Center for Reproductive Rights Statement on the Anniversary of the Murder Dr. George Tiller
(PRESS STATEMENT) Today marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. For decades, Dr. Tiller provided abortion services to women facing the most heartbreaking circumstances, including diagnoses of severe and fatal fetal abnormalities. He was a stalwart and longtime defender of women’s health and rights, courageously continuing his work despite years of relentless and vicious attacks on his clinic, family, and private life.
His death and the subsequent closing of his clinic are grave reminders of the ongoing harassment endured daily by doctors and abortion clinic owners and staff-from violence, threats and onerous legal restrictions. In this year alone, the passage of extreme anti-choice legislation has reached fever pitch with the Center for Reproductive Rights filing more lawsuits than at any time since the 1990s.
Dr. Tiller, like other doctors who provide abortion, was forced to work under circumstances far more dangerous and difficult than other healthcare providers. And ultimately, women across the country are ill served as this long history of legal intimidation and violence deters new doctors from entering the field and forces skilled physicians out.
On this one-year anniversary of Dr. Tiller’s tragic death, we call on our elected officials to provide strong protections for these defenders of women’s rights and to stop working against them.
Watch our video on the ongoing harassment against abortion providers Preying on Providers >,