:George Tiller

{{Infobox medical person

|name = George Tiller

|image = George Tiller cropped.jpg

|birth_name = George Richard Tiller

|birth_date = {{birth date|1941|8|8}}

|birth_place = Wichita, Kansas, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|2009|5|31|1941|8|8}}

|death_place = Wichita, Kansas, U.S.

|death_cause = Assassination

|profession = Physician

|specialism = Late-term abortion{{cite magazine |first =Karen |last=Tumulty |title=George Tiller Murdered |url=https://swampland.time.com/2009/05/31/george-tiller-murdered/ |magazine=Time |date=May 31, 2009 |access-date= June 1, 2009 |quote= [...]specialist in late-term [abortion] procedures |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611145157/http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/05/31/george-tiller-murdered/ |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |url-status=live}}

|known_for = Abortion rights advocacy, late-term abortions

|education = University of Kansas (BS)
University of Kansas, Kansas City (MD)

|work_institutions = Owner-operator of Women's Health Care – Wichita, Kansas (1975–2009)

|spouse = Jeanne Tiller (m. 1964)

|children = 4{{cite news |last1=Perez Tobias |first1=Suzanne |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Joe |title=George Tiller funeral draws protests but ends peacefully |url=https://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/article1007394.html |access-date=June 5, 2019 |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=August 4, 2014}}

}}

George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009){{cite news |title=George Tiller shot to death at Wichita church |work= Kansas City Star |date=May 31, 2009 }} was an American physician and abortion provider from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which, at the time, was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide that provided late-term abortions.Stumpe, Joe. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28abortion.html?_r=1&ref=us "Jurors Acquit Kansas Doctor in a Late-Term Abortion Case"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822174319/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28abortion.html?_r=1&ref=us |date=August 22, 2017 }}, The New York Times, March 27, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.

On May 31, 2009, Tiller was fatally shot by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion extremist, while Tiller served as an usher during the Sunday morning service at his church in Wichita. Roeder was convicted of murder on January 29, 2010, and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole until after 50 years.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=January 29, 2010 |title=Scott Roeder Gets Maximum for Tiller Murder -- Life, With No Possible Parole for 50 Years |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/scott-roeder-life-sentence-abortion-murder/story?id=10259205 |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

Early life

Tiller was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Catherine and Dean Jackson "Jack" Tiller, a prominent physician.{{Cite web |url= http://embryo.asu.edu/pages/george-richard-tiller-1941-2009# |title=George Richard Tiller (1941–2009) {{!}} The Embryo Project Encyclopedia |access-date=January 25, 2015 }} He studied at the University of Kansas School of Medicine from 1963 to 1967. Shortly thereafter, he held a medical internship with the United States Navy, and served as flight surgeon in Camp Pendleton, California, in 1969 and 1970.{{cite news |title=Profile: George Tiller |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8077021.stm |access-date=June 5, 2019 |work=BBC News |date=June 1, 2009}} In July 1970, he planned to start a dermatology residency.

On August 21, 1970, Tiller's parents, sister and brother-in-law were killed in an aircraft accident. In her will, his sister requested that Tiller take care of her one-year-old son. Tiller intended to go back to Wichita, close up his father's family practice and then go back to California and become a dermatologist; but he changed his mind and took over his father's family practice. Tiller's father had performed illegal, secretive, but safe abortions at his practice.{{Cite web |url= https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/remembering-dr-george-tiller-the-man-whose-motto-was-trust-women |title=Remembering Dr. George Tiller, the Man Whose Motto Was 'Trust Women' |access-date=May 31, 2024 }} After hearing about a woman who had died from an illegal abortion, Tiller stayed in Wichita to continue his father's practice.{{cite web |url=http://www.prch.org/george-r-tiller-md |title=George R. Tiller, MD |publisher=Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health |year=2008 |access-date=May 31, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605081317/http://www.prch.org/george-r-tiller-md |archive-date=June 5, 2009 }} Following Roe v. Wade, Dr. Tiller was the only abortion provider in Wichita, Kansas for nearly 40 years.{{Cite web |url= https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/remembering-dr-george-tiller-the-man-whose-motto-was-trust-women |title=Remembering Dr. George Tiller, the Man Whose Motto Was 'Trust Women' |access-date=May 31, 2024 }}

