The Lost Tapes: George Tiller On Being a Woman-Educated Physician

To many Pro-Lifers Dr. George Tiller was a murderer...To Pro-Choice Advocates He was a "Hero"

According to Salon.com, "Just days before Roe v. Wade's 37th anniversary, and as anti-choice activists flock to Wichita, Kan. for Dr. George Tiller's murder trial, Physicians for Reproductive Choice has released two "never-before-seen" video clips of the slain abortion provider talking about why he chose his line of work. His father's sudden death, and the shocking discovery that the physician had provided illegal abortions, was a major impetus. In the first video clip, he explains:

The women in my father's practice for whom he did abortions educated me and taught me that abortion is not about babies, it's not about families. Abortion is about women's hopes, dreams, potential, the rest of their lives. Abortion is a matter of survival for women.

WOW!

When looking through old medical records, he discovered that one of his father's patients died in 1940s because he refused to terminate her pregnancy, so she resorted to a "back-alley" abortion and died. He explains that learning about the experience is the reason why he decided to keep going:

There are all sorts of dangers [for] postal workers, firemen, police officers -- everything has a risk to it. I would prefer, personally, to have a challenging, stimulating and emotionally and spiritually rewarding career that is short rather than having a long one that is filled with ho-hum, mundane mediocrity -- feeling as if you don't make any difference to people.

UPDATE ON ACCUSED KILLER Scott Roeder

According to Salon.com, "At a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Warren Wilbert was not swayed by prosecutors' argument that he should bar Scott Roeder's attorneys from presenting a defense that could lead to the confessed killer being convicted of voluntary manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder, in the premeditated slaying of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller.

According to the Associated Press, Wilbert "said that until the defense decides which evidence it will present, it's difficult for him to rule out Scott Roeder's proposed defense claim..." The judge has promised to "make every effort to try this case as a criminal first-degree murder trial," but he's leaving open the possibility that, based on the evidence presented, he'll have to instruct the jury that they have the option of convicting Roeder of the lesser charge."

The release of these videos comes at a critical moment. Not only is Tiller's accused killer Scott Roeder expected to present a manslaughter defense -"an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force" -- but the woman who shot Tiller in 1993 broke her silence yesterday to issue a public statement from prison proclaiming that the doctor "needed to be killed for the sake of justice." For the sake of justice -- as defined by our legal system, not domestic terrorists -- I suggest watching these videos of a man who put his own life on the line for "the survival of women."

My Thoughts....

I Think Dr. George Tiller speaks for himself. Women are intellectually, emotionally, and physically capable of making a decision that is best for them and their families.

I will have updates as they are provided about the murder trial of Scott Roeder.

To read more of the Salon.com article about "The Lost Tapes", click here. To read more about the Trial of Scott Roeder, click here.