[Image credit: Steve Rhodes]
That’s right. I said it. Hero. Dr. George Tiller went to work everyday, terrified. Anti-choice sites listed his name, address, where he shopped, where he went to church, and any other information they could gather. Tiller constantly received threats (and has been shot before), but still he continued to do his job in a bullet-proof vest while taking other major safety precautions. You can see below just how bad it is:
According to the Jewish perspective, you get your “soul” once you pass through the cervix, which explain me perfectly– I was a cesarean. On a more serious note, though, it is viewed as a necessary evil and the women’s life is always viewed as a priority to that of the unborn fetus.
Prior to a birth certificate, an unborn fetus cannot be afforded the same “rights” by U.S law. The real debate is when a fetus becomes a human, I suppose. But I’m not as concerned with that for this particular piece.
Not a single women – alive or dead – has ever, does, or will ever want to have an abortion. (That is, except for rare cases of absolute psychopaths. I have yet to hear of any such cases, but will leave the .0000001% opening for such an instance.)
It is certainly one of the toughest times in a women’s life, if she faces such a gut-wrenching decision. There were only 3 doctors who performed these legal late-term procedures for women in need. Such women who seek late-term abortions, do so for serious reasons such as the mother’s life is threatened (which is obvious) or the expected baby will face a life of pain, agony, and/or major hardship. (Some will even say they wish they were never born.) There are cases where, for instance, the mother will never walk again. In the case of a coworker’s friend, who had a degenerative hip due to being born premature, and she physically could not do it. Would she have been a better mother from a wheelchair? Turns out the baby would have died anyway and she would not be able to walk, if she had not made the heart-breaking decision that she did. She had several miscarriages later on because she was not physically able to carry a baby to term. She eventually adopted.
These stories break my heart. No one wants to have an a abortion, but they are among the most common medical procedures done; women are seeking abortions because they need them.
Anti-choice groups were constantly harassing Dr. Tiller and his staff, but he kept saving the lives and well-being of hopeless women. He provided a service that now only 2 doctors perform and likely no more. OB/GYN would rather not get involved in duties that will likely cause assassination. So, congratulations to the religious right who have successfully skirted the law and caused its own unique brand of terrorism.