At the time of his death, Tiller was board certified with the American Board of Family Practice, an Associate of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and a clinical instructor in the Department of Family Medicine for Wesley Medical Center, where he had previously served as president of the medical staff.{{cite news |last1=Gruver |first1=Deb |title=Obituary: Dr. Tiller remembered as committed and caring |url=https://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/article1007190.html |access-date=June 5, 2019 |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=March 1, 2011}}

Tiller struggled with substance abuse at various points in his life, which came to a head in 1984 when he was arrested for driving under the influence. He sought treatment, overcame his addiction, and later served on the Kansas Medical Society's impaired physicians committee.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/us/26tiller.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0 |title=New York Times long profile of Dr. Tiller, page 2 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 25, 2009 |access-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822152857/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/us/26tiller.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0 |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |url-status=live |last1=Barstow |first1=David }}

Abortion practice

File:George Tiller.jpg

Tiller's practice performed late-term abortions. The majority of Tiller's abortion practice involved elective late-term abortions authorized under existing state law. About three-quarters of these late-term cases were teenagers who had denied to themselves or their families that they were pregnant until it was too late to hide it.Stephanie Simon and Miguel Bustillo, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124379172024269869 "Abortion Provider Is Shot Dead; George Tiller, Attacked at His Church, Had Long Been a Focal Point of Protests"], Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2009. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903020849/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124379172024269869 |date=September 3, 2017 }}.Douglas Johnson, [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1996-09-27/html/CREC-1996-09-27-pt1-PgE1743.htm Partial-Birth Abortions: A Closer Look], National Right to Life Committee, Inc., Sept. 11, 1996, reprinted in Congressional Record vol. 142, no. 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085259/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1996-09-27/html/CREC-1996-09-27-pt1-PgE1743.htm |date=October 4, 2017 }}

Protests and violence directed against Tiller

Tiller's late-term abortion practice frequently made him the a focal point for anti-abortion groups, resulting in nonviolent protests but also violent acts directed against him.

=Anonymous firebombing=

In June 1986, Tiller's clinic was firebombed. While it was being rebuilt, Tiller displayed a sign reading "Hell no, we won't go."

=Protests by Operation Rescue=

The group known as Operation Rescue held an event called "The Summer of Mercy" in July and August 1991, focusing on Tiller's clinic but also protesting other abortion providers in Wichita. In 1999, a branch that split from the main Operation Rescue group moved from California to Kansas specifically to focus on Tiller.

=Assassination attempt by Shelley Shannon=

On August 19, 1993, anti-abortion extremist{{cite news|last1=Ostrow|first1=Ronald J.|title=Charges are expected against an extremist in prison for attempted murder|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-23-mn-53887-story.html|access-date=January 8, 2018|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=October 23, 1994|quote=...Rachelle Shannon, an anti-abortion extremist in prison for the attempted murder of an abortion doctor...}}{{cite news|title=Antiabortion Extremist Indicted in Attacks on Clinics in West|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/shannon.htm|access-date=January 8, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 25, 1994|quote=Rachelle Shannon, an antiabortion extremist in prison for trying to murder a doctor, has been charged in 10 arson and acid attacks at abortion clinics in the West, the Justice Department said yesterday.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822190401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/shannon.htm|archive-date=August 22, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Judy|title=Feds still exploring charges in Tiller murder after guilty verdict|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article24572983.html|access-date=January 8, 2018|publisher=McClatchy|date=February 7, 2010|quote=Shelley Shannon is a martyr and hero of this group of extremists who believe in justifiable homicide.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109064035/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article24572983.html|archive-date=January 9, 2018|url-status=live}} Shelley Shannon shot Tiller five times, while he was in his car.{{cite web |publisher=NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation |year=2006 |url=http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/Abortion-Access-to-Abortion-Violence.pdf |title=Clinic violence and intimidation |access-date=April 13, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211093851/http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/Abortion-Access-to-Abortion-Violence.pdf |archive-date=February 11, 2010 }}{{cite web |last=Crow |first=Karen |date=August 19, 2005 |url=http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/webzine/eyeonextremism/eoe-050819-tiller-patterson.xml |title=A Violent Week in August |work=Choice! Magazine |access-date=April 13, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212103156/http://www4.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/webzine/eyeonextremism/eoe-050819-tiller-patterson.xml |archive-date=December 12, 2006 }}{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Don |date=August 22, 1993 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/tiller3.htm |title=Violence Hardly Ruffled Protest Ritual |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 10, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223532/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/tiller3.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=live }} He returned to work the next day. {{Cite web |url= https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/remembering-dr-george-tiller-the-man-whose-motto-was-trust-women |title=Remembering Dr. George Tiller, the Man Whose Motto Was 'Trust Women' |access-date=May 31, 2024 }}

