Colleagues Say Tiller Knew Something Was Coming

McClatchy:

Two weeks before Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller was gunned down in his church, he called colleague Susan Hill in North Carolina.

Read the whole story: McClatchy

Comments

[TXfemmom]

These abortion groups use violent, irrational rhetoric to stir up the mentally fringe group, hoping they will do something and then they can disavow it, as they have with Roeder. It would be most interesting to know with whom Roeder had been communicating in the last few weeks, because the answer to this and co-conspirators would be among those individuals.

[Gatormouth]

The only reason the suspect was ignored by the FBI after multiple violations for which he could (should!) have been arrested that I can think of is an overly cozy relationship between the FBI and local religious/political realities they did not want to offend. As this resulted in death, and did involve terrorism (a supposed priority for enforcement) I think we are entitled to an official explanation perhaps involving disciplinary action if appropriate. And no cover ups or else obstruction of justice/conspiracy charges! Who is the U.S. Attorney involved in these decisions? That could be a key to understanding what happened. Not an appointed, local good old boy, I hope.

[bagelmaven]

These people from Operation Rescue are KILLERS. They are the REAL killers and TERRORISTS and why that bass&^%D who killed Dr. Tiller a rescuer of women in trouble, cannot be executed I do not know. Why does the death penalty not apply to him.

Late term abortionists are saviors of women, they do what needs to be done to a very sick mother or a VERY deformed and even sometimes already DEAD fetus.

Abortion is life SAVING and people like Dr. Tiller are to be lauded. The person who killed him AND those who egged him on are truly guilty of murder. It's DOMESTIC terrorism that is the biggest threat to our culture and way of life. They are the ones who subvert our system and THEY are the ones that MUST be stopped at all costs.

[WierdWookie]

Women who choose late term abortion have legitimate reasons. Critical deformed or dead fetuses are 99%
likely to pose great dangers for the mother's health. It's just another case of failing health care in this country. Doctors who do late term abortions have that "empathy" thing, which right wing advocates hate.

[ladylove114]

Do some research, your 99% is WAY off. Most who seek late term abortions do it simply because they got pregnant and do not want the baby and did not realize they were pregnant until it was late term. It is between them and their god. But please do some research.

[TXfemmom]

Ladylove doesn't know what she is talking about, really. I was an Anesthesia Professional who provided Anesthesia Services for patients at several hospitals, not clinics, where I worked and I endured harassment and all kinds of abuse for doing so.

Under the terminology and "partial birth abortion" crap terminology they use now, many medically necessary abortions may not be done. Fear of facing criminal charges will lead the doctors not to do what needs to be done. An OB/GYN came to me with a patient with a hydrocephalic fetus. The head was HUGE. The young woman had not had regular prenatal care and that delayed the diagnosis till very late in the pregnancy. His decision was to permit her to labor on her own, hoping that would lead to fetal demise. However, after hours of exhausting labor, fetal signs continue. If he tried to do a C-section with a low cervical incision, the safest for the mother, the head would not fit through it. A classical incision may not permit it to be delivered intact either Pregnant uteruses bleed, and I mean bleed and we were pretty certain that incising a uterus in two directions to deliver a hydrocephaic fetus with a very tiny body and huge head which just a brain stem, could well lead to an emergency hysterectomy, and maybe a maternal death. I am going to have to complete this in another post.

[TXfemmom]

Continuation of the other post.

The mother and father both wanted children, and the surgery would in most scenarios, make that very unsafe or impossible. He proposed that we put the mother to sleep, and deliver the infant vaginally, after doing a destructive delivery. In this case, that meant incising the hydrocephalic head with a trocar and draining the cerebrospinal fluid and then delivering the infant vaginally, which is what was done. The fetus only had a brain stem and would have died within minutes or a few hours, and a C-section could have cost the mother her life, and would have most obviously made a successful pregnancy and other children either very unlikely or impossible for the young woman and her husband. I don't think anyone or any legislation should have been able to interfere in that decision or the actions which we took with the full knowledge, understanding, and approval of the young woman involved. Who were we to force her to risk her life and ability to have children to save the fetus which was not viable? Under some of the current situations and laws, I am not sure that we would have been able to do this in today's climate.

