Anti-Abortion Activist Charged in Killing of Doctor
Anti-Abortion Activist Charged in Killing of Doctor By Stephanie Simon Wall Street Journal June 3, 2009 WICHITA, Kan. -- Anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of George Tiller, one of the most well-known abortion doctors in the U.S. and a longtime target of protests. Mr. Roeder was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly brandishing a gun as he fled the Reformation Lutheran Church, moments after Dr. Tiller fell dead from a single gunshot as Sunday worship services began. Wearing a maroon prison jumpsuit and leg chains that clanked as he moved, Mr. Roeder appeared by video monitor -- as did others charged in an assortment of cases -- before District Judge Ben Burgess in the Sedgwick County Courthouse. Mr. Roeder, 51 years old, did not enter a plea, but in a crisp voice he said he understood the charges against him and requested the name of the public defender who will handle his case. Family members and friends have described Mr. Roeder as passionate about ending legal abortion and said he frequently protested outside clinics. District Attorney Nola Foulston said Mr. Roeder would not face the death penalty if he is convicted, because the murder didn't meet the specific requirements under Kansas law to be classified as an aggravated capital crime. Under the law, there are several such aggravating circumstances, including having committed a previous murder, or hiring or authorizing someone to commit the crime. Since the Sunday killing, Dr. Tiller's supporters have been holding candlelight vigils across the nation; the largest, in this city of 360,000, drew hundreds of mourners on Sunday. On Tuesday, bouquets and notes continued to pile up outside his clinic. Dr. Tiller's funeral will be held on Saturday in a Methodist church here. The future of the clinic remains unclear. "There have been no final decisions made about the long-term plans for the medical practice," said Dan Monnat, a lawyer who has represented Dr. Tiller. For many years, out-of-state physicians have taken turns flying into Wichita to help Dr. Tiller with the clinic's caseload. One of them, Shelley Sella, said they remained committed to offering abortions but had not yet decided on details. "We want to honor his memory, but it's all so shocking," Dr. Sella said. Two other clinics in the U.S. -- in Boulder, Colo., and Los Angeles -- offer abortions in the late-second and third trimesters, but Dr. Tiller's practice was the best-known, attracting patients from across the U.S. and overseas. Last year, he reported aborting 192 late-term fetuses; all but four patients were from out of state. Kansas law allows late-term abortions if continuing the pregnancy would endanger the woman or substantially impair her physical, mental or emotional health. As abortion providers weighed how to proceed, so too did opponents of legal abortion, who had been praying, picketing and petitioning for years to try to shut Dr. Tiller's clinic. They had most recently placed their hopes in a pending investigation by the state medical board into Dr. Tiller's late-term abortions, hoping that it would take away his physician's medical license. Troy Newman moved his family here from Southern California seven years ago for the sole purpose of trying to shut down Dr. Tiller's clinic. But Mr. Newman, president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, said the murder left him shaken, unable to decide how he might modify his tactics should the clinic reopen. "We'll pray." Mr. Newman said. "We'll talk about it. We might not know for six months. We have to be ultra-sensitive to the community here." His uncertainty reflected a broader debate within his movement about the most effective rhetorical and visual arguments to combat abortion. A few, notably the outspoken activist Randall Terry, insisted that they must continue to compare abortion doctors to Nazi war criminals and wave photos of bloody fetal parts. "We will not flinch," Mr. Terry said. But supporters of legal abortion have denounced those tactics as inciting violence. "Tone it down," urged Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Some opponents of abortion echo that advice, preferring to project compassion for every woman struggling to cope with an unplanned pregnancy. "We don't think it's right to pound her and hound her," said Marilyn Manweiler, director of volunteer services at Choices Medical Clinic, which offers women alternatives to abortion and is located next to Dr. Tiller's clinic. Ms. Manweiler said that if in the end a woman still chooses abortion, "That's her choice. We tell her, 'We will still be here for you.'" Alesha Doan, a political scientist at the University of Kansas who has written extensively about abortion politics, said she expects some opponents of legal abortion to continue to soften their rhetoric.
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