David Gibson: May 2009 Archives

Not a rhetorical exercise, especially not today. And not for the theocon journal First Things, which took up the question in seriousness in 1994 following Paul Hill's killing of an abortion doctor in Florida. Hill said in his defense, "Whatever force is legitimate in defending a born child is legitimate in defending an unborn child." Many would second that, and have.  

Read "Killing Abortionists: A Symposium." It has some weird coding at the top, but you can scroll down to the various opinions. Robert George's is a good bit more snarky that his statement today after the Tiller killing, as he compared killing abortion docs to supporting abortion rights:

"I believe in policies that reduce the urgent need some people feel to kill abortionists while, at the same time, respecting the rights of conscience of my fellow citizens who believe that the killing of abortionists is sometimes a tragic necessity-not a good, but a lesser evil. In short, I am moderately pro-choice."

I suppose that's one approach.

Local TV reports are naming the 51-year-old suspect as Scott Roeder, and other reports indicate he may have been a member of the anti-government Freemen group who was arrested in 1996 after authorities found what were apparently bomb-making materials in his car.

News reports at the time identified him as Scott Roeder, 38, of Silver Lake, Kan., which would make him 51 today, the same age as the suspect in the Tiller killing. Other reports are tying him to anti-abortion groups like Operation Rescue whose site, including its "Tiller Watch," is down), but no confirmation on that, and the links appear thin; he may have posted comments on the site, e.g.

The Daily Kos folk are already pushing the TERRORIST meme. Others are citing the April Homeland Security Department report on concerns about right-wing extremism that made a brief mention of anti-abortion groups.

Andrew Sullivan has several good posts, with links to the kind of language that can lead to such killings, saying, "Christianist terrorism is no more defensible than Islamist terrorism."

dotCommonweal also has a vigorous discussion on the power of words and what this could mean for the pro-life movement--and the responsibility of everyone who is pro-life to condemn it, not just the movement types.

The Wichita Eagle continues to be all over this story.

My Beliefnet colleague Rod Dreher condemns the killing but adds, " I would hate to be George Tiller facing judgment with those grave sins to explain."

He also has a statement from Robert George at National Review's Corner saying "Whoever murdered George Tiller has done a gravely wicked thing," and ending: "Let our 'weapons' in the fight to defend the lives of abortion's tiny victims, be chaste weapons of the spirit." 

It's a race between the likes of George and the Daily Kos to see who defines this story first. Much will depend on who Scott Roeder turns out to be. But the anti-abortion folks are playing defense, and they've been down this road before.

This statment by Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry won't help:

"George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder."

Kathryn Jean Lopez, who passes it on, also doesn't help the cause by comparing Terry to legit Muslim advocacy gorups. Huh?

What George Tiller did was evil and that should not be glossed over or sugarcoated. But here Randall Terry is doing exactly what CAIR does. When someone dies at the hands of a Muslim, CAIR rushes to warn the rest of us not to use it as an excuse to scapegoat Islam.

An evil thing has happened--a man has been killed--and to jump to points of politics and media criticism is wrong. Evil begot more of it here.

More to come...

George Tiller, the Kansas abortionist whose willingness to perform late-term abortions made him especially anthema to pro-lifers, was shot and killed as he served as an usher this morning at his church, Redeemer Luthern.

He was reportedly shot by a white male with a handgun, and the AP reports that police have a suspect in custody:

WICHITA, Kan. - A Wichita city official says a suspect is in custody in the shooting death of late-term abortion provider George Tiller.

The city official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. The official did not provide additional details.

An attorney for Tiller, Dan Monnat, says the doctor was shot Sunday as he served as an usher during morning services at Reformation Lutheran Church. Monnat said Tiller's wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time of the shooting.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Late-term abortion doctor George Tiller, a prominent advocate for abortion rights wounded by a protester more than a decade ago, was shot and killed Sunday at a church in Wichita where he was serving as an usher and his wife was in the choir, his attorney said.

Tiller was shot during morning services at Reformation Lutheran Church, attorney Dan Monnat said. Police said a manhunt was under way for the shooter, who fled in a car registered to a Kansas City suburb nearly 200 miles away.

National anti-abortion groups had long focused on Tiller, whose Women's Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy.

A news conference is scheduled for 4pm local time. The Wichita Eagle also has up-to-the-minute coverage.

Pro-life groups have been quick to denounce the shooting:

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

LifeNews.com also rounds up pro-life reax.

Coming just weeks after a new poll showing a majority of Americans identifying with the pro-life label (if not policies) for the first time, this could be ugly.

Fellow pro-lifers, Catholic conservatives--and since the 2008 campaign political antagonists--Doug Kmiec and Robert George faced off in a "discussion" (not a debate) last night at the National Press Club in Washington.

The discussion was titled "The Obama Administration and the Sanctity of Human Life: Is there a common ground on life issues? What is the right response by 'Pro-Life' Citizens?" It was sponsored by the Catholic University Law School, and PoliticsDaily's Melinda Hennberger was there and called it "The Catholic Thrilla in Manila."

The crowd also buzzed over Kmiec's argument that Obama was committed to reducing the number of abortions - and that "he's already demonstrated he's listening'' to pro-lifers by supporting funding for adult stem-cell research and by affirming, in his Notre Dame speech, that he supports conscience-clause laws that protect the jobs of pro-life health care workers.

"It's wrong to make the perfect the enemy of the good,'' Kmiec said in summing up. "And wrong not to recognize the good heart'' of a good man like Obama.

George was more forceful in his presentation, and he talks faster. "One does not treat an interlocutor with respect if one does not speak plainly,'' he began, and by that measure, he proceeded quite respectfully. "I find myself at odds, deeply at odds, with the Obama administration'' on life issues, he said. And for all who agree on those issues, "our goal must be to frustrate at every turn'' the president's efforts. If there is any common ground to be found, he added, it is the government who should "find common ground with us in this great struggle'' for human rights.

 

snip...

But afterwards, many in the audience grumbled that the discussion had been unsatisfyingly polite: "I'm from New York, and I like a good argument,'' said a priest who didn't want his name used. "It's no fun kicking somebody if they don't know they're bleeding.''

So maybe more vanilla than thrilla. Still, not such a bad thing in today's public dquare.

Check it out. CSPAN has the video. The Witherspoon Institute has the text of George's remarks.

If you didn't know that the head of the Catholic League was an old softie at heart, then his email exchange with Steve Waldman will change your mind. Responding to a question from Steve, Bill wrote:

"I like the fact that she is not brandishing her religion. I do not want Catholic judges to rule as Catholics but as judges. I am all for Catholic legislators having a Catholic-informed opinion, but a judge has a different charge. Unless something pops that we don't know about, I am not going to oppose her. Indeed, the experiences I had working with the Puerto Rican community lead me to quietly root for her."

That's not so surprising, really, as Donohue noted in his first reaction release that he spent four years in the 1970s teaching in a Catholic elementary school in Spanish Harlem. "I loved working with the Puerto Rican people. Indeed, I feel some of the pride that Puerto Ricans rightly feel today. Good for them--this is their special day."

Good for Bill. But it does smack of that notorious quality, "empathy," which is shaping up as a battleground buzzword. Ironically.

Sotomayor's "temperment" is also attracting the attention of conservative strategists. Did they worry about Antonin Scalia's temper? Or is it something about a woman, and a Latina at that, speaking up? Bill D could empathize on the temperment question too, methinks.