Mission Accomplished

Domestic terrorist kills Dr. George Tiller, his clinic shuts down.

The Wichita abortion clinic run by a doctor who was shot and killed will remain closed permanently, his family said on Tuesday.

Dr. George R. Tiller’s clinic was one of the few in the country to provide abortions to women late in their pregnancies, and for decades, women had traveled there from all over the nation and from overseas. It was also the only remaining abortion clinic, even for first trimester abortions, in the Wichita region.

“The family of Dr. George Tiller announces that effective immediately, Women’s Health Care Services, Inc., will be permanently closed,” according to a statement issued on Tuesday morning by the family’s lawyers. “Notice is being given today to all concerned that the Tiller family is ceasing operation of the clinic and any involvement by family members in any other similar clinic.”

Women with catastrophic health issues late in their pregnancies have one less outlet for treatment. And Troy Newman of Operation Rescue is absolutely right: Now, "every kook in the world will get some notion” that they can shut down abortion clinics through murder. It's the "outside" of the inside outside strategy to restrict women's reproductive rights. Women don't actually have a fundamental right to choose their own type of medical care in this country. In far too many states there are only a few abortion providers, and patients have to travel hundreds of miles to find them. In the case of procedures like those practiced by Dr. Tiller, only a handful of states provide them. And not enough doctors are willing to follow Rozalyn Farmer Love and go into the practice. Given the outcome of Dr. Tiller, you can hardly blame them.

We have choice in name only in this country. It harms women, threatens doctors and decreases overall public health. Terrorism has worked.