At the time she attacked Tiller, Shannon had been an anti-abortion extremist for five years and had written letters of support to the convicted murderer Michael Griffin, who had murdered Dr. David Gunn. She called him "a hero."{{cite news |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/28/us/abortions-bibles-and-bullets-and-the-making-of-a-militant.html |title=Abortions, Bibles and Bullets, And the Making of a Militant |date=August 28, 1993 |access-date=June 7, 2009 |first=Dirk |last=Johnson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429150809/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/28/us/abortions-bibles-and-bullets-and-the-making-of-a-militant.html |archive-date=April 29, 2017 |url-status=live }} At her trial in state court, Shannon testified that there was nothing wrong with trying to kill Tiller. The jury convicted Shannon of attempted murder, and she was sentenced to 11 years in prison.{{cite web |first=Harriet |last=Ryan |publisher=Court TV |url=http://www.courttv.com/trials/kopp/others_ctv.html |title=Kopp fifth clinic shooter to face trial |date=March 11, 2003 |access-date=January 9, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070921223357/http://www.courttv.com/trials/kopp/others_ctv.html |archive-date=September 21, 2007 }}{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980456-2,00.html |title=The Week March 20–26 |date=April 4, 1994 |access-date=January 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930101331/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980456-2,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead }} The following year, Shannon was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison on charges of arson, interference with commerce by force and interstate travel in aid of racketeering in connection to her participation in several fires and acid attacks on abortion clinics.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/shannon.htm |title=Antiabortion Extremist Indicted in Attacks on Clinics in West |date=October 25, 1994 |access-date=January 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822190401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/shannon.htm |archive-date=August 22, 2016 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/us/guilty-plea-expected-in-fires-at-clinics.html |title=Guilty Plea Expected In Fires at Clinics |date=June 4, 1995 |access-date=January 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902223632/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/us/guilty-plea-expected-in-fires-at-clinics.html |archive-date=September 2, 2016 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |work=The New York Times |title=Woman Gets 20-Year Sentence In Attacks on Abortion Clinics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/09/us/woman-gets-20-year-sentence-in-attacks-on-abortion-clinics.html |date=September 9, 1995 |access-date=January 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207081208/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/09/us/woman-gets-20-year-sentence-in-attacks-on-abortion-clinics.html |archive-date=December 7, 2015 |url-status=live }}

=Vigil protest by the Kansas Coalition for Life=

The Kansas Coalition for Life kept a daily vigil outside Tiller's facility from May 9, 2004, until May 31, 2009.{{cite web|title=KCFL – Project LPPPA |publisher=Kansas Coalition for Life |url=http://kcfl.net/kcfl/index.php?page=6 |access-date=September 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306113820/http://www.kcfl.net/kcfl/index.php?page=6 |archive-date=March 6, 2012 }}

