The Murder of Dr. George Tiller

On Sunday, May 31st, 2009, in a Wichita, Kansas church, a virulent anti-abortionist walked up to Dr. Tiller and shot him in the head. Dr. Tiller was a Kansas physician who, along with two other American gynecologists, performed late abortions. These were often done into the third trimester, as late as 30+ weeks. It's been reported that "99%" of these procedures were performed for fetal anomalies, such as genetic disorders, potential birth defects, etc. I somehow doubt this is true, for I've referred several patients with normal pregnancies to these physicians. Not that this lessens the importance of such procedures for women in emotional distress. Some patients, especially young teens (and their parents), feel that their lives might be ruined by carrying a fetus to term and having a child, either raising it or giving it up for adoption. Right or wrong, undergoing one of these procedures is a difficult and traumatic personal decision.

Regardless of what one feels about late abortions, most reasonable people would agree that no one deserves to be shot for performing them. Nonetheless, several abortion providers have been killed in the last two decades, under the rationale the murders are "saving the unborn" by killing the late abortion physicians. That brings me to the point of this essay. Speech, when heard and absorbed by troubled ears, can be terribly destructive. A number of anti-abortion political and cable TV comentators have used words that might motivate borderline personality types. A well-known talk show host, even prior to Dr. Tiller's murder, called Tiller an "executioner" who had executed tens of thousandsof babies. Others suggested that Dr. Tiller deserved to be murdered, or that it was fitting that the "Tiller the Terminator" had himself been "terminated."

This vile hate speech is no different than shouting fire in a crowded theater. It incites, instigates, and provokes negative behavior and should not be tolerated in civilized societies. As I've said in previous blogs, there's nothing wrong with legal anti-abortion protest, even when offensive. But if one detests late-term abortion, the remedy is to change the law -- not shoot the doctor.

On Abortion Protesters

We should never take the freedoms we enjoy as Americans for granted, even when we don't agree with the way some people exercise these freedoms.

One of the hallmarks of American liberty is legalized protest. Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Though this right is not absolute, the courts give a great deal of leeway to protesters in what they may say: provided the protest is not "hate speech" or pornography, it is usually protected. This puts those of us who sometimes risk their lives to provide terminations in a quandary. Frequently, our offices or parking lots are surrounded by protesters who do their best to discourage medical staff and patients seeking termination from entering the facility. Generally (and their are rare violent exceptions), these protesters are harmless, devoutly religious senior citizens who believe they are carrying out God's will by trying to "save the unborn." But to that end, they use inflammatory rhetoric to verbally harass those coming in for care, calling them "baby killers" and proudly displaying grotesque, misleading pictures of fetuses.

It's my right to disagree with these people, and I do. Sure, I'd like them to go away. Yet as distasteful as their tactics are, provided the protesters keep their distance and don't physically interfere with anyone, it's the price we pay for living in a free society.

The milk culture

In the early 1970s, we called it a "milk culture."

Taped to an IV pole at the bedside, it was a stoppered test tube filled with sterile milk into which a Q-Tip had been inserted. The Q-Tip contained vaginal or cervical secretions collected from a patient with a suspected infected criminal abortion. In such illegal abortions -- often performed by lay people with contaminated instruments, or even coat hangers -- there was a chance of contracting an infection caused by a bacterium called clostridia. If clostridia was present, it fermented and produced gas bubbles in the milk culture. Catch it, and you were in trouble.

Among germs, clostridia was a decidedly bad player, which could cause tetanus or gas gangrene. A serious infection might occur through neglect, as often happened in patients who postponed needed medical care due to guilt, denial, or misinformation. In 1970, clostridia was notoriously hard to detect and treat and could lead to a painful illness and death, caused by respiratory failure.

During my very first week of residency training, a patient died of clostridia sepsis. Another expired three months later. These deaths were both tragic and pointless, because they could have been prevented by medically safe, antiseptic, legal abortions, had the patient known of their availability. The memory of these pointless deaths will stay with me forever. These days, few people are aware of how many tens of thousands of women died from infected illegal abortions, and who still die in third world countries. So whenever an abortion opponent berates me about the unborn life I am taking, I tell them to say that to the bereaved families who have lost a loved one due to illegal abortion.