No Bull Mom

Dr. Tiller and Our Social Conscience

I don't believe in an eye for an eye. For this reason alone, I -- nor any other self-respecting human being -- should be gloating about the fatal shooting of Dr. George Tiller. Scott Roeder, the assailant, should get whatever sentence is appropriate under the eyes of the law.

And yet. Those of us, pro-choice or otherwise, who had a serious problem with Dr. Tiller's line of work -- killing perfectly healthy 9-month old babies by partially delivering them and then puncturing their skulls -- have, admittedly, a difficult time feeling bad Dr. Tiller's life has been extinguished. Last year, Tiller reported aborting 192 late-term fetuses -- oh, let's just call them what they are: human beings -- whose mothers had come from far and wide to have their babies killed. Partial-birth abortion is against the law throughout much of the country; but for some reason, Kansas (of all places) allows late-term abortions -- if continuing the pregnancy "would endanger the woman or substantially impair her physical, mental, or emotional health."

Technically, then, Dr Tiller wasn't doing anything against the law. His case is solely a matter of morality -- something with which today's Americans have an ongoing struggle. Modern liberals -- whose mantra is "live and let live," or "to each his own," or "my body is mine to do with as I please" -- will no doubt cry foul at Tiller's death, blaming every conservative known to man for his death. To a modern liberal, Tiller's death is an outrage. But to a conservative -- even a moderate or left-leaning conservative -- the 192 deaths Dr. Tiller caused last year are also an outrage. Maybe even more so, since these individuals were innocent and Dr. Tillman was not.

This is what the word "choice" has done to this country. In the name of choice, moral responsiblity is purged. In the name of choice, every act is a good one. If an act is taken as a result of a sincere belief the person is being helpful in some way -- especially to women -- the person is deemed morally sound. According to abortion activists, Dr. Tillman was a morally sound man.

Yet consider what his life must have been like. A pregnant woman walks in to his clinic, clearly devoid of a pregnant glow. The enormous belly between them proves there is, in fact, another human being in his midst. After perusing some papers that tell this woman's story of her inability to be care for the child in her belly -- a conclusion Dr. Tiller, for a split second, realizes the woman could have come to seven months earlier -- he dismisses his conscience and decides he must help this poor woman. So he goes into a nearby office, gives the woman some drugs, births her baby -- head first, if possible -- and punctures his skull.

There. Problem solved.

Any person or organization (think Planned Parenthood) who considers this "procedure" -- called a D and X -- necessary enough to undermine one's natural instincts that tell us right from wrong is either ethically challenged or sorely lacking the facts. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which includes abortion supporters could "identify no circumstances under which this procedure would be the only option to save the life or preserve the health of the woman."

I must admit that even without the above information, I find it hard to believe there are people in this country who think allowing a doctor to kill a woman's baby and burn his remains (abortionists generally cremate said babies) will impair a woman's "physical, mental, or emotional health." (On the contrary, I would think the procedure itself would impair a woman's emotional health.) But there are. Shelley Sella, a colleague of Dr. Tillman's, suggests we should "honor [Dr. Tillman's] memory." Honor his memory. If that doesn't strike you as insane, I don't know what would.

If there's one thing partial-birth abortion demonstrates, it is this: Give the average person an inch, and he will often take a mile. In every state in America, early abortion is legal. The moment a woman discovers she's pregnant when she doesn't want to be, we give her an out. She can have an abortion. But in most states -- 31 to be exact -- the option stops there. In 27 states, partial-birth abortion is allowed, though the circumstances in which a woman may receive one differ. Such reticence suggests Americans still have a conscience. And that conscience tells us that allowing a woman to change her mind about being a mother up to the point of delivery is not a matter of women's rights. In fact, with the exception of women dying as a result of giving birth (virtually unheard of today), women's needs are irrelevant at this point in a pregnancy.

That's the thing about becoming a parent: It forces people to think of someone else's needs before our own. What a concept.