When government starts making that kind of decision for people, we are not free any longer.

[leatherneck1971]

Right wing radio icons such as Limbaugh, Ingraham, Oreilly, Hannity, use their bully pulpit to incite anger, violence and when it occurs they are like fair weather friends no where to be found when they incite a lynch mob mentality and get the blood lust running in their less than mentally stable fans, viewers, listeners! One can find culpability if not criminally at minimum in a civil law suit on wrongful death and it would likely hurt them worse than a criminal charge since they love their money and wealth and ability to preach hate more than anything else! Laura Ingraham is already worried since she invited Oreilly onto her radio show asking these very same questions since their literature was found in the murderer's home!

[RBN]

This looks like it was more than one nut action alone. It looks like there may be a whole network of people that conspired to kill the doctor.

[wisecrack]

"Looks like it?" What's your basis?

[alwqb]

The fact that no one is explaining to the crazies what is really happening when a woman needs this late term procedure is astounding. Into the second and third trimester when there is something terribly wrong with the fetus, this is when women need this kind of help. It is inhuman and selfish to give birth when something is terribly wrong, let alone with the risk of the mothers health.

This procedure is never done for convenience unlike what the right wants you to think. That is against the law and Dr. Tiller was innocent as found by a court of law. Brutality is forcing a woman give birth to a dead fetus. Where is the compassion for these families?

[1dogs2]

I trust that the DoJ investigation will lead to the prosecution and conviction of those who have been advocating for and inciting violence against women's health care providers for years. While they're about it, the DoJ would do well to investigate and prosecute those who are advocating for and inciting violence against the President, and not wait for further evidence (there has already been an incident of multiple murders in a church by a loony influenced by the likes of Rush, Hannity and Goldberg) that these crackpots elicit action by other crackpots.

[marijam]

The clinics need to have armed security guards and cameras watching from every angle. I would strongly advise every person who works in a clinic to purchase a gun, learn how to use it, get a concealed carry permit and be prepared to use it if/when they need to. If they can't bring themselves to arm themselves, then they should hire armed body guards. Perhaps Blackwater mercenaries would do it?

[1dogs2]

It would be significantly more efficient to lock up those inciting murder and mayhem.

[TXfemmom]

In a free society, this shouldn't be necessary, and were the police departments and authorities to enforce the laws we have on the books, unnecessary.

I helped to defend the Houston Planned Parenthood facility during the Republican Convention held there in the early 90's. We had to form a human chain, with arms interlocked with people holding umbrellas to try to deflect objects being thrown at us and patients from causing harm.

Then, the protestors rushed us in large numbers and we had to take the physical abuse they used. We were elbowed, kicked, pushed, jabbed and in my case, BITTEN. I landed a right to the jaw of the woman who bit me, she went down screaming, after she BIT ME, and I was nearly arrested for having ASSAULTED HER. I dared the policeman to arrest me, since I had the bite mark to prove what she had done, but HE REFUSED TO ARREST HER.

[1dogs2]

I hope you didn't have get treated for rabies.

[BambooHarvester]

Imagine, the shear Terror this MAN and his FAMILY must have lived with !
~

[sarabono]

He earned multi-millions from his activity. Certainly he could have hired Blackwater for protection if he wished.

[alwqb]

You don't earn Multi Millions as a doctor. What planet are you from?

[colleen2]

"He earned multi-millions from his activity."

This is one of the many myths the anti-abortion movement uses to justify their continuing support for domestic terrorism.

[thepoliticalcat]

Do you think "multimillions" is enough compensation for living in fear for your life and the lives of your family day in day out for decades? If so, there is something very wrong with you, and you should seek help.

[sugarfree]

Bill Orielly said that Tiller makes millions,"­sarabono", and you are spreading it around like its the truth because Orielly say so, Orielly is not the truth farriis get the facts before you spread lies.

[TXfemmom]

You don't know what you're talking about. Even late term abortion are done for less than a thousand dollars and that isn't much for anesthesia supplies, surgical supplies, salaries for the staff and the physician. Anyone involved in doing them is not doing it for the money.

