Katie Couric's Notebook: Dr. Tiller

By: Katie Couric
Topics: Katie Couric's Notebook

(AP/Mike Hutmacher, Wichita Eagle)

The assassination of Dr. George Tiller in his Kansas church on Sunday was a realization of a threat he faced on a daily basis.

Tiller was one of just a few doctors in this country who perform late-term abortions. That made him a prime target for harassment and violence from abortion opponents.

At least three other providers have been killed since 1993, including Dr. Barnett Slepian, who was shot by a sniper in his home in upstate New York. Providers also have reported dozens of death threats, assaults and acts of vandalism.

Attorney General Eric Holder has sent U.S. marshals to protect some clinics and individuals, but there are still many practitioners living in a constant state of fear, and patients who face intimidation when seeking their services.

No matter what your moral position may be on abortion, Tiller was first and foremost a doctor and acting within the law. That should not have cost him his life.

That's a page from my notebook.

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by johnnybgood25 June 12, 2009 11:01 AM EDT: Tiller's death was unjustified, but since he died no babies have been torn out of their mother's womb in his facility. Maybe a future President, or Physician, or Teacher, has been spared. Tiller's body is in the grave, his soul? Good question.; Reply to this comment


by Gerry77 June 11, 2009 2:48 AM EDT: Oh, c'mon Fred, that's a cop-out. Wether the term baby applies is irrelevant! It's a human LIFE wether we call it a fetus, a baby, an old man, a man, a child, or zygote... Extinguishing the life of a fetus is terminating a human life; Reply to this comment


by ANGChief June 9, 2009 8:32 PM EDT: I agree that the murder of Dr Tiller is not how a civilized nation handles issues that you disagree with. No one should be the target of vigilanty justice because of their views or their actions. The U.S. has a court system to handle suspected crimes. With that said, I am wondering why CBS News has completely ignored the killing of Army Private William Long at a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas? This 23 year old was murdered by a Muslim convert who admits to being a terrorist and who was trained in Yemen. He gave an interview today stating that this was not murder but justified because of the way Muslims have been treated by the U.S. Military. It seems odd that we can spend days on the Tiller killing but not one second on the cold blooded murder of a young serviceman on U.S. soil by a terrorist (or should I be more politically correct and refer to him as an international contingency player). FOX News covered both stories and spoke out against both killings. They appear to be the only one that has covered both stories on a continuing basis.; Reply to this comment


by ffaye June 4, 2009 3:25 PM EDT: Please post my previous comment to Fred; Reply to this comment


by ffaye June 4, 2009 2:46 PM EDT: Fred a fetus is a baby. Tiller aborted/killed 60,000 babies in the womb at the age of 21 weeks. If the baby was born it could have survied. Life starts at conception. I think it is awful he was murdered in cold blood but he knew the risks. And Kathleen Sebelus former Governor of his state and our Health and Human Service apointee took campagne money from Dr Tiller to help keep his business going.
Katie how about asking why Eric Holder didn't send out security for the AIG execs. who were targeted by ACORN workers for taking bonuses the Congress and Treasury approved so boo hoo the abortionist are scared.
Finally I am outraged because PVT. Long was assinated in Arkansas by a home grown Muslim terrorist and the only place I hear about it is on FOX News.
The White House came out with a statement saying how awful the murder of Dr Tiller was but the White House has not made a statement on how awful the ASSINATION of Army Pvt Long. WHY!
Have Atty Gen send out security to our recruiting outlets so no more soldiers are killed the way Pvt. Long was. Not very practical.
I don't want my tax money going to protect abortion drs/facilities from crazy people. let the state where it's legal protect them. They are millionairs let them hire their own security. US Gov. does not owe them protection.; Reply to this comment


by casey_abbott June 3, 2009 9:23 AM EDT: That's why I'm proud to be an American.; Reply to this comment


by globalcoolin June 3, 2009 3:54 AM EDT: Tiller had a name only because he lived long enough to be named--but the onse who don't get named becuase people like Tiller kill them don't seem to be seen by Katie.
If facing death is heroic,than it's the unborn who are the heros.Tiller and Slepian are not heros.; Reply to this comment


by fmoolten-2009 June 2, 2009 7:43 PM EDT: The stark tragedy of the Tiller murder underscores the obligation we all share to tone down our rhetoric, to reach, if not consensus, at least sufficient mutual respect to avoid demonizing each other. I believe this starts with the imperative to use phrases that are factually accurate to promote our views. In fact, if accuracy doesn't serve our purposes, we should wonder whether there may not be something terribly misguided in what we are trying to promote.

This applies to both sides. A woman who claims "No-one has the right to limit what I may do with my own body" should acknowledge the falsehood of claiming that only one body is at stake. Within her is a second, living body, and its fate is not only significant, but at the crux of the entire abortion debate. On the other hand, I believe it is reprehensible for any pro-life activist to refer to abortion as the killing of an "unborn baby". Fetuses are not babies. In early pregnancy, when most abortions occur, the fetus bears almost no relationship to a baby. A baby has conscious awareness, hopes, dreams, wishes, even regrets and expectations. The nervous system of the early fetus is too primitive for any of these preciously human attributes, or even for the primitive awareness of pain. The beginnings of these elements of being human develop gradually starting in late pregnancy and continuing through childhood.

If pro-choice women stopped saying, "It's my body", and pro-life advocates stopped claiming "you're killing babies", the arguments will probably continue, but in a more respectful and less violence prone environment.

If we who claim to be human can't stop the demonizing, the angels who watch over us may wonder why any form of human life is truly worth preserving.

Fred Moolten; Reply to this comment