How I Contributed to Dr. Tiller's Murder

How I (and Other "Pro-Life" Leaders) Contributed to Dr. Tiller's Murder
By Frank Schaeffer

My late father and I share the blame (with many others) for the murder of Dr. George Tiller the abortion doctor gunned down on Sunday. Until I got out of the religious right (in the mid-1980s) and repented of my former hate-filled rhetoric I was both a leader of the so-called pro-life movement and a part of a Republican Party hate machine masquerading as the moral conscience of America...

Hyperbole from the pulpit from religious leaders, be it from my father or from President Obama's former pastor the Rev. Wright, is par for the course. But once in a while someone "does something" about it and then everyone says that they were only speaking metaphorically or "spiritually" when they called for violence or for the overthrow the state or when they said things like "God damn America!" or that "abortionists are murderers like Hitler!"

Angry speech has become the norm in American religion from both the right and the left. Words are spoken which -- when taken seriously -- lead directly to violence by the unhinged and/or the truly committed...

To read more go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/how-i-and-other-pro-life_b_209747.html

AU Deplores Murder of Dr. George Tiller

June 1, 2009

Killing Of Dr. George Tiller Is ‘Affront To Every Moral System Imaginable,’ Says AU’s Lynn

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today deplored the murder of a Kansas doctor nationally known for his work on behalf of women’s reproductive rights.

Dr. George Tiller was shot dead Sunday morning while serving as an usher at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan.

“The murder of Dr. Tiller is an affront to every moral system imaginable,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “He had worked relentlessly to preserve the guarantee that women could make their own medical and ethical decisions. Our deepest sympathies go to his family, friends and patients.”

Tiller, who provided abortions to women with problem pregnancies, has been the target of a vicious – and sometimes violent – campaign by extreme Religious Right activists who want to ban all abortions in keeping with their doctrinal mandates.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.