thoughts on the killing(s) in wichita

Some subjects, some events, are so radioactive, so divisive, that rational discourse about them is nearly impossible. Sometimes, regarding a given issue, opposition or defense is so vehemently held that discussion devolves almost immediately into hyperbole, platitudes, and accusations, and ceases to be conversation. Such is the case with the recent shooting death, in Wichita, Kansas, of Dr. George Tiller, allegedly by a militant anti abortion activist, Scott Roeder.
It's nearly impossible to engage someone about that incident without revealing our own underlying stand on the hyper-divisive topic of abortion, and from that point forward, it seems, we walk a tight-rope of consistency of opinion and position, even though the truth of the matter, the reality, may well require compromise and nuance and acknowledging areas of gray. For example, it is very difficult to keep a pro-choice advocate listening, or hearing, after expressing the opinion that while I firmly denounce this murder as an unacceptable tactic for pro-life activists to employ, I understand how the conclusion could be reached, by a rational person, that Dr. Tiller had to be killed. Again, I repeat, that is not my conclusion. I would not advocate or acquiesce to murder as a means to an end, even a worthy end. But to anyone who holds the position that abortion is the murder of an unborn, preventing hundreds by committing one is likely to be considered. Most people though, me included, who respect the value of life, would extend that respect which leads them to oppose abortion, to Dr. Tiller's life, as well.
The futile, never-to-be-resolved political debate over abortion doesn't seem to allow for any position, any thought, any middle ground other than the polar opposite, only black or white, all or none extremes we see defended on the cable news channels. But those somewhere in the middle, like me, almost have to see Dr. Tiller, though, as an extreme, an exception.Those leaning to the choice side, one would think, would see Dr. Tiller, correctly, as a lightning rod for opposition to choice, just like those leaning toward pro-life should be appalled by his murderer's discrediting of a whole movement. Tiller was one of only a very small group of doctors, maybe 10 in the U.S. that would perform the most controversial of procedures. He would do late term, second trimester abortions, and performed many hundreds. There are, of course, those “health of the mother” cases, but many were just “elective”, a term his clinic included in their description of services offered. The procedure itself, the methodology, is so disturbing, so barbaric, so clearly the taking of a life, I'm stunned by the pro-choice side's apparently unanimous regard for Dr. Tiller as a hero, now a martyr, for their cause. It's also alarming to listen to his defenders, who have positioned all anti-abortion activists as complicit with, and supportive of, the accused, dance with their words around what Dr. Tiller actually did. They use a Nu-Speak of less repulsive terms, substituting “reproductive services” for "abortion", the phrase “the right to choose” is now the innocuous euphemism for the right to deny a 22 week fetus any choice, to inject it's head with a lethal cocktail, then induce a miscarriage, if you so elect. Again, if Scott Roeder committed the acts he's accused of, he's a murderer and should dealt with as such. But if the assembly line, mass killings that have gone on at Women's Health Care Services, in Wichita, are over, and fewer still “providers” are willing to fill Dr. Tiller's void, that's a good thing.
I sometimes think the efforts of pro-life activists are a spinning of their wheels, especially through the courts and through legislation. Every move seems to further entrench the other side, and leads to the no compromise, no chink in the armor, blanket advocacy of every “reproductive right”, including
those “rights” offered by Dr. Tiller's clinic. And if suddenly, the pro-life side were victorious, and abortion procedures were universally banned, the unintended consequences would be numerous, and horrific. Like narcotics, prostitution, gambling, illegal immigration, underage alcohol and tobacco use, illegal weapons and many other “crimes”, their statutory prohibition doesn't stop the activity. It just sends it underground, creates a whole new class of criminals, and opens a profitable new window for those willing to feed the appetite. The only way to effectively oppose any of these behaviors, or to win a convert to the pro-life side, is through individual transformation and renewal. A change of the heart, becomes a change of the mind.
Incidents like the murder of Dr. Tiller, if seen as if on a battle field in a war, may make logistical or tactical sense. But to someone who comes to value all life-of the unborn, of children, of the elderly, of the starving, of the lonely, of the poor in spirit, and of their enemy, because Christ said we must, then we must mourn for Dr. Tiller as well. Sometimes, the tight-rope goes in circles.