[SonofLiberty1]

Amazing what can happen when a severely mentally ill person, who is vioent, is allowed to walk the streets?

Now tell me, do you really believe going into a church on Sunday, with a gun, is something most people would do?

[JohnJames]

So what was the excuse of the winger, who hated liberals and gays, who shot up the Unitarian church in Tennessee earlier this year?

[1dogs2]

That is the dumbest question I've ever seen posed on this site. If "most people" went into a church on Sunday and started shooting at random, we would be reduced to a state of utter anarchy. Nevertheless, there are many severely mentally ill people with a history of periodic violence who are, however, able to amass arsenals of deadly weapons, walking the streets of this country as a result of our inadequate mental health system and mental health and gun laws, which are in part the result of "libertarian" lobbying. And incidents of people walking into churches and committing murder are not uncommon.

A quick Google search for incidents of such violence turned up nearly 5 MILLION hits, the first two pages of which report such incidents in Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois and California in just the past year or so. No one believes this is something "most people" would do, but anyone who reads the rews knows that is something TOO MANY people would do.

[Pupadup4oBama]

It's amazing how the incidents of violence decreased during Bush...but yet there was no overturning of Roe v Wade....nothing done to change that. Just goes to show how ignorant these people are.

[naschkatze]

So many people do not really want Roe v. Wade overturned. They make a living from the abortion issue, and the Republican Party has milked the issue to keep getting the anti-choicers' votes. If Roe v. Wade were overturned, all that incentive would dry up for these people.

[SonofLiberty1]

And I'm beginning to think that those who are scared that it will be are paranoid.
Last time I checked, Roe wasn't in any danger.

[thepoliticalcat]

Regardless of whether they make a living, the fact of the matter is that Roe v. Wade has helped to prevent the nightmare of unwanted children. Do you raise unwanted children? Do you help victims of child abuse and domestic violence? Because that's what happens to children who are not wanted by their parents. They become battered little bodies, beaten, tort u. red. and too often, k ill. ed. by their parents or carers. Think about which fate is preferable - to d. i. e. peacefully, never having known life or to be a football for some cruel, unfeeling, or simply distressed and tragically inadequate adult.

[4 Real]

Think of Roe vs. Wade and Gay Marriage as marketing strategies. Keep dangling that in front of people when elections role around. It fires up the base but notice neither are banned?
If conservatives didn't have these wedge issues, they'd have no campaign strategy.
Unfortunately the same people keep falling for it.

[LorettaSingbiel]

"If conservatives didn't have these wedge issues, they'd have no campaign strategy."

Overturning Roe V Wade is the last thing they want ... because caring for the unwanted, unloved, unmarketable, unadopted until and after they age out of the system would RAISE TAXES!

[4 Real]

Yeah because they were waiting for Roe vs. Wade to be overturned. Silly sheep.
And btw, teen pregnancies increased due to abstinence only programs being pushed in lieu of se.x ed.

[alsm9]

As my Dad has said, politicians have feet of clay. There is nothing they will stand solid on. All politicians have those issues that they use to get elected and then keep in their back pocket when they need them. Abortion, gay marriage etc. are emotional issues and they use them to manipulate voters.

[Mikeeee]

I see it's still more important that things be said "politically correct" on HP. Accuracy is secondary.

[Mikeeee]

Acts of cowardice perpetrated by wing nuts.

[BambooHarvester]

Society Needs More DOCTORS and less lawyers !
~

[AddyGmom]

Yep. A wise man once said "99% of all lawyers give the rest a bad name."

[BambooHarvester]

Once upon a time a little town had One Poor lawyer ...
~ Then there were 2 Wealthy lawyers . . .

[GardenerNorCal]

If the purpose of the article is to deflect blame on Dr. Tiller because he didn't minimize his risk I think we need to remind these Christian Zealots that the Dr. was murdered in his own church. And his murder was facilitated by Christian fundamentalist, extremist organizations that post that sort of information on their sites and within their inciteful tracts for the sole purpose to enable the murder of innnocent citizens by unbalanced zealots. Their hands are not clean and they should be the ones held accountable for irrational acts and heinous crimes.