Tiller’s death focuses attention on abortions involving disabilities
June 4th, 2009By Stephanie Simon in the Wall Street Journal:
The killing of Dr. George Tiller has reignited debate over abortions late in pregnancy, when women are seven, eight, even nine months pregnant. An excerpt:
Both sides agree on one thing: Late-term abortions are anguishing. Nearly all the late-term abortions at Dr. Tiller’s clinic involved fetuses that were deformed or disabled in some way, said Peggy Bowman, who worked at the clinic as a top aide to Dr. Tiller for a decade. Some mothers had painted nurseries, set up cribs, purchased tiny booties — only to get the devastating news, late in pregnancy, that their babies had genetic deformities.
So they found their way to the Wichita clinic, where they paid Dr. Tiller thousands of dollars to inject a needle into their wombs to stop their babies’ hearts.
… [Protesters] express great sympathy for women carrying disabled children. But they point out that some of the conditions women cite when seeking abortions from Dr. Tiller aren’t fatal, such as Down syndrome. Others, including some heart ailments, could possibly be corrected through surgery.
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June 5th, 2009 at 9:03 am
It is ironic that on this one day before D-Day, we read editorials stating that women who had “decorated nurseries” and purchased “tiny booties” learned that their unborn baby “probably” had a genetic condition. They had limited places to turn for relief from their anguish. Ironic because we condemn the Holocaust but aren’t we the same? When we make the case that a late term abortion is okay because the child would be “genetically defective”? Why are they defective? Who is the judge? Isnt’ this the same selective process as the Holocaust? What happened to George Tiller was deplorable. So are our attitudes for those who are differently abled.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I disagree entirely with this doctor. But we must make clear that murder of him was not correct.