=Campaign against Tiller on ''The O'Reilly Factor''=

Tiller was discussed in 28 episodes of the Fox News talk show The O'Reilly Factor in the years leading up to his death, focusing national attention on his practice. Although he later denied it, show host Bill O'Reilly sometimes described him as "Tiller the Baby Killer,"{{Cite web|title = Abortion Services Return To Town Where George Tiller Was Murdered|url = https://www.npr.org/2014/05/31/316715581/abortion-services-return-to-town-where-george-tiller-was-murdered|website = NPR.org|access-date = December 29, 2015|first = Aileen|last = Leblanc|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180422202734/https://www.npr.org/2014/05/31/316715581/abortion-services-return-to-town-where-george-tiller-was-murdered|archive-date = April 22, 2018|url-status = live|df = mdy-all}}{{Cite web|title = Bill O'Reilly called George Tiller|url = http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/05/bill-oreilly/bill-oreilly-called-george-tiller-baby-killer/|website = Politifact|access-date = December 29, 2015|date = June 5, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151226150711/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/05/bill-oreilly/bill-oreilly-called-george-tiller-baby-killer/|archive-date = December 26, 2015|url-status = live|df = mdy-all}} a nickname that Congressman Bob Dornan had used on the floor of the US House of Representatives. In November 2006, O'Reilly aired an exclusive report on The O'Reilly Factor, saying that he had an "inside source" with official clinic documentation indicating that Tiller performed late-term abortions to alleviate "temporary depression" in pregnant women.{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/killing-babies-in-america |title=Killing Babies in America |access-date=November 7, 2006 |last=O'Reilly |first=Bill |author-link=Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|date=November 6, 2006 |work=The O'Reilly Factor |series=Talking Points |publisher= Fox News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107205922/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227658,00.html |archive-date=November 7, 2006 }} O'Reilly characterized Tiller as "a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly," and accused him of "operating a death mill," and of protecting the rapists of children. He suggested that Tiller performed abortions for women who had "a bit of a headache or anxiety" or who felt "a bit blue."Winant, Gabriel. [http://www.salon.com/2009/05/31/tiller_2/ O'Reilly's campaign against a murdered doctor. Date 2009-05-31] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119051919/http://www.salon.com/2009/05/31/tiller_2/ |date=November 19, 2012 }} Accessed November 12, 2012. In June 2007 O'Reilly said on the air that he would not want to be Tiller "if there is a Judgment Day", also including in that judgment Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and other Kansas politicians who supported "Tiller's business of destruction".{{cite news|work=salon.com|date=May 31, 2009|access-date=May 31, 2009|title=O'Reilly's campaign against murdered doctor|url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/05/31/tiller/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611145732/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/05/31/tiller/|archive-date=June 11, 2009}}

O'Reilly's campaign against Tiller included the on-air disclosure of confidential patient information provided by former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline. For this breach of professional conduct, Kline's law license was eventually suspended indefinitely.{{cite news|url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article329802/Phill-Kline-is-indefinitely-suspended-from-practicing-law.html|title=Phill Kline is indefinitely suspended from practicing law|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|last1=Rizzo|first1=Tony|date=October 18, 2013|access-date=July 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207135245/https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article329802/Phill-Kline-is-indefinitely-suspended-from-practicing-law.html |archive-date=December 7, 2020}}

O'Reilly denied responsibility for Tiller's murder, and defended his campaign against Tiller, saying: "When I heard about Tiller’s murder, I knew pro-abortion zealots and Fox News haters would attempt to blame us for the crime, and that’s exactly what has happened. [...] Every single thing we said about Tiller was true, and my analysis was based on those facts. [...] Now, it’s clear that the far left is exploiting—exploiting—the death of the doctor. Those vicious individuals want to stifle any criticism of people like Tiller. That—and hating Fox News—is the real agenda here."{{Cite web |url= http://thinkprogress.org/media/2009/06/01/43345/oreilly-tiller-respond/ |title=O'Reilly Responds to the Tiller Murder: 'No Backpedaling Here...Every Single Thing We Said about Tiller Was True' |website= ThinkProgress.org |access-date= October 2, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141006074808/http://thinkprogress.org/media/2009/06/01/43345/oreilly-tiller-respond/ |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=live }}

