I will write more on this once I have processed my thoughts, but for now I just wanted to update everyone.

I am shocked, I am depressed, I am furious. This morning, Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed on his way into church in Wichita, KS. I have mentioned before that I do some work with the National Abortion Federation, and as a well-respected abortion provider and a NAF member, I had heard his name a lot. Dr. Tiller was one of the only doctors in the US to perform very late term abortions, in the case of fetal anomaly or threat to a mother's life and health. Because of the valuable work he did, he was the target of many attacks, threats and lawsuits.- his clinic was bombed in 1986 and he had been shot before in 1993.

 Violence against abortion providers and clinics was extremely prevalent in the early to mid-1990s, and although it calmed down after the passage of FACE laws in 1994, most abortion providers have constant protection because of threats, and some clinics can feel like the airport because of the security they are forced to have. However, particularly since the late-1990s, most violence has calmed down.

Dr. Tiller was an amazing man who saved lives and helped women every day, and my thoughts are with his family. Sadly, statistics show that violence increases when there is a pro-choice President, and what the murder of Dr. Tiller shows is that protecting reproductive rights for American women, and the people who provide the valuable services necessary to do this, is not something that can be put on the backburner- this must remain a priority.