A Modern Controversy the Case of George Tiller Essay

A Modern Controversy: the Case of George Tiller To some anti-abortionists George Tiller, who was shot dead on Sunday, was a mass murderer known as Tiller the Killer. To his patients and many pro-choice supporters, he was a hero committed to women in need of help. For two decades, Dr Tiller spent his life looking over his shoulder. He had become a lightning rod for anti-abortion activists and in 1993 survived an attempt on his life. He rarely talked about his work for fear of attacks against himself or his family. Dr Tillers clinic was one of three in the US that offered what are known as late-term abortions. WHAT IS LATE TERM?Late term mostly centres on the notion of the viability of the foetus - this is widely interpreted as when†¦show more content†¦It even caused dismay among some abortion-rights supporters, who criticised him for seeking to create a monopoly. In 1991, anti-abortion activists launched a massive protest - known as Operation Rescue - against his clinic. It lasted more than six weeks and resulted in about 2,800 arrests. In 1993, Dr Tiller was shot in both arms outside his clinic. The incident came five months after the shooting of another abortion doctor. His clinic was subsequently heavily fortified and Dr Tiller was often forced to travel with a bodyguard. Recently, President Barack Obamas choice for health secretary, former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, was widely condemned by the anti-abortion movement because she had received campaign money from Dr Tiller. A US man accused of murdering abortion doctor said he did it to save the lives of unborn children. I did what I thought was needed to be done to protect the children, Scott Roeder told the court in Wichita, Kansas. I shot him. Mr Roeder has pleaded not guilty to murder, arguing that he committed manslaughter to prevent a greater harm. But the judge said the jury must only consider the more serious charge of premeditated murder. Judge Warren Wilbert ruled that a charge of voluntary manslaughter could not be considered because abortion, including the late-term abortions conducted by Dr Tiller, was legal in Kansas. The judge also