George Tiller, Abortion Provider, Shot Dead in Church

Dr. George Tiller, a provider of controversial late-term abortions, was shot and killed inside the lobby of his Wichita, Kansas church, reports AFP and other media outlets. George Tiller, 67, was shot dead as he was walking into the Reformation Lutheran Church on the east side of town at around 10 am this morning. George Tiller was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wichita police are searching for a blue Ford Taurus with a Kansas vanity license plate. The suspected gunman in the fatal shooting death of Dr. George Tiller is described as a white male in his 50s or 60s who is around 6 feet tall and was wearing a white shirt and dark pants at the time of the shooting. Police say the vehicle is registered to an individual in the Kansas City area.

Wichita police Captain Brent Allred told the Wichita Eagle that the FBI and the KBI are helping with the case.

Dr. George Tiller's clinic, Women's Health Care Services, has been the site of protests for nearly 20 years; opponents of abortion have also protested outside of George Tiller's home. Tiller was shot and wounded in both arms back in 1993 (his assailant remains in jail).

According to Religious Tolerance.Org, violent protests against abortion clinics and providers started in the early 1970s. Protests have come in the form of arson, firebombing, vandalism, assault, and, as in the case of Dr. George Tiller, murder.

In 1994, Vancouver, B.C. Dr. Garson Romalus was shot in the leg; The next year Dr. Hugh Short, another Canadian doctor, was shot in the elbow. In 1997, Dr. Jack Fainman of Winnipeg, Manitoba was shot in the shoulder.

And those are just the abortion providers who have been wounded; Dr. David Gunn was killed outside an abortion clinic in 1993. His killer, Michael Griffin, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

In 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian of Amherst, New York was shot and killed in his home by an anti-abortion activist. He had just returned from synagogue and was preparing dinner when he was shot through a window.

James Charles Kopp was tried and convicted for the murder of Dr. Slepian in Buffalo, New York, and is currently serving 25 years to life in prison.

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