Prosecution

In 2007, Kansas prosecutors charged Tiller with 19 charges of illegal late-term abortions for allegedly consulting a physician who was financially affiliated with him in late-term abortion procedures in 2003.Tiller Jury Selection, Kansas City Star, March 18, 2009."Jury set in trial of Wichita late-term abortionist", Kansas Liberty, March 18, 2009. Kansas law prohibited abortions after the beginning of fetal viability unless two doctors certified that continuing the pregnancy would cause the woman "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function", with the requirement that the two consulting doctors must not be "financially affiliated" with the doctor performing the abortion. The case became a cause célèbre for both supporters and opponents of legal abortion. WorldNetDaily columnist Jack Cashill compared the trial to the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals,"Why George Tiller is on trial in Wichita", WorldNetDaily, March 19, 2009. while Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Professor Jacob Appel described Tiller as "a genuine hero who ranks alongside Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. in the pantheon of defenders of human liberty."Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2009. The trial took place in March 2009, with the jury finding Tiller not guilty on all charges on March 27, approximately two months before his death.

Assassination

{{wikinews|Controversial U.S. abortion doctor shot dead in Kansas church}}

File:George Tiller Vigil Boston MA.jpg

Tiller was fatally shot in the side of the head on May 31, 2009, by anti-abortion extremist{{cite news|last1=Toppo|first1=Greg|title=Threat of violence ever-present at abortion clinics, advocates say|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/12/01/planned-parenthood-attack-clinic-dangers/76613822/|access-date=January 8, 2018|newspaper=USA Today|date=December 1, 2015|quote=Anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder gunned down Tiller... as he ushered at his Lutheran church.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109075229/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/12/01/planned-parenthood-attack-clinic-dangers/76613822/|archive-date=January 9, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Adams|first1=Richard|title=Scott Roeder sentenced to life in prison|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/apr/02/scott-roeder-murder-george-tiller-abortion|access-date=January 8, 2018|newspaper=The Guardian|date=April 1, 2010|quote=Scott Roeder, the anti-abortion extremist who murdered Dr George Tiller, shouted "The blood of babies is on your hands!" as he was led from the courtroom in Wichita, Kansas after receiving a life sentence without parole for 50 years.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109064043/https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/apr/02/scott-roeder-murder-george-tiller-abortion|archive-date=January 9, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Kort|first1=Michele|title=A Man Who Trusted Women|url=http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2009/tiller.asp|access-date=January 8, 2018|publisher=MS Magazine|date=Summer 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429111757/http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2009/tiller.asp|archive-date=April 29, 2018|url-status=dead}} Scott Roeder during worship services at the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, where he was serving as an usher and handing out church bulletins.Pilkington, Ed. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/01/us-doctor-tiller-killing-abortions "For years anti-abortionists tried to stop Doctor Tiller. Finally a bullet did"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611231436/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/01/us-doctor-tiller-killing-abortions |date=June 11, 2009 }}, The Guardian, June 1, 2009.{{cite news |last=Robin |first=Abcarian |date=May 31, 2009 |title=Abortion doctor George Tiller is killed; suspect in custody |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tiller1-2009jun01,0,7068875.story |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611192150/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tiller1-2009jun01,0,7068875.story |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |first=Stan |last=Finger |title=George Tiller Shot to Death at Wichita Church | work=The Wichita Eagle |publisher=The McClatchy Company |date=May 31, 2009 }} After threatening to shoot two people who initially pursued him, Roeder fled and escaped in his car.{{cite news |url=http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/46580612.html |title=Suspect in Custody Identified in Tiller Shooting is a 1976 graduate of Topeka High |work=WIBW.com |date=June 1, 2009 |access-date=January 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231201523/http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/46580612.html |archive-date=December 31, 2013 |url-status=live }} Three hours after the shooting, Roeder was arrested about {{convert|170|mi}} away in suburban Kansas City.

