[CitizensTruth] On the Murder of Dr. George Tiller

[Jay Becker]

I think that's an expression of a belief that public statements (in all kinds of forms) are critically important right now. The women's movement (what little remains of it) has left the public stage almost entirely to the Christian fanatical right, refusing to take on their terms of shame and guilt aimed at women who insist on controlling their own reproduction. And as for "seeking common ground" with them, as Dr. Barry Lynd said, the only common ground these people seek is the ground to bury us in. So yes, there's an opinion expressed. Each of us can decide whether we agree with the opinion or not and, if so, how to act on our beliefs. 

As for outrage, I can only think of all the thousands of women who will face even greater hurdles to get an abortion, hurdles many will be unable to surmount, and all the doctors who will be discouraged from providing those health care services. These anti-abortion killers are part of a movement to reduce women to incubators. Without reproductive rights, our right to participate as full members of society is moot. We are talking about half of humanity here. It's heartbreaking and yes, an outrage. 

Jay Becker

    Stop thinking like an American, 
Start thinking about humanity!


--- On Mon, 6/1/09, Robin Migalla <rmigalla at earthlink.net> wrote:

From: Robin Migalla <rmigalla at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [CitizensTruth] On the Murder of Dr. George Tiller
To: "Citizens Truth" <citizenstruth at six.pairlist.net>
Date: Monday, June 1, 2009, 11:29 AM

Hi Jay and Fellow Truth Seekers,

This truly is a tragedy.  I'm so sorry to see someone's outrage at what 
they believe to be wrong creating such an outrageous action.  This is why I 
must pay attention when this reaction follows:

"But today, we mourn with outrage the loss of this heroic, compassionate 
abortion doctor."

which in my way of thinking will only create more outrage.

I also am perplexed by anyone who claims to know what anyone else should do 
as in this statement:

"People should attend vigils, protests, and other events that are being 
planned to remember George Tiller and speak out against his murder."

How do they know what I should do?  Is it possible that there is a 
different way?

If anyone is interested, I'll be offering silent prayers of gratitude and 
compassion for the all of these victims of outrage at noon and 2:00pm CDT. 
 Feel free to join me in spirit if you'd like.

Cheers,
Robin

-----Original Message-----
From:    Jay Becker [SMTP:futurenotwritten at yahoo.com]
Sent:    Monday, June 01, 2009 11:07
To:    Citizens Truth
Subject:    [CitizensTruth] On the Murder of Dr. George Tiller

http://www.revcom.us/a/167/Tiller-en.html



As  We Go to Press:

    
On the Assassination  of Caring, Courageous, Abortion Provider, Dr. George 
Tiller






As
we go to press, the news has broken that Dr. George Tiller, one of the
few doctors in the country to openly and publicly perform late-term
abortions, was assassinated while attending Sunday services in Wichita,
Kansas. His wife, Jeanne Tiller, was in the choir at the time of the
murder.



Dr. Tiller was a courageous, caring
doctor who risked his life every day to make it possible for women to
have late-term abortions. He had every understanding of what risks he
was taking in doing so. He survived a previous assassination attempt in
1993 when he was shot in both arms by Shelly Shannon, a so-called
"pro-life" activist. Dr. Tiller returned to work the next day. Over
three plus decades of providing abortions, his church was picketed and
he was harassed at home. His clinic was bombed. He was hounded by a
grand jury investigation, and faced criminal prosecution. In March of
this year a Wichita jury took just 45 minutes to acquit Dr. Tiller of
charges that he performed 19 illegal late-term abortions in 2003.



In
the face of all this, Dr. Tiller never bent in his commitment to the
right of any woman, in any circumstance, to choose whether or not to
have an abortion. In 1993, Dr. Tiller said in a statement: "It is not
unplanned pregnancy, it is unwanted motherhood that shipwrecks people's
lives. Make no mistake, this battle is about self-determination by
women of the direction and course of their lives and their family's
lives. Abortion is about women's hopes and dreams. Abortion is a matter
of survival for women."



Debra  Sweet, Director of World Can't Wait, told Revolution
that Dr. Tiller was "someone who women could go to in very stressful
circumstances, and not find him judgmental." And she said, "This is a
huge blow. Nobody's doing what he was doing. I've known people from all
over the country who have gone to him, and doctors from all over the
country refer to him because there is no one else. This was the place
women could go, as a last resort, even into the third trimester. This
is the single most important doctor doing abortions in the country. His
view was that he was saving women's lives by doing this, and he
continued doing it even knowing that his own life was at risk."



At
a pro-choice rally in 2001 in Wichita, Emily Lyons-a nurse who was
seriously injured in an anti-abortion bombing of a Birmingham abortion
clinic in 1998-spoke about the inspiration she got from Dr. Tiller:
"Not only have I been in a war, but gone to hell and come back," she
told the rally. "There are heroes in every war," she continued, "and
Dr. Tiller is one of mine. Many would not have the courage to do what
he has accomplished."



Mary Lou Greenberg, of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, met Dr. Tiller when she helped organize
the Wichita protests to defend his clinic and abortion rights in 1995
and again in 2001. She described him as "a very gentle person, who was
determined to assist women, and very warm in his manner." She told 
Revolution about
the impact of seeing the walls of his clinic, lined with framed letters
of appreciation, from women of all ages and circumstances. She
remembers one, which read, "Thank you for giving me back my life."



Dr.
Tiller's defiance, his caring spirit, his commitment to a woman's right
to an abortion, and his sacrifice must serve as a challenge to all
those who would not see women reduced to enslavement as forced
child-breeders. Revolution will have more to say about the
murder of Dr. Tiller and the battle for abortion rights in future
issues. But today, we mourn with outrage the loss of this heroic,
compassionate abortion doctor.





People
should attend vigils, protests, and other events that are being planned
to remember George Tiller and speak out against his murder.



[For those in or near Chicago, that's 4 pm at the State of Illinois 
Building, Clark & Randolph, today.]

    Stop thinking like an American,
Start thinking about humanity!



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