunday morning," Wichita police ­captain Brent Allred told reporters. "These things should not occur at any time."

The FBI and state police were called in to help search for the gunman, whose licence plate was registered to a home in a suburb of Kansas City, 200 miles away.

The shooting came just two weeks after Barack Obama sought "common ground" over the divisive abortion debate in a ­controversial speech at one of America's leading Catholic universities.

The president has attempted to defuse one of the most emotive issues in US public life by arguing that while abortion should remain legal, the government should do all it can to limit unwanted pregnancies.

Tiller had been regularly targeted by abortion opponents who protested outside his clinic. Some 2,000 protesters were also arrested outside the clinic during summer-long demonstrations in 1991.

He was acquitted in March on charges that he performed 19 illegal abortions in 2003. His lawyer described the prosecution as a witch-hunt. Tiller testified during the trial that he spent years under police protection after the FBI discovered an anti-abortion hit list in 1994 that named Tiller as the top target.

The doctor also testified that he owns one of only three clinics in the US that perform late-term abortions, which are performed on foetuses that could survive outside the mother's womb.

Late-term abortions are legal in Kansas if two independent doctors agree that the mother could suffer irreparable harm by giving birth.

About this article

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk at 20.26 BST on Sunday 31 May 2009. It appeared in the Guardian on Monday 1 June 2009 on p1 of the International section. It was last updated at 20.27 BST on Sunday 31 May 2009.

Abortion Doctor Gunned Down at Kansas Church, Suspect in Custody

Fox News: Abortion Doctor Gunned Down at Kansas Church, Suspect in Custody

FOXNews.com

Sunday , May 31, 2009

AP

WICHITA, Kan. —

Dr. George Tiller, who remained one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.

The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was arrested some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.

Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church, Stolz said. Tiller's attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller's wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time.

Johnson County sheriff's spokesman Tom Erickson said Scott Roeder was the man whose car was stopped on Interstate 35 on Sunday, about three hours after the shooting of George Tiller.

Earlier in the day, Wichita police said the suspect was a 51-year-old man from Merriam, Kan., but they refused to identify him by name.

Roeder has not been charged in the slaying, but he was expected to be taken to Wichita for questioning.

Click here for photos.

The slaying of the 67-year-old doctor is "an unspeakable tragedy," his widow, four children and 10 grandchildren said in statement. "This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."

The family said its loss "is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence."

Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. The clinic was heavily fortified and Tiller often traveled with a bodyguard, but Stolz said there was no indication of security at the church Sunday.

Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri said it was working with law enforcement to secure its facilities Sunday even after the suspect was in custody.

A protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. More recently, Monnat said Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller's safety was in jeopardy. Stolz, however, said police knew of no threats connected to the shooting.

In early May, Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building.

Anti-abortion groups denounced the shooting and stressed that they support only nonviolent protest. The movement's leaders fear the killing could create a backlash just as they are scrutinizing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whose views on abortion rights are not publicly known.

"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," Troy Newman, Operation Rescue's president, said in a statement. "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."

In 1991, the Summer of Mercy protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.

Tiller began providing abortion services in 1973. He acknowledged abortion was as socially divisive as slavery or prohibition but said the issue was about giving women a choice when dealing with technology that can diagnose severe fetal abnormalities before a baby is born.

Nancy Keenan, president of abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, issued a statement praising Tiller's commitment.

"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. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita," Keenan said.

After the 1991 protests, Tiller kept mostly to his heavily guarded clinic, although in 1997 he opened it to three tours by state lawmakers and the media.

The clinic is fortified with bulletproof glass, and Tiller hired a private security team to protect the facility. Once outside the clinic, Tiller was routinely accompanied by a bodyguard.

At a recent trial, he told jurors that he and his family have suffered years of harassment and threats and that he knew he was a target of anti-abortion protesters.

Federal marshals protected Tiller during the 1991 Summer of Mercy protests, and he was protected again between 1994 and 1998 after another abortion provider was assassinated and federal authorities reported finding Tiller's name on an assassination list.

Tiller remained prominent in the news, in part because of an investigation begun by former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, an abortion opponent.

Prosecutors had alleged that Tiller had gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires. A jury in March acquitted Tiller of all 19 misdemeanor counts.

"I am stunned by this lawless and violent act, which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law," Kline said in a written statement. "We join in lifting prayer that God's grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller's family and friends."

Abortion opponents also questioned then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' ties to Tiller before the Senate confirmed her this year as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. Tiller donated thousands of dollars to Sebelius over the years.

Click here for more on this story from MyFOXKC.com.

Dr. Tiller Killed: Eyewitness News Special Report - part 1

Dr. Tiller Killed: Eyewitness News Special Report - part 2