Cheryl Sullenger, at the time vice president of the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue West, was in prolonged communication with Roeder before he assassinated Tiller. Sullenger initially denied any contact with Roeder. After her name and cell phone number was discovered on a post-it note on the dashboard of Roeder's car, she subsequently admitted that she had informed Roeder of Tiller's scheduled court dates.{{Cite news | title =Operation Rescue adviser helped Tiller suspect track doctor's court dates | url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article24540694.html | date = June 1, 2009 | work = The Kansas City Star | access-date = December 17, 2017 |author1=Laura Bauer |author2=Judy L. Thomas}}{{cite news |last1=Robb |first1=Amanda |title=Not A Lone Wolf |url=http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2010/lonewolf.asp |access-date=April 17, 2019 |work=Ms. Magazine |date=Spring 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304055414/http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2010/lonewolf.asp |archive-date=March 4, 2019 |url-status=dead }}

On June 2, 2009, Roeder was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting,{{cite news|url=http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/abortion/kansas-roeder60209murder.html|title=Criminal Complaint/Information (Kansas v. Scott P. Roeder)|date=June 2, 2009|work=FindLaw|access-date=June 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612024817/http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/abortion/kansas-roeder60209murder.html|archive-date=June 12, 2009|url-status=live}} subsequently convicted in January 2010 on those charges, and sentenced on April 1, 2010, to life imprisonment without parole for 50 years, the maximum sentence available in Kansas. The no-parole term was later reduced to 25 years.{{cite news|url=http://www.kansas.com/2010/04/01/1249310/roeder-to-be-sentenced-thursday.html|title=Scott Roeder gets Hard 50 in murder of abortion provider George Tiller|work=The Wichita Eagle|first=Ron|last=Sylvester|date=April 1, 2010|access-date=April 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402223505/http://www.kansas.com/2010/04/01/1249310/roeder-to-be-sentenced-thursday.html|archive-date=April 2, 2010|url-status=live}}{{cite web|agency=Associated Press|title=The man who killed a Kansas abortion doctor has his sentence reduced|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-kansas-trial-20161123-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=November 23, 2016 |access-date=January 10, 2018}}

Tiller's killing was largely condemned by groups and individuals on both sides of the abortion issue.{{cite web|url=http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release053109.html |title=National Right to Life condemns the killing of Dr. George Tiller |date=May 31, 2009 |publisher=National Right to Life |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603190150/http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release053109.html |archive-date=June 3, 2009 }}{{cite web|title=KS NOW Mourns the Murder of Dr. George Tiller|url=http://www.ksnow.org/KS_NOW/News/Entries/2009/5/31_KS_NOW_Mourns_the_Murder_of_Dr._George_Tiller.html |date=May 31, 2009|publisher=Kansas Now|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606074724/http://www.ksnow.org/KS_NOW/News/Entries/2009/5/31_KS_NOW_Mourns_the_Murder_of_Dr._George_Tiller.html|archive-date=June 6, 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=30591 |title=Murder Not Justified, Pro-Life Leaders Say |date=June 1, 2009 |work=Baptist Press |access-date=January 18, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113001341/http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=30591 |archive-date=January 13, 2014 }} US President Barack Obama said he was "shocked and outraged"{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5418993/Barack-Obama-shocked-by-abortion-doctor-shooting.html|title=Barack Obama shocked by abortion doctor shooting|publisher=Telegraph.co.uk|location=London|date=June 1, 2009|access-date=May 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607084641/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5418993/Barack-Obama-shocked-by-abortion-doctor-shooting.html|archive-date=June 7, 2009|url-status=dead}} by the murder. David N. O'Steen, director of the National Right to Life Committee, said the group "unequivocally condemns any such acts of violence regardless of motivation". Some others who spoke publicly were more confrontational. Anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry described Tiller as a mass murderer and said of other abortion providers, "We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches",{{cite press release|url=http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/8967610531.html|title=George Tiller was a Mass-Murderer, says Randall Terry – We Grieve That he Did Not Have Time to Properly Prepare his Soul to Face God|last=Veritas|first=Sandy|publisher=Christian News Wire|access-date=June 1, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606195858/http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/8967610531.html|archive-date=June 6, 2009|url-status=live}} and Southern Baptist minister and radio host Wiley Drake said, "I am glad that he is dead."{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/06/02/drake_tiller/index.html |title=Keyes' running mate: Tiller murder "answer to prayer" |access-date=June 2, 2009 |last=Koppelman |first=Alex |work=Salon.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611192049/http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/06/02/drake_tiller/index.html |archive-date=June 11, 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4119&Itemid=53|title=Former SBC officer says Tiller murder answer to prayer|last=Allen|first=Bob|publisher=Associated Baptist Press|date=June 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719013923/http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4119&Itemid=53|archive-date=July 19, 2011}}

