I Am Not a Tiller Killer

Last Sunday in Wichita, Kansas, Scott Roeder killed Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of Tiller’s Reformation Lutheran Church with a single gunshot. Tiller was one of a very few doctors in the US whose practice specialized in late-term abortions.

This was not the first time that radical anti-abortionists had attacked Tiller. In 1986, Tiller’s clinic was bombed without human injuries. In 1993, he was shot by an abortion activist who remains in prison for the attack. His clinic has been an ongoing scene of protests. Tiller was radically committed to the practice of abortions. He was among those who had no conscience against the despicable practice of “partial-birth abortion.” In my view, he was a mass murderer, a high-tech hit man. For $5000 he would kill any baby in any woman’s womb. It would probably shock us to see the number of not-yet-born people he put to death.

Last Sunday, Dr. Tiller met someone who was as radical as he, another killer. The difference is that Kansas law approved Dr. Tiller’s acts of murder; it did not approve Mr. Roeder’s. I have no complaint regarding Kansas law regarding Mr. Roeder. In my opinion, he should be tried, convicted, and punished for his act of murder. My problem with Kansas law is that it approved Dr. Tiller’s acts of murder.

Obviously, I am absolutely opposed to Dr. Tiller’s work. I have no respect for the man. I have no respect for his kind of Christianity. I wonder what it was like for him to meet his Maker. Did Heaven view him as a hero coming home?

Thankfully, we do live in a land of law and order. Thus, Mr. Roeder had no right to take the law into his own hands. I would never advocate or support this. I do believe, however, that the state of the law in America regarding abortion is a very real factor in the death of Dr. Tiller.

Law only defines what is legal versus what is illegal in a society. It does not necessarily define right and wrong. Unfortunately, many people do not realize this; they assume that anything that is legal is also right to do. When there is substantial difference between that which is legal in a society and that which is truly right, conflict can be intense. In such situations, radicals are naturally attracted into the fray. If the law were on the right side of this issue, Dr. Tiller would probably not have been performing abortions. He could have employed his skills in a constructive manner, to serve life rather than destroy it. And, if Dr. Tiller insisted on performing abortions anyway, he could then be put in prison.

Already underway is an attempt to connect Mr. Roeder with people like me. Mr. Roeder and I evidently shared a common view of abortion, but we didn’t share a common view of life. Trust me, if even one percent of us who are pro-life activists reasoned like Mr. Roeder, we would be hearing of abortion clinic attacks, and assaults on abortionists weekly. And the fact that Mr. Tiller was killed in his own church, shows that there would be no safe place for abortionists from determined killers like Mr. Roeder.

I honestly believe that part of the blame for Tiller’s death can be placed on the many Americans who have right opinions about abortion, but lack real convictions about it. The pro-choice, actually pro-abortion, crowd has convictions. They have pushed for the laws that exist. If you are pro-life, don’t do what Mr. Roeder did; but by all means, do something for the unborn. Get informed. Peacefully protest. Contact your government representatives. Vote.

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