The Escalation of Anti-Abortion Violence Ten Years After Dr. George Tiller’s Murder

The Escalation of Anti-Abortion Violence Ten Years After Dr. George Tiller’s Murder

By Jill Heaviside & Rosann Mariappuram. First published on Rewire.News

As we mark the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. George Tiller, it is incredible to think that, just over a month ago, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse was really asking how “the pro-life position is in any way violent.”

Violence has been a central tenet of the anti-abortion movement since before the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. As activists have sought control over the reproductive freedom of millions of people—particularly women of color, low-income women and families, and queer, gender-nonconforming, and transgender communities—they have used violence as a tactic of control, abuse, and fear across the United States.

Dr. Tiller was Wichita’s only abortion provider for 40 years and was known for his deep commitment to trusting women and their families’ reproductive health decisions. Because of his work, Dr. Tiller was a target of many anti-abortion groups; before he was killed, he survived a clinic bombing and a prior shooting.

Dr. Tiller’s murder wasn’t an isolated incident. Anti-abortion extremists have killed at least 11 people since the 1990s. Their violent history includes the first recorded murder of an abortion provider, Dr. David Gunn, in 1993, and the 2015 shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, which claimed three lives and injured nine people.

Alaska Rep Senator Lisa Murkowski Reaffirms Vote Against Any Plan That Defunds Planned Parenthood

Alaska Rep Senator Lisa Murkowski Reaffirms Vote Against Any Plan That Defunds Planned Parenthood

Alaska's Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is one of the most important swing votes in the health care debate, making her position on Planned Parenthood potentially pivotal to the shape of the final bill. Murkowski is one of two Republican women -- joined by Maine's Sen. Susan Collins -- who are folding firm on the argument that defunding Planned Parenthood will de facto end any possibility of her supporting a Republican-sponsored healthcare alternative to Obamacare. 

Seattle Storm Women's Basketball Steps Up For Planned Parenthood In New Relationship

Seattle Storm Women's Basketball Steps Up For Planned Parenthood In New Relationship

The ownership group of the Storm, Force 10, is planning a “Stand With Planned Parenthood” rally on July 18 in KeyArena’s West Plaza, along with continuing efforts to aid fund-raising for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. Five dollars from the sale of each ticket for the game that day between the Storm and the Chicago Sky will be donated to the chapter. The Storm, one of the few professional teams owned by women, will also host a fund-raising auction.

There will be blowback, of course, but Seattle is a progressive city and even 50% of Trump voters polled and interviewed after the inauguration said that they did not want Planned Parenthood to be defunded.

Allison Janney & 'Mom' Co-creator Gemma Baker Deliver $250,000 Contribution To Cecile Richards Of Planned Parenthood

Allison Janney & 'Mom' Co-creator Gemma Baker Deliver $250,000 Contribution To Cecile Richards Of Planned Parenthood

Vanity Fair writer Richard Lawson described Allison Janney as the "queen of television" with her seven Primetime Emmys, tying with Ed Asner for the second-most Emmys awarded to a single actor. Cloris Leachman holds the record with eight. 

Janney's hit CBS comedy 'Mom' was just renewed for a fifth season, as the actor completes her filming while appearing on Broadway in the first-ever Broadway revival of John Guare's iconic 'Six Degrees of Separation'. 

Lawson's Tuesday piece got bested, though, with a great feminist act that caused Janney and 'Mom' co-creator Gemma Baker to take the $250,000 Emmy promo budget for 'Mom' -- and her securing an eighth Emmy to tie Leachman -- and donate it to Planned Parenthood. 

“We don’t NOT want to be considered for Emmys,” Janney hastened to explain. “But we decided to use the money instead to support Planned Parenthood.”