After the shooting, Tiller's colleague, Leroy Carhart of Nebraska, stated that Tiller's clinic, Women's Health Care Services, would reopen after being closed for one week to mourn his death.{{cite news | first = Stan | last = Finger | title = Nebraska physician vows to keep Tiller's abortion clinic open | work= Wichita Eagle | date = June 1, 2009 }} The following week, Tiller's family announced that the clinic would be closed permanently.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tiller10-2009jun10,0,6032915.story|access-date=June 10, 2009|date=June 10, 2009|last=Abcarian|first=Robin|title='Abortion fatigue' on both sides as Kansas clinic closes|work=Los Angeles Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612030411/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tiller10-2009jun10,0,6032915.story|archive-date=June 12, 2009|url-status=live}}

The aftermath of Tiller's assassination was the subject of the 2013 documentary After Tiller, which followed the daily lives and work of the four remaining late-term abortion providers in the United States.

The George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund was established by the National Network of Abortion Funds.{{Cite web |url= http://www.fundabortionnow.org/learn/tiller# |title= What is the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund? |website= FundAbortionNow.org |access-date= June 10, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150610090417/http://www.fundabortionnow.org/learn/tiller |archive-date= June 10, 2015 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }} In 2019, during the successful 23–14 vote confirmation of David Toland as Kansas Secretary of Commerce, objections were raised to his nomination because he had led the Thrive Allen County non-profit, which had obtained $20,000 in grants from the Fund in 2015 and 2018, to help low-income pregnant women to stop smoking and to help prevent their unintended pregnancies. State Senators Rob Olson and Mary Pilcher-Cook, joined 12 other Republican senators, and community opponents including Mary Kay Culp, leader of Kansans for Life, to oppose his nomination.[https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kansas-commerce-chief-confirmed-despite-vocal-13732922.php Kansas Commerce Chief confirmed despite vocal opposition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402142720/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kansas-commerce-chief-confirmed-despite-vocal-13732922.php |date=April 2, 2019 }}, SFGate, John Hanna (AP), April 1, 2019. Accessed April 17, 2019.

Trust Women Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, purchased and re-opened the clinic that Tiller operated and continues to perform abortions and other medical services.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/kansas-abortion-clinic-set-reopen-week-article-1.1306100|title=Kansas abortion clinic to set to reopen this week|work=NY Daily News|access-date=August 19, 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819190959/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/kansas-abortion-clinic-set-reopen-week-article-1.1306100|archive-date=August 19, 2017|url-status=live}} The foundation currently operates two clinics, the aforementioned in Wichita, KS, as well as one in Oklahoma City, OK. The organization also operated a third clinic in Seattle, WA until it was closed on December 31, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://trustwomen.org/clinics/clinics-overview|title=Clinics Overview|website=Trust Women Foundation|language=en|access-date=November 7, 2018}}

References

External links

[http://www.drtiller.com/ George R. Tiller M.D. Memorial Fund]{{Dead link|date=April 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
[https://www.pbs.org/now/shows/524/index.html Are Some Anti-Abortion Attacks Domestic Terrorism?] NOW on PBS Piece aired following Dr. Tiller's death
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090612031309/http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/06/george_tiller_speaks.php "George Tiller speaks about the history of violence against him and his medical practice,"] Kansas City The Pitch
[http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/1/dr_george_tiller_1941_2009_murdered "Remembered for Lifelong Dedication to Women's Reproductive Health"] Five women (two of them doctors) who worked with Dr. Tiller; Democracy Now!, June 1, 2009 (video, audio, and print transcript)
[http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/abortion/kansas-roeder60209murder.html Criminal Complaint (Kansas v. Roeder)] FindLaw, June 2, 2009
[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/opinion/l03abortion.html?ref=opinion Letters of condolence sent to the editors of The New York Times]